13: What is cambiata?
Question: What is cambiata? - A.S.

Answer: This one is described in the manual for our Counterpointer program:

Cambiata

The "cambiata," also called "changing tone," is an exception to the usual rule that dissonance should not be approached or left by leap (appoggiatura is another). The cambiata has four notes with a small leap between notes two and three. Both the 2nd and 3rd notes can be dissonant.

From the manual: "The cambiata is a figure that usually begins with a downward second to an unaccented note, then a downward third followed by an upward second to another unaccented note, so that it ends a third away from its beginning. Both the second and third notes can be dissonant."

The cambiata can, less commonly, also be inverted (so that the leap goes the other direction).

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