Melody - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia2/7/15 7:54 AM Melody From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, melōidía, "singing, chanting"),[1] also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term can include successions of other musical elements such as tonal color. It may be considered 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 bar from J. S. Bach's Fugue No. 17 in A-flat, BWV 862, from The WellTempered Clavier (Part I), an example of counterpoint. Play The two voices (melodies) on each staff can be distinguished by the direction of the beams. Voice 4 , Voice 3 , Voice 2 , Voice 1 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 end. —Johann Philipp Kirnberger (1771)[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melody Page 1 of 7 at all structural levels" and "recurrence of durations and patterns of durations".wikipedia. recurring "events.Wikipedia. the free encyclopedia 2/7/15 7:54 AM Contents 1 Elements 2 Examples 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links Elements Given the many and varied elements and styles of melody "many extant explanations [of melody] confine us to specific stylistic models." While the diatonic scale was still used. often periodic."[3] Paul Narveson claimed in 1984 that more than threequarters of melodic topics had not been explored thoroughly.Melody . featured "fixed and easily discernible frequency patterns". and popular music throughout the 20th century. the chromatic scale became "widely employed.[3] Melodies in the 20th century "utilized a greater variety of pitch resources than ha[d] been the custom in any other historical period of Western music. Kliewer states.[4] The melodies existing in most European music written before the 20th century. and they are too exclusive. "The essential elements of http://en.org/wiki/Melody Page 2 of 7 ."[3] Composers also allotted a structural role to "the qualitative dimensions" that previously had been "almost exclusively reserved for pitch and rhythm". and other forms of popular music and folk music tend to pick one or two melodies (verse and chorus) and stick with them. and quality (timbre). Indian classical music relies heavily on melody and rhythm. For example: Jazz "Pop Goes the Weasel" melody Play Melody from Anton Webern's Variations for orchestra. the free encyclopedia 2/7/15 7:54 AM reserved for pitch and rhythm". 30 (pp. as the music contains no chord changes.org/wiki/Melody Page 3 of 7 . called heterophony. Rock music. melodic music. "The essential elements of any melody are duration. and loudness. which is used as a starting point for improvisation. [3] Though the same melody may be recognizable when played with a wide variety of timbres and dynamics. Op.wikipedia. much variety may occur in the phrasing and lyrics. http://en.Melody . 23–24)[5] Play musicians use the term "lead" or "head" to refer to the main melody. Balinese gamelan music often uses complicated variations and alterations of a single melody played simultaneously. Kliewer states. the latter may still be an "element of linear ordering" [3] Examples Different musical styles use melody in different ways. texture.Wikipedia. pitch. and not so much on harmony. In western classical music. Examples include musique concrète.wikipedia. in which recurring phonetics create the linear form. called polyphony. klangfarbenmelodie. or theme. composers often introduce an initial melody.org/wiki/Melody Page 4 of 7 . melodies are constructed from motifs or short melodic fragments.Melody .Wikipedia. such as those in a fugue. such as the opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. While in both most popular music and classical music of the common practice period pitch and duration are of primary importance in melodies. Classical music often has several melodic layers. Elliott Carter's Eight Etudes and a Fantasy (which contains a movement with only one note). the third movement of Ruth Crawford-Seeger's String Quartet 1931 (later re-orchestrated as Andante for string orchestra). a simple notation used to identify a piece of music http://en. which creates the melody from an unchanging set of pitches through "dissonant dynamics" alone. often primary. a type of counterpoint. See also Appropriation (music) Hocket Parsons code. the contemporary music of the 20th and 21st centuries pitch and duration have lessened in importance and quality has gained importance. and György Ligeti's Aventures. the free encyclopedia 2/7/15 7:54 AM heterophony. person or place. Often. and then create variations. Richard Wagner popularized the concept of a leitmotif: a motif or melody associated with a certain idea. org/wiki/Melody Page 5 of 7 . ^ Marquis. ^ Henry George Liddell. 3. 203. ISBN 0-13-0493465. ^ Forte. ^ Narveson. Arthur C. Willi.0057%3Aentry%3Dmelw%7Cdi%2Fa)". p. Imogen (1962/2008).wikipedia. Wittlich. Vernon (1975). pp. xix–xxx. Harvard Dictionary of Music. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Englewood Cliffs. 5. the free encyclopedia 2/7/15 7:54 AM through melodic motion—the motion of the pitch up and down.edu/hopper/text? doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999. A Textbook of Melody: A course in functional melodic analysis. A Greek–English Lexicon (Perseus project). "μελῳδ-ία (http://www.Wikipedia. Inglewood Cliffs. Holst.04. 517–19.Melody . "Melody: Linear Aspects of TwentiethCentury Music". Joseph (nl) (1955). Allen (1979). Prentice-Hall.). Paul (1984). Tune. Tonal Harmony in Concept & Practice. G. New Jersey. ISBN 0-8191-3834-7. Robert Scott. London. p. 2nd ed. The Art of Melody.perseus. 270–301. 2.. 4. Melodia. Gary (ed. ^ a b c d e Kliewer.tufts. Theory of Melody. Further reading Apel. Smits van Waesberghe. ISBN 0571-24198-0. p. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-03-020756-8.. Sequence (music) Unified field References 1. Weston (1964). Edwards. 2. p. Inc. American Institute of http://en. Twentieth Century Music Idioms. Aspects of Twentieth-Century Music. htm) Creating and orchestrating a coherent and balanced melody (http://www. American Institute of Musicology. Cambridge University Press.wikipedia. Bence (1965).php/59076Lesson-8-Melody-amp-Orchestration) Retrieved from "http://en. Wikiquote Carry A Tune Week. David (2013).org/w/index. Trippett. Szabolcsi.americanmusicpreservation.php? title=Melody&oldid=641819466" Categories: Musical texture Harmony Melody Polyphonic form Formal sections in music analysis This page was last modified on 10 January 2015. http://en.org/wiki/Melody Page 6 of 7 . London.wikipedia. at 02:48.northernsounds.Melody . Wagner's Melodies.Wikipedia.com/forum/showthread. External links The dictionary definition of melody at Wiktionary Quotations related to Melody at Wikimedia Commons has media related to Melody. list of tunes (http://www. A History Of Melody. the free encyclopedia 2/7/15 7:54 AM course in functional melodic analysis. Barrie and Rockliff.com/carryatuneweek. Inc. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation. a non-profit organization.Melody . the free encyclopedia 2/7/15 7:54 AM Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Wikipedia. By using this site. http://en. additional terms may apply.org/wiki/Melody Page 7 of 7 .wikipedia..