Imitation
One voice states an idea and another answers with the same shape at a new pitch
Related
Imitation happens when one voice states a short idea and another takes it up at a new pitch, after a delay or overlapping. Strict imitation keeps the intervals and rhythm; free imitation keeps only the outline. When it runs through a piece at fixed interval and distance, it becomes a canon.
Imitation is the engine of polyphony: the subject and answer of a fugue, the entries of a motet, and the chasing voices of a Bach invention depend on it. Closer entries overlap in stretto and raise the tension; alter the intervals or rhythm at entry and the imitation is transformed.
Imitation differs from sequence: a sequence moves one voice up or down, while imitation hands the idea to another voice. Listen for the outline changing voices; if it stays in one part, it is sequence, not imitation.
Sources
- 模仿的种类、进入方式与在复调中的功能，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Imitation"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.