"A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, melōidía, "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity."
Understanding how melody is structured, how it relates to chord progressions, and how to create compelling melodies.
Pitch: The exact frequency or vibration rate of a musical note.
Scale: A collection of notes that are arranged in ascending or descending order of pitch.
Intervals: The distance between two pitches.
Chromatic Scale: A musical scale with 12 pitches in each octave.
Major Scale: A diatonic scale with 7 notes.
Minor Scale: A diatonic scale with 7 notes, featuring a lowered third scale degree.
Modes: A musical scale, each with a distinct character, that shares the same notes as another scale.
Key Signatures: A set of sharps or flats that indicate which notes are to be played as sharp or flat throughout a piece.
Melodic Patterns: Repetitive musical phrases used in compositions.
Ornamentation: Decorative elements added to a melody, such as trills, grace notes, or vibrato.
Rhythm: The pattern of musical time in melody.
Harmony: The use of two or more different notes played simultaneously to create chords.
Counterpoint: The combination of two or more independent melodies.
Form: The way a melody is structured within a piece of music.
Transposition: Taking a melody and moving it to another key.
Improvisation: The spontaneous creation of melody within a specific musical framework.
Composition: The creation of a new melody, either written down or improvised.
Notation: The system of writing down musical notes and rhythms.
Ear Training: The practice of recognizing and replicating melodies by ear.
Analysis: The study of melody in various musical pieces to understand their structure and compositional techniques.
Conjunct Melodies: These are melodies that move in a smooth and stepwise manner.
Angular Melodies: These are melodies that move in a more abrupt and disjointed manner, characterized by large intervals.
Disjunct Melodies: These are melodies that move in a non-linear fashion, featuring numerous leaps and jumps.
Ornamented Melodies: These are melodies that are marked by ornamentations such as trills, mordents, or turns, which embellish the melody and add depth to it.
Sequence Melodies: These are melodies that are repeated in a sequential order, usually transposed to a different pitch or key.
Arpeggiated Melodies: These are melodies that are built using broken chords, where each note of the chord is played separately, creating a flowing and sweeping effect.
Modal Melodies: These are melodies that are built using modes that are not the major or minor scale, such as the Dorian, Phrygian, or Mixolydian modes.
Polyphonic Melodies: These are melodies that are composed of multiple independent voices, each with its own melody, but combining to create a harmonious sound.
Call and Response Melodies: These are melodies that feature a question-and-answer format, where one voice or instrument plays a phrase, and another voice responds with a different phrase that complements it.
Blues Melodies: These are melodies that are characterized by the use of blue notes, flattened third, fifth and seventh in a minor scale, which give them a melancholic and soulful feeling.
"A melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term can include other musical elements such as tonal color."
"It is the foreground to the background accompaniment. A line or part need not be a foreground melody."
"Melodies often consist of one or more musical phrases or motifs, and are usually repeated throughout a composition in various forms."
"Melodies may also be described by their melodic motion or the pitches or the intervals between pitches (predominantly conjunct or disjunct or with further restrictions), pitch range, tension and release, continuity and coherence, cadence, and shape."
"A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, melōidía, "singing, chanting")..."
"A melody is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity."
"A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, melōidía, "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line..."
"The term can include other musical elements such as tonal color."
"It is the foreground to the background accompaniment."
"Melodies often consist of one or more musical phrases or motifs, and are usually repeated throughout a composition in various forms."
"Melodies may also be described by their melodic motion..."
"Melodies may also be described by... the pitches or the intervals between pitches... pitch range, tension and release, continuity and coherence, cadence, and shape."
"The term can include other musical elements such as tonal color."
"A line or part need not be a foreground melody."
"Melodies may also be described by... cadence..."
"Melodies may also be described by... pitch range..."
"Melodies may also be described by... tension and release..."
"Melodies may also be described by... continuity and coherence..."
"Melodies may also be described by... shape."