This is something I cooked up in Maschine quite a while back, and it just sat around for years. I liked its simplicity but felt it always needed… something more. I finally dusted it off, found the original Maschine project file, and luckily it was all still there.
So, why the heck did I call it “Clav Ostinato”? Some interesting history behind both of them words there:
Clav
“Clav” is short for EITHER clavichord OR clavinet – and what are those, you ask?
The Clavichord
First off, the clavichord is the predecessor to the harpsichord:
Then, the harpsichord led to the modern piano – here’s a fascinating video of the history:
Overall, it’s a very interesting instrument – the strings are plucked, not hammered, and due to the nature of re-using strings across notes, and less tension needed, the soundboard ends up with more of the characteristics of a banjo! (albeit a super jumbo banjo!)
The Clavinet
Next up, the clavinet – this is a much more modern instrument. (well, relative to the clavichord, that is!) Essentially, it’s similar to a Rhodes/electric piano. I’ll let Dr. Mix give a great but succinct history on this one!
Very nice, but what about “ostinato”?
Ostinato
Ostinato is another one of those fancy Italian music notation words (such as forte, mezzopiano, adelante, adagio, etc.) – it simply means a motif (musical phrase) that repeats! So in that case, most modern computer-produced music could be called “Ostinato”, couldn’t it… basically, anything that loops fits the definition. 😼
Wrap-Up
With all that said – I am not even sure if the plugin instrument I used for the repeating melody ostinato in my music was a “clav” of either type – it does sound a bit like a clavichord, but it’s also possible I had seen “clavinet” in another plugin preset at some point, and simply used that since I couldn’t think of a name to save the original file as! Either way, I am glad I picked it, since it led me to looking up some of these details even years later, and, now, sharing with you.
