Prelude
The Art of Music


 

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Melody

Melody is probably the first element we hear as we listen to music, sometimes referred to as the tune. Melody combines pitch and duration, and its traditional role is the primary bearer of musical meaning. It is a coherent succession of pitches played or sung in a specific rhythm. A melody is not a random sequence of tones but, rather, a logical sequence of notes that completes a musical thought in much the same way that a sentence expresses a verbal thought. Listen to the following well-known melody.

       
 

Example of melody