melody

melody terms for gcse music exam

conjunct

notes move by step

arpeggio/broken chord

playing the chords one by one ascending or descending

low pitch

a low sound

high pitch

a high sound

repetition

a melody is repeated

contrast

one melody is a different shape from another

octave

distance between 8 consecutive notes

tone (major 2nd)

distance between next door notes in a major scale (C to D)

semitone

the distance between half a tone (eg C to C#)

range

the distance between the highest and lowest notes in the music

sequence

a short musical idea is immediately repeated at a higher or lower pitch

imitation

a phrase is repeated (maybe by a different part)

chromatic movement

notes consecutively up or down in semi tones

pentatonic

5 note scale

blue notes

notes that are flattened in a. scale to make it sound bluesy

question and answer phrases

an initial phrase/idea is balanced by a second idea

fanfare

a short musical flourish usually played by brass instruments

mode

A type of scale, originating from ancient times. This tonality may be found in church music, folk music, blues and jazz.

ancrusis

a lead in or introduction

disjunction

lots of leaps between notes

scalic

notes follow the order of a scale, one after another

leitmotif

A short recurring melodic phrase throughout a piece of music, associated with a particular person or object.

motif

a short melodic idea that has special importance in the music

ornamentation

decoration of a melody with ‘fancy twiddles’ eg trills and turns

countermelody

another melody played at the same time as the main melody