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Webster 1913 Edition
Modulation
Modˊu-la′tion
,Noun.
[L.
modulatio
: cf. F. modulation
.] 1.
The act of modulating, or the state of being modulated;
as, the
. modulation
of the voice2.
Sound modulated; melody.
[R.]
Thomson.
3.
(Mus.)
A change of key, whether transient, or until the music becomes established in the new key; a shifting of the tonality of a piece, so that the harmonies all center upon a new keynote or tonic; the art of transition out of the original key into one nearly related, and so on, it may be, by successive changes, into a key quite remote. There are also sudden and unprepared modulations.
Webster 1828 Edition
Modulation
MODULA'TION
,Noun.
1.
The act of forming any thing to a certain proportion; as the different proportion and modulation of matter.2.
The act of inflecting the voice in reading or speaking; a rising or falling of the voice.3.
In music, the art of composing melody or harmony agreeable to the laws prescribed by any particular key, or of changing the key, or of passing from one key to another.Modulation is the manner of ascertaining and managing the modes; or more generally, the art of conducting the harmony and air through several modes in a manner agreeable to the ear and conformed to rules.
4.
Sound modulated; melody.