English

Noun

zygon ‎(plural zyga or zygons)

1. (anatomy, plural "zyga") In the cerebrum, a short crossbar fissure that connects the two pairs of branches of a larger zygal (H-shaped) fissure.
   • 1896, Andrew J. Parker, "Morphology of the Cerebral Convolutions with special reference to the order of Primates", Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Second Series, 10 (3): 323

     “The evidence is threefold: (1) as admitted by Ecker, the zygon always appears independently in the foetus;

2. (music, plural "zygons") An affinity or connection in a piece of music between tones, chords, or phrases, such that one part appears to repeat, to imitate, or to derive from the other, especially when perceived as an organising principle in the music; a zygonic relationship.
   • 2005, Adam Ockelford, Repetition in music: theoretical and metatheoretical perspectives (page 121)

     Chopin's Prelude op. 28 no. 6 comprises 403 notes which give rise—in just one sub-domain (pitch class)—to around 13,000 potential primary zygons, 500 million potential secondary zygons, and 10¹⁸ potential tertiary zygons.

   • 2006, Neil Lerner, Joseph Straus, Sounding Off: Theorizing Disability in Music (page 142)

     Zygonic relationships, or zygons, are depicted using the letter Z.

   • 2012, Adam Ockelford, Applied Musicology: Using Zygonic Theory to Inform Music Education, Therapy, and Psychology Research, page 106

     Observe that the second melodic interval is deemed to exist in imitation of the first through the repetition of magnitude but not polarity through an "inverse" secondary zygon of pitch.

Related terms

• zygal
• zygonic

Translations