prelude

/'prelju:d/

Thân thiện

A pianist plays a short prelude before the main piece.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • An introductory piece of music: A musical composition that serves as an introduction to a larger work, such as a fugue, suite, or act of an opera.
   • An event or action that serves as an introduction to something more important: Something that precedes and signals the approach of a main event.

2. Verb:

   • To serve as an introduction to something: To act as a preliminary event or action.
   • To play a musical introduction: To perform a short piece of music that introduces a larger work.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The orchestra played a beautiful prelude before the opera began.
  • The small protests were a prelude to the major revolution that followed.
• Verb:
  • The thunder preluded the coming storm.
  • The pianist will prelude the sonata with a short improvisation.

Advanced Usage

• "In prelude to": As an introduction or preliminary action before something.
  • He made a few remarks in prelude to his main speech.
• Used in a metaphorical or figurative sense to describe any introductory event.
  • The first chapter acts as a prelude to the novel's complex themes.

Variants and Related Words

• Preludial (adj): Of the nature of a prelude; introductory.
  • The preludial remarks set the tone for the conference.
• Prelusion (n): The act of preluding; a prelude. (Less common)

Synonyms

• Introduction: The action of introducing something.
• Overture: An orchestral piece at the beginning of an opera, ballet, or musical; a preliminary or opening move.
• Preliminary: An action or event preceding or preparing for something fuller or more important.
• Foreword: A short introduction to a book.

Antonyms

• Conclusion: The end or finish of an event or process.
• Finale: The last part of a piece of music, a performance, or a public event.
• Epilogue: A section or speech at the end of a book or play serving as a comment on or a conclusion to what has happened.

Related Phrases

• "Prelude to war": Events or actions that signal the imminent start of a war.
  • The assassination was seen as a prelude to war.
• "Prelude and fugue": A common pairing in classical music, especially in the works of J.S. Bach, where a prelude is followed by a fugue.
  • Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier" is a collection of preludes and fugues.

Học thuật

Noun

1. music that precedes a fugue or introduces an act in an opera
2. something that serves as a preceding event or introduces what follows
   • training is a necessary preliminary to employment
   • drinks were the overture to dinner

Verb

1. play as a prelude
2. serve as a prelude or opening to

Từ đồng nghĩa

• preliminary
• overture