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Definition of "ostinato" []

  • A short melody or pattern that is constantly repeated, usually in the same part at the same pitch. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "ostinato" in a sentence
  • "Herrmann also introduced audiences to his affection for ostinato—short, repeated phrases of a few notes—a device he would use repeatedly throughout his career."
  • "But if Hamasyan likes embroidering gentle folk melodies and combining them with a little liltingly tranquil singing too, his power at a keyboard always throbs below the surface in rolling, ostinato patterns, chord-clamouring climaxes and whirling folk dances."
  • ""Implacable," the first of several Klein compositions on the album, starts with an ostinato on Rhodes piano by Mr. Klein."