533y: Melody

533y: Melody

Description

Melody is a succession of musical tones which have pitch and duration (RHYTHM). Melody is the horizontal element of MUSICAL TEXTURE, whereas harmony is the vertical element. The pitches of a melody can be mapped according to the shape of the motion of a melody.

About melody contour

Contour

The characteristic (motion) shape of a melody within a musical composition. Possible shapes of a melody include the following:

Context for this page:

Ocm module: Melody
In ocm module:
In ocm module: Music
In modular book: Expanded ethnomusicology categories for the Outline of Cultural Materials, by Kenneth R. Hollingsworth
In bookshelf: Anthropology

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 3.5, published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 1999. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 17 March 1999