Questions tagged [melody]

A succession of notes which comprise the principal part in harmonized music.

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melody analysis according to chord or structural tones?

I have come across two ways of studying melody. First way is with structural tones(melodic outline) and second way is with chords(chord/none-chord tones). I assume considering melodic outline is only ...
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Can step-away structural tones have Neighbor tones?

As far as I understand, Neighbor tones(Upper and Lower tones) can only occur between repetition of structural tones as in the picture below. but another picture suggests that between structure tones ...
Sean's user avatar
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What is it called when the same melody is played at different speeds by voices with different timbre?

I'm imagining this situation: A melody is played by a voice (by a "voice" I mean an instrument or an actual human voice). The same melody or a very similar melody is played by another voice,...
Flowy Poosh's user avatar
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What makes a melody the “main melody” of a song?

A melody cannot exist with just one note, it requires 2 which implies that more change could be the biggest factor in making a melody the center of a composition. I am essentially making the ...
Emotion's user avatar
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How Are The Four Bars Here Sequenced Down A Step?

I see first instance of the melody, and then the second one instance descending. But I'm not sure what the text means by sequencing down across 4 bars since the melody isn't descending across 4 bars.
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What is the name of this music instrument? [closed]

I want to know which instrument is it for the music of raymans especially this at the beggining, this who do the main melody ... a violin ? A midi synth in a computer ...
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Is there a term for having a sequence of notes that then change key while modulating?

Here's an example of what I mean. It is a melody that is transposed down 1 whole tone every 4 measures. I am wondering if there is a term for this transposing of a melody in music?
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Can there be no melody in some Scandinavian folk music?

I have a set of basic questions regarding melody and I’m not formally trained in music but I want to expand my knowledge on this and other subjects in music. Please advise if any of my terminology can ...
Steve's user avatar
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Is this a melody or harmony?

I was playing four 9th chords in a 4/4 time signature. All whole notes. Then I shortened some of of the notes of each chord by a quarter or half note by playing them late. For example, in a Cmaj9 ...
MusicQuestions7's user avatar
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D major with no C tone

I just played the melody of the famous German Epiphany song "Stern über Bethlehem" and thought it was g major. When I googled the melody, I saw it written in d major. I was confused but then ...
J Fabian Meier's user avatar
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In Organum and Species Counterpoint why is one of the voices always in whole notes?

Edit: It was pointed out to me that counterpoint spawned from the Organum style of music. For more context, here’s information from two sources I just read. “Two styles of Organum existed during this ...
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In the musical texture “monody”, can the underlying harmony be provided with a single voice?

According to these wiki pages (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monody https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophony), in Monody, ”one solo voice sings a melodic part, usually with considerable ornamentation, ...
Lecifer's user avatar
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What is the proper way to write an accompaniment part without using instruments? (Vocals Only) [closed]

I really want to be able to write songs without the need of using an instrument. At first I was thinking it was as simple as starting with a drone in order to keep the lead voice in tune, but a great ...
Lecifer's user avatar
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How do I add another composition [closed]

For my music class, we had to make a minor melody and a major melody. For the final project, we have to put these together in ABA format, so either major-minor-major or minor-major-minor. In ...
Matthew's user avatar
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Can two songs share the same melodic notes but still have distinct melodies?

This may sound like quite an obvious question. Admittedly my knowledge of music theory is limited. I'm essentially wondering if two songs can use the exact same notes while still having original ...
Ben's user avatar
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What would using only one Solmization(Solfège) syllable to sing the lyrics to a song be called?

For example, if one were to sing la or al (or other 1 consonant and 1 syllable combinations) to replace every morpheme of the words in a song. Is there a name for that idea, or is the closest thing ...
Lecifer's user avatar
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Did Rimsky-Korsaskov really quote Beethoven?

It is well-known that "Russian Five" (Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov) sought to compose purely Russian music and worked to avoid sounding "Western." I ...
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Does melody come from root progressions?

I’ve noticed that in a melody certain notes stand out and it’s always the root of the current chord or arpeggio. (also, are arpeggios only descending/ascending or can they be in a random order?) In ...
Lecifer's user avatar
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Why are these two songs nearly identical for 20 whole seconds? Could there be a theoretical explanation?

