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Melody is to music what a scent is to the senses: it jogs our memory. It gives face to form, and identity and character to the process and proceedings. It is not only a musical subject, but a manifestation of the musically subjective. It carries and radiates personality with as much clarity and
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The true goal of music—its proper enterprise—is melody. All the parts of harmony have as their ultimate purpose only beautiful melody. Therefore, the question of which is the more significant, melody or harmony, is futile. Beyond doubt, the means is subordinate to the
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Given the many and varied elements and styles of melody "many extant explanations confine us to specific stylistic models, and they are too exclusive." Paul
Narveson claimed in 1984 that more than three-quarters of melodic topics had not been explored thoroughly.
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became "widely employed." Composers also allotted a structural role to "the qualitative dimensions" that previously had been "almost exclusively reserved for pitch and rhythm". Kliewer states, "The essential elements of any melody are duration, pitch, and quality
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poignancy as harmony and rhythm combined. As such a powerful tool of communication, melody serves not only as protagonist in its own drama, but as messenger from the author to the audience.
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The melodies existing in most
European music written before the 20th century, and popular music throughout the 20th century, featured "fixed and easily discernible frequency
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of the 20th and 21st centuries pitch and duration have lessened in importance and quality has gained importance, often primary. Examples include
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musicians use the term "lead" or "head" to refer to the main melody, which is used as a starting point for
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music often uses complicated variations and alterations of a single melody played simultaneously, called
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that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of
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or short melodic fragments, such as the opening of
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
189:, while more figuratively, the term can include other musical elements such as
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Kliewer, Vernon (1975). "Melody: Linear
Aspects of Twentieth-Century Music",
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This article is about melody in music. For other senses of this word, see
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33:"Foreground (music)" redirects here. For more specific musical uses, see
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Cole, Simon (2020). just BE here – the guide to musicking mindfulness
521:(which contains a movement with only one note), the third movement of
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pitch and duration are of primary importance in melodies, the
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Linear succession of tones in the foreground of a musical work
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A Textbook of Melody: A course in functional melodic analysis
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735:, p. 2. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Inglewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
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in various forms. Melodies may also be described by their
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Creating and orchestrating a coherent and balanced melody
826:
The Oxford
Handbook to Critical Concepts in Music Theory
414:, sometimes with a third, contrasting melody known as a
362:'s Variations for orchestra, Op. 30 (pp. 23–24)
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249:
204:Melodies often consist of one or more musical
26:"Melodic" redirects here. For other uses, see
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79:can be distinguished by the direction of the
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228:or with further restrictions), pitch range,
381:use melody in different ways. For example:
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212:, and are usually repeated throughout a
640:Tonal Harmony in Concept & Practice
597:
476:. Often, melodies are constructed from
232:and release, continuity and coherence,
460:often introduce an initial melody, or
7:
824:Trippett, David (2019). "Melody" in
75:. The two voices (melodies) on each
691:Aspects of Twentieth-Century Music
406:tend to pick one or two melodies (
14:
1366:Formal sections in music analysis
201:need not be a foreground melody.
165: 'singing, chanting'), also
1324:
865:Carry A Tune Week, list of tunes
852:
838:
802:American Institute of Musicology
660:Paus, Marcus (6 November 2017).
257:Johann Philipp Kirnberger (1771)
224:between pitches (predominantly
814:, Barrie and Rockliff, London.
733:Twentieth Century Music Idioms
1:
843:The dictionary definition of
821:. Cambridge University Press.
484:popularized the concept of a
428:relies heavily on melody and
787:Smits van Waesberghe, Joseph
537:Andante for string orchestra
177:, is a linear succession of
775:, Faber and Faber, London.
755:, 2nd ed., pp. 517–19.
753:Harvard Dictionary of Music
731:Marquis, G. Weston (1964).
497:and classical music of the
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828:. Oxford University Press.
606:
519:Eight Etudes and a Fantasy
39:
32:
25:
18:
1322:
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245:Johann Philipp Kirnberger
68:The Well-Tempered Clavier
817:Trippett, David (2013).
