The 1957 Encyclopédie Larousse defines a cell in music as a "small rhythmic and melodic design that can be isolated, or can make up one part of a thematic context". The cell may be distinguished from the figure or motif:
the 1958 Encyclopédie Fasquelle
250px|thumb|[[Tresillo (music)|Tresillo, a rhythmic cell of the tango and habanera. ]]
A rhythmic cell is a cell without melodic connotations. It may be entirely percussive or applied to different melodic segments.
History
The term "cell" (German: Keim) derives from organic music theorists of the nineteenth century. Arnold Schering adopted the term, along with "melodic kernels" (Melodiekerne) in his analysis of 14th-century madrigal, one of the first uses of Gestalt psychology in music theory.
See also
- Clave (rhythm)
- Hauptrhythmus
- Ostinato
- Vamp