Guidelines for Improvising Divisions, Based on Sixteenth-Century Treatises, Statistical Evidence, and a Novel Categorization

Abstract

Abstract: Division ornamentation practice (DOP) was an essential and common tool for sixteenth-century performers to express their individual interpretations of familiar compositions. In this paper, I examine the manuals that describe DOP and advised both amateurs and professionals on how to acquire it. By using computational and statistical tools on Bassano's corpus of divisions, the advice given in all the manuals is tested, analyzed and clarified. It was discovered that Bassano did in fact follow most of this advice. To help the modern performer develop skill in DOP, additional general compositional features are discussed, such as whether figurations have an affinity with the original composition and whether the melodic-interval model of ornamentation can explain the bastarda division style. The overall impression of the analysis suggests that the sixteenth-century sources for DOP are too simplified to capture the complexity of the division compositions. Therefore, a first step toward a new categorization system for DOP is proposed, by using a higher level of ornamentation building blocks called mid-level units. I derived from the Bassano corpus seven mid-level units (straight line, wavy line, melodic sequence, rhythmic alterations, arpeggio, expressive, and original melody imitation) . Each unit represent an "idea" that can be implemented in DOP. The new categorization system is inspired by a novel approach to the study of improvisation in jazz solos.