Anacrusis
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- For the Progressive/Thrash Metal group please refer to Anacrusis (band).
In
poetry,
anacrusis is the lead-in
syllables that precede the first full measure, while, similarly, in
music, it is the
note or notes (even a
phrase) which precede the first
downbeat in a
group. The latter sense is synonymous with
upbeat and is often called the
pickup or the
pickup note. An anacrusis is similar to the wind-up a pitcher takes before the ball is thrown; it sets a melody into motion. If there are no anacrusis notes in music, the breath the musicians take before playing may be considered the anacrusis. In North America the term "a pick-up measure" is often used to mean anacrusis.
In the Star Spangled Banner, the word Oh in the first line is an anacrusis in both the music and the anapestic meter of the poem:
x / x x / x x / x x /
Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light. . .
Beginning of
BWV736, with anacrusis in Red.
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