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Imitation

Musical Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Imitation is the repetition of a musical idea by another voice, often at a different pitch or after a short delay.

Detailed Definition
In musical writing, imitation lets one part echo, answer, or transform material introduced by another part. In poetry, the term can illuminate repeated phrases, parallel speakers, mirrored images, or a later stanza that takes up an earlier gesture. Imitation may create dialogue and cohesion, but it can also expose difference: a repeated line may sound changed when spoken by another voice, in another setting, or after the poem’s central event.
Example
Example in poetry:
Imitation in music is the repetition of a melody by another voice, and in poetry one speaker can repeat another speaker’s phrase with a changed ending; A later stanza can imitate the syntax and rhythm of the first while changing its imagery; In a call-and-response poem, the response imitates the opening line but adds a new perspective; Repeating “Who will carry the water?” in several voices demonstrates poetic imitation.
Additional Notes
Imitation occurs when one musical voice repeats an idea introduced by another, often after a delay and at a different pitch. The repeated idea may be an entire melody, a short motif, or a rhythmic figure. Canon and fugue are important forms built from imitation. In poetry, imitation can describe the recurrence of a phrase, image, sound pattern, or syntactic structure in another voice or stanza, sometimes with variation that changes its meaning.
Other Meanings of “Imitation”
Also Known As
Echo
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