A musical term describing a melodic line that skips an expected note, creating an ornamental phrase.
From Italian 'cambiata,' meaning changed or altered, derived from Latin 'cambiare' to exchange. In medieval and Renaissance music theory, the term described a specific type of melodic movement.
Cambiata was a Renaissance music trick: you'd expect a note to go one way, but the composer sneaks in a skip to a different note, then resolves it. It creates this beautiful, almost surprising elegance!
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