[ob-li-gah-toh] 
[ob-li-gah-toh; It. awb-blee-gah-taw] adjective, noun, plural -tos, -ti [-tee] . Music.| 1. | (used as a musical direction) obligatory or indispensable; so important that it cannot be omitted. |
| 2. | an obbligato part or accompaniment. |
| 3. | a continuing or persistent subordinate or background motif. |
| 4. | a subordinate part of a solo. |
| ob·bli·ga·to also ob·li·ga·to (ŏb'lĭ-gä'tō) adj. Not to be left out; indispensable. Used of an accompaniment that is an integral part of a piece. n. pl. ob·bli·ga·tos also ob·li·ga·tos or ob·bli·ga·ti also ob·li·ga·ti (-tē) An obbligato accompaniment. [Italian, past participle of obbligare, to obligate, from Latin obligāre, to oblige; see oblige.] |
| ob·li·ga·to (ŏb'lĭ-gä'tō) adj. & n. Variant of obbligato. |
lɪˈgɑ