71:(Part I), an example of
40:Not to be confused with
28:Melodic (disambiguation)
710:Narveson, Paul (1984).
622:A Greek–English Lexicon
551:create the linear form.
262:The Norwegian composer
21:Melody (disambiguation)
857:Quotations related to
499:common practice period
426:Indian classical music
416:bridge or middle eight
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220:or the pitches or the
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638:Forte, Allen (1979).
613:Liddell, Henry George
547:, in which recurring
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432:, and not so much on
398:, and other forms of
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240:Function and elements
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1136:Developing variation
662:"Why melody matters"
523:Ruth Crawford-Seeger
310:was still used, the
226:conjunct or disjunct
1296:Thirty-two-bar form
1161:Formula composition
812:A History of Melody
761:Edwards, Arthur C.
573:—the motion of the
528:String Quartet 1931
493:While in both most
337:Pop Goes the Weasel
875:2021-04-28 at the
511:klangfarbenmelodie
503:contemporary music
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61:No. 17 in A-flat,
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1086:Ausmultiplikation
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541:György Ligeti
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1286:Ternary form
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1171:Introduction
1061:Musical form
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861:at Wikiquote
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577:up and down.
567:Parsons code
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474:counterpoint
472:, a type of
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360:Anton Webern
358:Melody from
297:20th century
294:
287:
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269:
266:has argued:
261:
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243:
203:
197:. A line or
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73:counterpoint
66:
46:
1266:Sonata form
1226:Post-chorus
1141:Development
1131:Cyclic form
1096:Binary form
1065:development
790: [
749:Apel, Willi
452:In western
447:heterophony
277:Marcus Paus
264:Marcus Paus
214:composition
191:tonal color
53:A bar from
1340:Categories
1306:Transition
1236:Repetition
1221:Pre-chorus
1151:Exposition
1121:Conclusion
667:Gramophone
642:, p. 203.
592:References
404:folk music
396:Rock music
377:Different
163:(melĹŤidĂa)
154:(from
65:862, from
55:J. S. Bach
1311:Variation
1176:Leitmotif
1076:Arch form
1009:Ululation
549:phonetics
545:Aventures
487:leitmotif
466:polyphony
458:composers
339:" melody
222:intervals
1206:Overture
1201:Ostinato
1196:Movement
1091:Bar form
1081:Argument
1005:(figure)
988:Sequence
973:Phrasing
956:Ornament
936:Interval
925:Balungan
873:Archived
810:(1965).
796:(1955).
556:See also
440:Balinese
327:Examples
290:patterns
274:—
255:—
247:argued:
1356:Harmony
1261:Section
1241:Reprise
968:Pattern
941:Melisma
931:Cadence
625:at the
607:μελῳδία
531:(later
443:gamelan
434:harmony
321:texture
301:Western
234:cadence
230:tension
206:phrases
161:μελῳδία
144:Voice 4
132:Voice 3
120:Voice 2
108:Voice 1
1346:Melody
1216:Phrase
1211:Period
1186:Melody
1156:Finale
1101:Bridge
998:Timbre
983:Rhythm
913:Melody
859:Melody
846:melody
779:
718:
697:
646:
562:Hocket
478:motifs
430:rhythm
420:lyrics
412:chorus
317:timbre
279:(2017)
210:motifs
187:rhythm
152:melody
1291:Theme
1256:Rondò
1251:Rondo
1191:Motif
1126:Cycle
1014:Voice
978:Pitch
961:Trill
951:Motif
794:]
575:pitch
470:fugue
462:theme
408:verse
304:music
183:pitch
171:voice
158:
156:Greek
85:beams
81:stems
77:staff
59:Fugue
1246:Riff
1181:Lick
1166:Hook
1146:Drop
1116:Coda
1111:Cell
1063:and
1003:Type
777:ISBN
773:Tune
716:ISBN
695:ISBN
644:ISBN
410:and
402:and
386:Jazz
252:end.
199:part
185:and
175:line
167:tune
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535:as
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63:BWV
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
