Dictionary of Music - Birding America

parody 299fig. 175 p/u from p. 309parallel A term applied to intervals and chords,referring to the repetition of the same interval orchord, over and over, on successive degrees of thescale. This device is also termed consecutive intervalsor chords. (In the accompanying example, Ashows parallel intervals and B shows parallelchords.) Although parallel intervals represent theearliest kind of polyphony (see ORGANUM), by thefifteenth century it was felt that the different voicepartsof a composition had to be more independent,and as a result parallel fifths (shown in the examplehere) and parallel octaves were avoided. This ideawas incorporated into the rules of classical harmonyand as such was maintained until about 1900. Certainparallel chords, however, were permitted—mainly the sixth chord and diminished seventhchord—but others, such as the triad and seventhchord, were avoided, since their use results in parallelfifths (the triad C–E–G, for example, includes thefifth C–G; see the example). (See CHORD for anexplanation of these terms.) Of course there wereoccasional lapses from these rules, but on the wholethey were accepted until about 1900, when Debussyand other composers deliberately began to use parallelchords. The use of parallel chords, which notonly introduce dissonances but also deny the traditionalidea that chords must function in particularways, became typical of impressionist music(see IMPRESSIONISM). They have been used veryeffectively by various twentieth-century composers,notably Stravinsky. —parallel key See underKEY, def. 3. —parallel motion See under MOTION,def. 2. —parallel organum See under ORGANUM.parameter (pə ram′ə tûr). A term borrowedfrom mathematics to describe any aspect of a musicalsound that can be varied. In traditional music,consisting of sounds made by voices or musicalinstruments, these aspects include pitch, duration(how long a tone is held), volume (loudness), tonecolor (the mixture of specific harmonics, or overtones,which gives an instrument its characteristicsound), etc. Sounds that fill certain requirements arecalled for in the composer’s score and are producedby the performer as well as possible (each instrument,for example, is limited in the matter of tonecolor). In serial music some or all of the parametersmay be determined by serial procedures. In electronicmusic, in which the sounds are created bymachinery, the composer can control virtually all theparameters of sound: pitch, duration, tone color,intensity, volume, attack (how fast a tone is produced),decay (the manner in which a tone fadesaway), and others. The mixture of harmonics can bealtered in every imaginable way, and, in theory atleast, an endless number of tonal combinations arepossible. (See also ELECTRONIC MUSIC.)paraphrase In music, the repetition of a musicalidea (usually a melody or part of a melody) in differentform. Often the original idea is so changed, or somuch new material is added, that the original may behard to recognize.parlando (pär län′dô) Italian: “speaking.” 1 Invocal music, a direction to sing in a manner similarto speaking clearly, usually quite rapidly and withcareful enunciation. A PATTER SONG is a good exampleof parlando. (See also RECITATIVE; SPRECH-STIMME.) 2 Also, parlante (pär län′te). In instrumentalmusic, a direction to play in a crisp manner, theopposite of legato (smooth).parlante See PARLANDO, def. 2.parlor music, parlor songMUSIC.See under SALONparody 1 An exaggerated imitation of a compositionor, more often, a style of composition, in orderto make fun of it. The operettas of Gilbert and Sullivanoften poke fun at musical conventions, particularlythose of grand opera, either by setting a humoroustext to traditionally serious music (for example,the Fairy Queen’s lament about Captain Shaw inIolanthe) or by exaggerating a musical device to thepoint where it is absurd (Mabel’s opening aria, witha long cadenza on the Ma- of her name, in Pirates ofPenzance). A famous example of musical parody is