crab canon: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C2Formal / Technical
Quick answer
What does “crab canon” mean?
A contrapuntal musical composition in which one voice or melody is played forwards and simultaneously backwards against another, like a crab's sideways walk.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A contrapuntal musical composition in which one voice or melody is played forwards and simultaneously backwards against another, like a crab's sideways walk.
A composition, poem, or literary structure that can be read both forwards and backwards in a specific, mirrored pattern, or, by extension, any situation or arrangement featuring a mirrored, retrograde symmetry.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage.
Connotations
Conveys high artistic or intellectual craft in both varieties.
Frequency
Equally rare and specialised in both varieties, confined to musicology and related academic fields.
Grammar
How to Use “crab canon” in a Sentence
[COMPOSER/COMPOSITION] features a crab canonThe structure of [WORK] is a crab canonVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “crab canon” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The composer chose to crab-canon the main theme in the final movement.
- This melody can be crabbed against its inversion.
American English
- He crab-canonned the cello line against the viola.
- To crab-canon a theme is a test of compositional skill.
adverb
British English
- The theme is played crab-canonally in the recapitulation.
American English
- The lines move crab-canonally towards the centre.
adjective
British English
- The crab-canon structure was brilliantly executed.
- It's a crab-canon piece of rare complexity.
American English
- The crab-canon passage forms the work's core.
- Her crab-canon étude is studied by advanced students.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Virtually never used.
Academic
Used in musicology, literary theory, and mathematics to describe retrograde-symmetric structures.
Everyday
Extremely unlikely to be encountered.
Technical
The primary context, referring to a specific compositional technique in Western art music.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “crab canon”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “crab canon”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “crab canon”
- Confusing 'canon' (rule, musical form) with 'cannon' (artillery).
- Using it to describe any repetitive music instead of strict melodic retrograde.
- Attempting to use it in general conversation where 'palindrome' might be more widely understood.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Conceptually similar, but a crab canon is specifically a musical or literary technique involving a line and its exact retrograde, while a palindrome in language reads identically forwards and backwards letter-by-letter.
Johann Sebastian Bach, most notably in his 'Musical Offering' (BWV 1079), which contains a meticulously crafted crab canon.
Yes, but it's a specialised metaphorical extension. It can describe any artistic or conceptual structure built on a strict, mirrored retrograde pattern, such as in certain poems or mathematical sequences.
The name derives from the perceived similarity to a crab's supposedly backwards or sideways walk, metaphorically describing the retrograde (backwards) motion of one of the melodic lines.
A contrapuntal musical composition in which one voice or melody is played forwards and simultaneously backwards against another, like a crab's sideways walk.
Crab canon is usually formal / technical in register.
Crab canon: in British English it is pronounced /kræb ˈkænən/, and in American English it is pronounced /kræb ˈkænən/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “None”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a crab walking sideways: one claw moves right, the other moves left, mirroring each other just like the melodies in a crab canon move forward and backward.
Conceptual Metaphor
SYMMETRY IS MIRRORED MOVEMENT / TIME IS REVERSIBLE
Practice
Quiz
What is the defining feature of a crab canon?