Crab canon

If the two lines were placed next to each other (as opposed to stacked), the lines would form something conceptually similar to a palindrome.

The name 'crab' refers to the fact that crabs are known to walk backward (although they can also walk forward and sideways).

It originally referred to a kind of canon in which one line is played backward (e.g. FABACEAE played simultaneously with EAECABAF).

An example is found in J. S. Bach's The Musical Offering, which also contains a table canon ("Quaerendo invenietis"), which combines retrogression with inversion by having one player turn the music upside down.

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An example of a crab canon. [ 1 ] Play
Requiescat Infini, an example of a crab canon (musical palindrome) composition.