What is a melody?
A melody is a line of single notes played or sung one after another, so that we hear them as one tune. It is the part you hum after a song ends.
Every melody joins two things:
- Pitch: how high or low each note is.
- Rhythm: how long each note lasts and when it starts.
Change either one and you change the melody. The same pitches with a different rhythm can sound like a new tune.
Contour, steps and leaps
Contour
Draw a line through the notes on paper and you see the melody's contour (shape). It can rise (ascending), fall (descending), make an arch (up then down), a valley (down then up), or a wave. The highest note is often the emotional peak, called the climax.
Steps and leaps
Moving to the next note of the scale is a step (conjunct motion). Jumping over notes is a leap (disjunct motion). Mostly-step tunes feel smooth and are easy to sing. Leaps add energy. Good melodies often follow a big leap with steps in the other direction.
Range
The distance from the lowest to the highest note is the range. A children's song may span only five or six notes; an opera aria can span two octaves.
Intervals and scales
An interval is the distance between two pitches. We count it by letter names, including both ends: C to D is a 2nd, C to E a 3rd, C to G a 5th, C to the next C an octave (8th). Small intervals (2nds) are steps; 3rds and larger are leaps.
A scale is the ordered set of notes a melody uses. The major scale (sa re ga ma pa dha ni in Indian sargam) sounds bright; the minor scale often sounds darker. The pentatonic scale has five notes and is found in folk music all over the world, from China to Scotland to West Africa. The first note of the scale is the tonic or home note; melodies usually feel finished when they land there.
Phrases and periods
Melodies are made of phrases, like sentences in speech. A phrase is often 4 bars long and ends with a small pause, called a cadence (a musical comma or full stop).
- A question (antecedent) phrase ends on an unfinished note, not the tonic. It makes you want more.
- An answer (consequent) phrase often starts the same way but ends on the tonic. It feels complete.
A question phrase plus an answer phrase make a period. Many folk songs, hymns and pop choruses are built from periods.
Varying a melody and what it expresses
Composers build long pieces from short ideas. A short memorable idea is a motif. Ways to develop it:
- Repetition: say it again so we remember it.
- Sequence: repeat it starting on a higher or lower note.
- Rhythmic change: same notes, new long/short pattern (augmentation = slower, diminution = faster).
- Inversion: upward moves go down and downward moves go up.
- Ornamentation: add decorating notes (trills, grace notes, Indian meend and gamak).
- Change of mode: play a major tune in minor.
How melody expresses feeling
Rising lines feel hopeful or excited; falling lines feel calm, tired or sad. Smooth steps feel gentle; wide leaps feel bold or joyful. Fast short notes feel lively; long notes feel solemn. Listen and ask: where is the climax, and how does the tune get home?
Key formulas and definitions
- Melody = pitch + rhythm
- Contour: rising, falling, arch, valley, wave
- Step = next note (2nd); leap = 3rd or more
- Interval: count letter names including both ends
- Question phrase + answer phrase = period
- Variations: repetition, sequence, rhythm change, inversion, ornament, mode change
Worked examples
1. A tune goes C D E F G F E D C. Describe its contour and motion.
It rises step by step to G, then falls back to C: an arch contour, all conjunct (steps).
2. Name the interval from C up to G.
Count C(1) D(2) E(3) F(4) G(5): a 5th. It is a leap.
3. The motif E-D-C is moved to G-F-E. What variation is this?
The same shape starting two notes higher: a sequence.
4. Phrase 1 ends on D, phrase 2 ends on C (the tonic) in C major. Which is the answer phrase?
Phrase 2, because it ends on the tonic and sounds finished. Together they form a period.
Common mistakes
- Thinking melody and rhythm are separate things. Every melody has its own rhythm; change it and the tune changes.
- Counting intervals without including both notes. C to E is a 3rd, not a 2nd.
- Thinking a sequence is the same as repetition. A sequence repeats the idea at a different pitch.
- Thinking every phrase must end on the tonic. Question phrases deliberately end elsewhere.