Meanings
plural cambiatas
- entertainmentA pattern in a homophonic or polyphonic (and usually contrapuntal) setting of a melody where a note is skipped from (typically by an interval of a third) in one direction (either going up or down in pitch) followed by the note skipped to, and then by motion in the opposite direction, and where either the note skipped from is distinguished as a dissonance or the note skipped to is distinguished as a non-harmonic or non-chordal tone.
Synonyms: changing note
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA pattern in a homophonic or polyphonic (and usually contrapuntal) setting of a melody where a note is skipped from (typically by an interval of a third) in one direction (either going up or down in pitch) followed by the note skipped to, and then by motion in the opposite direction, and where either the note skipped from is distinguished as a dissonance or the note skipped to is distinguished as a non-harmonic or non-chordal tone.
Origin
- Italiancambiata
- Italiancambiata
- Englishcambiata
Borrowed from Italian cambiata.
More words from Italian
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
cambiata. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cambiata
“cambiata.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cambiata. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cambiata,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cambiata.
Source: cambiata on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.