Melody is the dimension of music that organizes sound sequentially — the horizontal line that the ear follows through time. It is the most immediately recognizable element of music: what we hum, what we remember, what carries the singer’s voice or the soloist’s story. A melody implies both rhythm (its temporal shape) and harmony (the chords it suggests), making it the thread that weaves the other dimensions together.
Topics
This section is growing. Future topics may include:
- Melodic contour and shape
- Scales and modes
- Phrasing and breath
- Ornamentation and embellishment
- Motif, theme, and development
- Call and response
- Melodic improvisation
Related
- Music Theory — Parent topic
- Rhythm — Temporal dimension
- Harmony — Vertical dimension