Melody: what does this concept mean?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

It's no secret that absolutely all people listen to music. One way or another, listeners single out the main line in the composition, which is harmoniously perceived by ear. Most often it is called a melody. What is it in terms of classical interpretations and modern musical canons? We'll find out now.

Melody: what is it?

In general, the concept of melody dates back to the time of the ancient Greeks. If you look at what a melody is, the definition by their standards was interpreted as the “chant” or “chant” of an epic work on stage or in a staged performance. Indeed, in most cases this concept is associated precisely with the main line of writing or staging a piece of music (then it was called melodia).

However, taking into account modern interpretations, the melody cannot be defined as a purely vocal part, since even instrumental music involves the use of one or more solo instruments.

Music is a harmonious combination of sounds that is pleasing to the ear. This is where the melody comes in. Whatit is, it is not difficult to understand, if you approach the issue even at the level of perception of the impact of sounds on a person. Agree, because our hearing perceives only those sounds that do not cause discomfort and anxiety. In this respect, the main melody is a sequential set of sounds that builds up in a certain key.

Of course, disharmonious and dissonant sequences are very difficult to call a melody, especially considering the vocal parts performed by the growl technique, which are mandatory in styles like Death Metal or Black Metal.

What is melody and accompaniment?

If we approach the issue of distinguishing between melody and accompaniment, here we should note the fact that, on the one hand, when performing a particular work, we are dealing with the main theme, sometimes called the leitmotif, and on the other hand, the accompanying musical design that emphasizes it. Note that the accompaniment never plays a major role in a piece of music. As it is already clear, this is just an additional instrument that emphasizes the main idea (melody, motive, etc.). And there can be as many options for processing the initial theme as you like.

In most cases, you do not need to resort to the help of modern synthesizers, which are able to create an arrangement in any style. The point here is the main motive that runs through the entire composition.

The concept of melody in terms of early classical music

Allmusic, including classical music, implies that the main melodic line is always present.

True, earlier, for example, in piano pieces, it was believed that it was possible to understand what a melody in music is only from parts played by the right and left hands. The absolute standard was the performance of the main line with the right hand, and the accompanying line with the left. But this is not dogma.

One or more melodic lines?

The fact is that some composers have tried to use the same or several variations on a given theme in scores for both hands. As it is already clear, the party for the right hand was dominant.

But Johann Sebastian Bach, who wrote thousands of works for piano and organ, when creating the same sarabande, shifted melodies alternately for performance with both the right and left hands. Moreover, in his musical compositions for the piano one can often find the performance of two melodies by different hands simultaneously. Firstly, it gave a certain flavor to the piece of music itself, and, secondly, it developed the playing technique. Agree, not every musician will be able to play two melodies on the piano at the same time, because the fingers are dependent in terms of coordination on our brain.

Instead of afterword

In general, we have considered the concept of "melody". What it is and how it is interpreted in practice, I think, is already clear. In general, one should not confuse the understanding of melody and motive - thistwo completely different things. But from the point of view of the harmonic effect on a person's hearing, such a sequence seems quite interesting. Moreover, if we proceed from the melodiousness of any music, then it should not cause stress (although this does happen). Quite often, such aspects can be associated not only with too heavy manifestations of the same modern metal. The same “soviet pop” can cause no less irritation. Here the point is only that the melody as such is too primitive, and the lyrics do not match at all.

The same can be applied to many other modern songs. Sometimes it is the musical melody that comes out on top, replacing the semantic load. However, if you look at instrumental music, you can also find a melody here, although it is almost absent in modern jazz compositions. And it is not surprising, because jazz from the very beginning is a constant improvisation, and not the performance of a pre-written piece.