Melody

Conjunct

movement by step between adjacent notes

Disjunct

movement by leap skipping notes in between

Sequence

repetition of a musical phrase at a higher or lower pitch

Repetition

reiteration of a musical idea or motif

Imitation

repetition of a melody in another instrument or voice

Contrast

difference in musical elements to create variety

Chordal

harmony created by chords played together

Intervals (e.g. tritone)

the distance between two notes

Fragmented

breaking a melody into smaller parts

Portamento

smooth sliding between two notes

Ornamentation

decorative notes like trills or mordents added to melodies

Phrasing

grouping notes into musical sentences

Passing notes

notes connecting chord tones within a melody

Auxiliary notes

non-chord tones adjacent to main notes in a melody

Essential/Unessential notes

essential notes belong to the harmony

Augmentation

lengthening note values in a melody

Diminution

shortening note values in a melody

Episodic work

sections of music that contrast the main theme

Idée Fixe/Leitmotif/Motto theme

a recurring theme representing a character or idea

Thematic transformation

altering a theme's in style, rhythm, or harmony while retaining its core identity.

Phasing

layering two similar melodies gradually going out of sync

Diatonic and chromatic intervals (up to an octave)

diatonic intervals use notes within a scale

Arpeggios/Broken chords

notes of a chord played in sequence rather than together

Scalic

music that follows a scale pattern

Chromatic movement

progressing by semitones

Pentatonic

melody built on a five-note scale

Blues notes

flattened third

Guide tones

crucial notes in jazz. 3rds 7ths defining the chord's quality and guiding voice leading in chord progressions.

Chromatic

using notes outside the scale through accidentals

Whole tone

melodies or scales where each step is a whole tone apart

Modal

music based on modes rather than scales

12-tone

composition using all twelve semitones equally

Klangfarbenmelodie

melody split across different instruments for varied timbre

Octatonic

scale alternating whole and half steps

Range

the span of pitches an instrument or voice can play

Syllabic

one note per syllable in vocal music

Melismatic

multiple notes per syllable in vocal music

Riffs

repeated patterns in popular music genres

Licks

short melodic phrases often improvised in solos

Enharmonic

notes that sound the same but are written differently