Crown, from the Latin crown, is a term with several meanings. It can be the fence of metal, flowers or branches that is placed on the head as a symbol of an honorary insignia, a dignity or as an ornament.
For example: “I will enter Edenton Castle and steal the crown of King John IX”, “The monarch walked among his subjects wearing a crown of gold and diamonds and a velvet cape”, “Upon receiving the olive crown, the Olympic champions could not hold back tears of emotion.
According to abbreviationfinder.org, A crown can also be a symbolic recognition, without physical testimony. In these cases, the expression “king without a crown” is often used, since it is considered that a person reigns in a certain field due to their conditions or achievements: “With the new title, Lionel Messi confirmed that he holds the crown of world football”, “The Los Angeles Lakers team will try to recover the crown despite the fact that it has lost its historic coach”, “The director wants to revalidate his crown as the critics’ favorite son with his new production”.
A crown can also be a set of leaves and/or flowers that are arranged in a circle: “The family asked the singer’s followers not to send crowns, but to donate the money to charities”, “Don Javier was moved when he arrived a crown from his homeland”, “The crown of the children was placed next to the box”.
Another use of the term refers to the circular thing that has a high part: “To make the dough, we first have to make a crown with the flour and place a tablespoon of oil in the middle”.
The monetary unit of certain countries, the part of the teeth that protrudes from the gum and the artificial piece that protects or replaces said dental part is also known as a crown.
In music theory
The crown, also called calderón, is a sign of musical notation that allows indicating a moment of rest, since it lengthens the duration of the figure it affects, and this can be either a note, a rest or a bar. compass. Its effect is to prolong the existing pulse to the figure before the crown ; Although it does not establish an exact amount of time for said alteration, since it is left to the taste and discretion of the performers or directors, the most common thing is that the duration is doubled.
In concerts for soloists, the crown is used to mark cadenzas, passages in which the musicians are free to improvise. In the da capo arias, from the Baroque and characterized by consisting of three parts (A, B and C), this sign serves to indicate the end of the first part.
Regarding its appearance, the crown has a very simple and easy to distinguish design: it is formed by a point and a semicircle that is located above it, although it can also be drawn in reverse.
The preferred trend in academic music is to place the crown on the figure whose duration is to be altered, regardless of the direction of its stem (the vertical bar that is attached to the head of all figures except the whole). However, it is possible to place it below, if required by the staff for reasons of space, or by a stylistic decision of the composer or reviewer.
The origin of the crown dates back to the Middle Ages, to the 14th century, and it usually affected the last note of the pieces. In the Renaissance, composers such as Josquin des Prez and Guillaume Dufay used it on many occasions. During the Baroque, some composers, including Johann Sebastian Bach, used the crown to indicate the end of a phrase.
