Melodic music is a term that covers various genres of non-classical music which are primarily characterised by the dominance of a single strong
melodyA melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
line.
RhythmRhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events.-Rhythm in linguistics:...
,
tempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. It is a crucial element of composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
and
beatThe beat is the basic time unit of music, the pulse of the mensural level, also known as the beat level. However, since the term is in popular use, it often connotes the tempo of a piece or a particular sequence of individual beats, the meter, rhythm or groove...
are subordinate to the melody line or
tuneTune can refer to:* A melody or tune-family* A tune , a short piece of instrumental music, usually with repeating sections, and often played a number of times.* British slang term, often said when referring to a piece of music that is enjoyed....
, which is generally easily memorable, and followed without great difficulty. Melodic music is found in all parts of the world, overlapping many genres, and may be performed by a singer or
orchestraAn orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra derives from the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, or a combination of the two.
The fundamental principles and structural norms of melodic music were established in what is sometimes known as the
Common practice periodThe common practice period, in the history of European art music , spanning the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, lasted from about 1600 until about 1900.-General characteristics:...
, dating from the 18th century to the early 20th century.
Melodic music is a term that covers various genres of non-classical music which are primarily characterised by the dominance of a single strong
melodyA melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
line.
RhythmRhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events.-Rhythm in linguistics:...
,
tempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. It is a crucial element of composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
and
beatThe beat is the basic time unit of music, the pulse of the mensural level, also known as the beat level. However, since the term is in popular use, it often connotes the tempo of a piece or a particular sequence of individual beats, the meter, rhythm or groove...
are subordinate to the melody line or
tuneTune can refer to:* A melody or tune-family* A tune , a short piece of instrumental music, usually with repeating sections, and often played a number of times.* British slang term, often said when referring to a piece of music that is enjoyed....
, which is generally easily memorable, and followed without great difficulty. Melodic music is found in all parts of the world, overlapping many genres, and may be performed by a singer or
orchestraAn orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra derives from the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, or a combination of the two.
The fundamental principles and structural norms of melodic music were established in what is sometimes known as the
Common practice periodThe common practice period, in the history of European art music , spanning the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods, lasted from about 1600 until about 1900.-General characteristics:...
, dating from the 18th century to the early 20th century. Melodic music tends to have a consistent metre,
pulseFor other uses, see Pulse The pulse is another name for the basic beat or tactus of any piece of music, which listeners typically entrain to as they tap their feet. The pulse may be implied or audible, but has a regular periodicity, ideally consisting of a series of identical yet distinct...
and
tempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. It is a crucial element of composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
, things that are far less emphasised in contemporary music.
In the west, melodic music has developed largely from folk song sources, and been heavily influenced by classical music in its development and
orchestrationOrchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...
. In many areas the border line between classical and melodic popular music is imprecise.
OperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
is generally considered to be a classical form. The lighter
operettaOperetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Operetta in French:...
is considered borderline, whilst stage and film musicals and musical comedy are firmly placed in the popular melodic category. The reasons for much of this are largely historical.
Other major categories of melodic music include
music hallMusic hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
and
vaudevilleVaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
, which, along with the ballad, grew out of European
folk musicThe term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...
. Orchestral dance music developed from localised forms such as the
jigThe Jig is a form of lively folk dance, as well as the accompanying dance tune, originating in England in the sixteenth century and today most associated with Irish dance music and Scottish country dance music...
,
polkaThe polka is a lively Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in the Czech lands and is still a common genre in Lithuanian, Czech, Croatian, Slovenian, Polish, German, Hungarian, Austrian,...
and
waltzThe waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
, but with the admixture of Latin American,
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and
ragtimeRagtime is an originally American musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged", rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being...
influences, it diversified into countless sub-genres such as
big bandA big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late 1940s. Big bands evolved with the times and continue to today. A big band typically consists of approximately 12 to 25 musicians and...
,
cabaretCabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue—a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance being introduced by a master of ceremonies, or MC.Cabaret...
and
SwingSwing music, also known as swing jazz or simply swing, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States...
. More specialised forms of melodic music include military music and
religious musicReligious music is music performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence.A lot of music has been composed to complement religion, and many composers have derived inspiration from their own religion. Many forms of traditional music have been adapted to fit religions'...
.
Traditional pop musicTraditional pop or Classic pop or Standards music denotes, in general, Western popular music that either wholly predates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, or to any popular music which exists concurrently to rock and roll but originated in a time before the appearance of rock and roll,...
overlaps a number of these categories: big band music and musical comedy, for example, are closely allied to traditional pop.
Examples of Melodic Composers
- Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
- Noel Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of Richmond upon Thames, London, Coward...
- Noel Gay
Noel Gay Willis born Reginald Moxon Armitage was one of the most successful British composers of popular music of the 1930s and 1940s....
- Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American writer, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song", and much of his work is part of the unofficial Great...
- Lionel Monckton
Lionel John Alexander Monckton was an English writer and composer of musical theatre. He was Britain's most popular musical theatre composer of the early years of the 20th century.-Early life:...
- Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a German-born French composer and cellist of the Romantic era and one of the originators of the operetta form...
- Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
- Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas...
- Arthur Sullivan
Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer, of Irish and Italian descent, best known for his operatic collaborations with librettist W. S. Gilbert, including such continually-popular works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado...