# Hocket

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{{Short description|Musical technique}}
{{About|the musical technique|the American piano duo|HOCKET (duo)}}
{{Wiktionary|hocket}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2021}}

In [music](/source/music), '''hocket''' is a [rhythmic](/source/Rhythm) and [linear](/source/linear) technique involving the alternation of [notes](/source/note_(music)), [pitches](/source/pitch_(music)), or [chords](/source/chord_(music)). In medieval practice, a single [melody](/source/melody) is shared between two (or occasionally more) voices such that one voice sounds while the other rests, creating a staggered, interlocking texture.

==History==
In European music, hocket (or ''hoquet'') was prominent in vocal and choral compositions of the 13th and early 14th centuries. It was a defining feature of the [Notre Dame school](/source/Notre_Dame_school) during the ''[ars antiqua](/source/ars_antiqua)'' period, appearing in sacred vocal music and string compositions. By the 14th century, it was more common in secular vocal music. Though the term originates in medieval French [motet](/source/motet)s, similar techniques appear globally under different names.

thumb|In seculum
thumb|center|550px|Example of hocket (''In seculum d'Amiens longum''), French, late 13th century. Observe the quick alternation of sung notes and rests between the upper two voices. While this example is textless, the hocket was usually done on a vowel sound.

The technique remains in use in [contemporary music](/source/contemporary_music). Examples include [Louis Andriessen](/source/Louis_Andriessen)'s ''[Hoketus](/source/Hoketus)''; [funk](/source/funk) and [stereo panning](/source/stereo_panning) in American [popular music](/source/popular_music); guitar duos like [Robert Fripp](/source/Robert_Fripp)/[Adrian Belew](/source/Adrian_Belew) in [King Crimson](/source/King_Crimson) and [Tom Verlaine](/source/Tom_Verlaine)/[Richard Lloyd](/source/Richard_Lloyd_(guitarist)) in [Television](/source/Television_(band)); [gamelan music](/source/gamelan_music) in [Indonesia](/source/Indonesia) (''[imbal](/source/imbal)'' in [Java](/source/Java_(island)), ''[kotekan](/source/kotekan)'' in [Bali](/source/Bali)); [Andean](/source/Andean_music) ''[siku](/source/siku_(panpipe))'' ensembles; Ukrainian and Russian ''[kuvytsi](/source/kuvytsi)'', Lithuanian ''[skudučiai](/source/skudu%C4%8Diai)''; [handbell](/source/handbell) music; [rara music](/source/rara_music) in [Haiti](/source/Haiti) and [gagá](/source/gag%C3%A1) in the [Dominican Republic](/source/Dominican_Republic).

Hocketing is also found in African traditions such as the [Ba-Benzélé](/source/Ba-Benz%C3%A9l%C3%A9) (featured on [Herbie Hancock](/source/Herbie_Hancock)'s "[Watermelon Man](/source/Watermelon_Man_(composition))", see [Pygmy music](/source/Pygmy_music)), [Mbuti](/source/Mbuti), [Basarwa](/source/Basarwa) (Khoisan), the Gumuz tribe of Sudan, and the [Gogo](/source/Gogo_(culture)) of Tanzania. In [drum and bugle corps](/source/Drum_and_bugle_corps_(modern)), it appears as "split parts" or "splits". [Duke Ellington](/source/Duke_Ellington)'s "Braggin' in Brass"<ref>{{YouTube|S4YkFHbzw8A|"Braggin' in Brass"|t=39}}</ref> includes a rare jazz example.<ref>{{cite book | last = Schuller | first = Gunther | title = The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930–1945 | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = New York | year = 1968 | isbn = 9780195043129 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Zc4Lh9KC2MIC&pg=PA94 | access-date = 2 January 2021 | oclc = 870554980 | page = 94}}</ref>

[[File:Sikuri.mid|thumb|A [sikuri](/source/sikuri), a traditional [Andean music](/source/Andean_music) form, is played in hocket. Computer-generated file.]]

Contemporary artists often integrate hocketing with other compositional techniques, such as alternating melodies, interlocking patterns, and stereo separation. While the term ''hoquet'' is antiquated, its principles are widely adapted in modern music production and performance.

The group [Dirty Projectors](/source/Dirty_Projectors) prominently use hocketing in both instrumental and vocal arrangements. Frontman [Dave Longstreth](/source/Dave_Longstreth) has expressed fascination with the medieval origins of these experimental techniques.<ref name="Dirty Projectors">{{cite web|last=Lopez|first=Frances Michel|title=Q&A: Dave Longstreth of Dirty Projectors sure does like Wikipedia |url=http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/uponsun/2009/10/qa_dave_longstreth_of_dirty_pr.php?page=2|work=Phoenix New Times|publisher=Phoenix New Times|access-date=3 June 2012}}</ref>

==Etymology==
The term derives from the French ''hoquet'' (also ''hocquet'', ''hoket'', or ''ocquet'' in Old French), meaning "shock, sudden interruption, hitch, [hiccup](/source/hiccup)".<ref>The ''[Oxford English Dictionary](/source/Oxford_English_Dictionary)'' defines [http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/87504?redirectedFrom=hocket ''Hocket''] as: “(in medieval music) an interruption of a voice-part (usually of two or more parts alternately) by rests, so as to produce a broken or spasmodic effect; used as a contrapuntal device.”</ref> Related onomatopoeic terms appear in Celtic, Breton, and Dutch. Latinized forms include ''hoquetus'', ''(h)oketus'', and ''(h)ochetus''. Earlier theories of Arabic origin are no longer favored.<ref>{{Cite Grove |last=Sanders |first=Ernest H. |author-link=Ernest H. Sanders |title=Hocket }}</ref>

==See also==
* [Bigwala](/source/Bigwala), ceremonial music from Uganda<ref>{{YouTube|2A-2KJ2MTKk|Bigwala Cultural Group – Mperekera Omwana Womurembe – The Singing Wells project}}</ref>
* [Kecak](/source/Kecak), Balinese performance piece also known as the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3odvMJLGoCo Ramayana Monkey Chant]
* [Klangfarbenmelodie](/source/Klangfarbenmelodie)
* [Melodic fission](/source/Melodic_fission)

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Tagg, Philip. [http://www.tagg.org/articles/epmow/hocket.html "Hocket"], ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World''
* Musical example from ''Cent Motets du XIIIe Siècle'', vol. I, Paris, 1908, pp. 64–65.
* "The Gumuz Tribe: Music of the Blue Nile Province" – ''Anthology of African Music'' (1980) – Reference D8072, Reissue (text by Robert Gottlieb)

Category:Musical techniques
Category:Medieval music theory

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hocket](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocket) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hocket?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.