Disclaimer: this question is not about copyright. I am trying to understand why the voice melodies of the two songs are so similar. I thought the chord progression could be classical, and that there ...
Lorenzo Pompili's user avatar
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What is the music theory term for the study of the role and rhythm of each voice in multi voice compositions?

I’m looking for the for the study of the role and rhythm of each voice in multi voice composing. For example “lead part/voice/melody or supporting part/voice/melody”. By rhythms what I mean is the ...
Lecifer's user avatar
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Why does Schoenberg think of "'semi-contrapuntal treatment' of the accompaniment" as a way of adapting a motive's melody to changes in its harmony?

Schoenberg says that the melody of a motive may be adapted to changes in the harmony "[b]y transposition," "[b]y addition of passing harmonies," or "[b]y 'semi-contrapuntal' ...
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Identifying a (psalm?) tune from its notes

I recently discovered four lines of numbers painted on the inside wall of a church bell tower in Wales, and I'm trying to interpret them. From the style of the writing, degree of decay and location, ...
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Why does this melody tend to be in the key of F Major rather than in the key of C Major

When composing, I generally start with C Major to be simple, but very often, I can hear that in the melody another key is suggested. Here is such an example : The melody starts by leaping to the VI ...
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Is there a technical term for when a song has two melodies which are combined in the final section? [duplicate]

I’m thinking of songs which have a melody in the first section, a different one in the second, and then both are played together in the final section. is there a technical term of this?
Kehit565's user avatar
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advice on Linus and Lucy, (Bridge PART)

I am currently working on the Vince Guaraldi song, Linus and Lucy; Am having trouble figuring out the bridge of the song, not really sure where to start on it. Any advice
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Bob Marley - Could You Be Loved - why single note outside mode?

In Bob Marley's song "Could You Be Loved" popcorn picking is used which is a percussive sounding rhythm guitar technique. The song is in B minor key and uses these cords: Bmi, D, Emi, F#mi, ...
azerbajdzan's user avatar
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1 answer
232 views

Is there a name for the technique of alternating left and right hand in piano?

There is a technique in piano in which one plays a melody by alternating the left and right hand. A well known example is in Bach's toccata and fugue in D minor, in the toccata part (right after the ...
MakKa's user avatar
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What is the best method to sing in a range where we are not comfortable?

to sing over an instrumental which has very high notes and I have a baritone voice, how do I do it? I naturally sing an octave lower https://vocaroo.com/1dU1HsGbiZrX I force in fasletto https://voca....
MatR's user avatar
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Is there a word in English to describe instances where a melody is sung by multiple singers/voices?

I'm talking mostly in popular music / rock / etc. One prominent example of what I'm referring to is the start of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody (pretty much up to the "I'm just a poor boy ... "; ...
Cal-linux's user avatar
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3 answers
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Why does this song sound sad even though it is uptempo-ish and in a major key?

"Rag Tag Army" by John Edmond The song is uptempo-ish, and in C major without any mode mixture from C minor. There are A minor and E minor chords in it, yet none of them even end a phrase, ...
The Camp that Rolls's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
114 views

Vocal Deviation?

Okay so this could be really simple but i don't know much music theory so it's difficult to search for... I want to know what it's called when a melody deviates from the regular melody in music. You ...
Pierce's user avatar
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How do I harmonize over a passing chord (chromatic)

How do I harmonize a melody over a passing chord? Especially if the passing chord has notes not found in the key of the song. Should I sing the passing chord tones, and harmonize with other tones ...
Matt's user avatar
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What's it called when the Melody and Harmony are half a measure out-of-sync?

As an example in caveman speak, the melody goes ONE-2-3-4-ONE-2-3-4, and the harmony goes 1-2-THREE-4,1-2-THREE-4. I'm not sure this is actually an example of what I'm talking about, but in the intro ...
chausies's user avatar
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How should this passage be analyzed?

From a previous exam. Possible answers were D maj, G maj, d min or a min. I think it’s a minor: if D or G then the F needs to be sharp and if it’s d the B would need to be flat. I think the c# is ...
Ryan's user avatar
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How do singers find the first note of the melody?

