An ostinato (from the Italian ostinato — “stubborn”) is a figure (melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic) that persistently repeats unchanged while musical development unfolds above it. The repetition creates a sense of inevitability, of build-up, of hypnotic motion.
The ostinato has been known since ancient times: the Baroque passacaglia and chaconne are built on an ostinato bass (basso ostinato). But the device truly flourished in the 20th century — from Ravel's Boléro (two themes over the unchanging rhythm of a snare drum) to minimalism and rock music with its hypnotic riffs. The ostinato is a universal means that links ancient Baroque music, African drumming traditions, and modern electronica: the power of unchanging repetition, against which everything that does change shines all the brighter.