I find myself hitting the first note of the melody correctly when my singing teacher starts playing the song's chords on the piano, but I have no idea how I did it or how I found the first note. How ...
Sarah's user avatar
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3 answers
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How can I improvise singing a melody over a chord progression? [closed]

Do I sing the pitches I hear within the chord progression, or there is another way to do it? What if I want to sing notes that are not in the chord progression how do I sing them?
Sarah's user avatar
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1 answer
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Why was Mozart so good at writing melodies?

I don't mean this in a "hurr durr IQ hurr durr GENIOUS" way. Do we know if Mozart specifically studied folk songs, lieder etc. over learning fugues and counterpoint?
Ethan Miller's user avatar
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2 answers
129 views

How come scales that differ in their ascent and descent tend to use raised notes going up and lowered notes going down regardless of musical culture?

A great variety of scales across the world differ in the way they go up and down. Some examples that come to mind are the Melodic minor that has A and B natural going up but Bb and Ab going down. A ...
Michael Seltenreich's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
120 views

What makes the melody so counterintuitive in the chorus/refrain of Light my Fire? [closed]

In the song light my fire by the doors, the refrain of the chorus repeats: “c’mon baby, light my fire” The last 3-4 syllables have something interesting going on in the variations that come with each ...
TylerDurden's user avatar
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1 answer
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What options do I have to utilize all my created riffs to their full potential?

Playing guitar, I tend to create a whole bunch of different riffs that flow one after the other in the same key. They all sound really good together but then I wonder how I could turn them into a song....
Kman Haze's user avatar
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2 answers
938 views

What do you call it when two different melodies are combined? [duplicate]

Say that Alice has a theme song with a certain melody. Also, Bob has his own theme with a certain melody. But during a scene where Alice and Bob are together, both melodies are played together at once ...
chausies's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Question on the definition of a dissonant passing/neighbor tone?

I am currently trying to teach myself counterpoint following Jacob Gran's videos. When I was analyzing my exercises today, I thought of this question. If the first two notes of a dissonant neighbor(or ...
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3 answers
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Time signature vs. Melody [duplicate]

I have a very difficult time understanding the relevance of time signature in music. Does a musician think in terms of time signature when composing a piece, or thinks in terms of melody? When I play ...
doubleE's user avatar
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7 votes
3 answers
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What do you call it when someone sings a melody and simultaneously plays the exact same melody?

What do you call it when someone sings a melody while another instrument plays the exact same melody in unison? For example: "Crosstown Traffic" – The Jimi Hendrix Experience, intro: a ...
R u c k s a c k's user avatar
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3 answers
1k views

What is it called when the main melody is playing in a different time signature from the harmony?

For example, in the Phantasy Star Online Intro song, the main melody starts to play in 3/4 time, whereas the overall song (and the harmony) remains playing in 4/4 time. (starts after 10 seconds, at ...
chausies's user avatar
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5 votes
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How can I find a reference pitch when I practice singing a song by ear?

If I listened to a song for enough time, memorized the melody and the vocals of the original singer removed and now I am left with just the accompaniments playing in the background and I am going to ...
Sarah's user avatar
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6 votes
3 answers
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Learning to sing a song: sheet music vs. by ear

Every time I want to learn to sing a new song, I get sheet music of the song and practice playing the melody on the piano before practicing singing it to match the pitch from the piano, memorize the ...
Sarah's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
800 views

Do I need to know every note I am going to sing?

If I am learning to sing a song do I need to know what notes and chords are in the song to find my reference pitch for the first note I am going to sing or singing the first note happens unconsciously ...
Sarah's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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Having a hard time writing a midi melody in my DAW [closed]

I have a problem. I am writing a midi melody in a part of a song in Reaper. I'm having a hard time writing it because several notes sound out of beat and I have no reference (bar lines) so, being a ...
Hevi's user avatar
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4 votes
3 answers
613 views

Can a diatonic melody in one key sound like it is in another key?

Here is a simple melody I composed in C# minor but while listening to it closely, the part notated in red seems to me like the music has actually moved across to G# minor. Is it weird to say this ...
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