Melodic contour represents a higher-level organization of the elements of pitch and time, and manipulation of materials at Page 4 the level of contour can indicate shifts of meaning. Taking the rhythmic contour [ . . .

Melodic contour is the direction of tones ascending and descending in a melody without regard to the rhythm of the actual notes. The general contour of the line is an important aspect of melody.

The Shape or Contour of a Melody One can picture a line that goes up steeply when the melody suddenly jumps to a much higher note, or that goes down slowly when the melody gently falls. Such a line gives the contour or shape of the melodic line.

Contour refers to the sequence of motions between notes of a melody. In other words, contour is a measurement of how a melody moves between individual notes. All melodies have contour and it’s one of the properties that’s most useful for identifying and cataloguing melodies.

It is also true that human listeners can tolerate inaccuracies in tuning and even pitch, and still recognize a melody, because the way by which we recognize melodies is strongly tied to recognizing melodic contours. Contour also plays a part in how we emotionally respond to music.

Melodic contour, or the pattern of rises and falls in pitch, is a critical component of melodic structure, and has an important impact on listeners’ perceptions of, and memory for, music.

A melody that rises or falls gradually with only small changes in pitch between notes is called conjunct motion. When the notes are only a semitone or a tone away from one another, it is moving in step-wise or scalar motion.

In a conjunct melodic motion, the melodic phrase moves in a stepwise fashion; that is the subsequent notes move up or down a semitone or tone, but no greater. In a disjunct melodic motion, the melodic phrase leaps upwards or downwards; this movement is greater than a whole tone.

Explanation. An arpeggio is a group of notes played one after the other, up or down in pitch.

Different-pointing stems indicate the voice for polyphonic music written on the same staff. Within one voice, the stems usually point down for notes on the middle line or higher, and up for those below. For example, a note with diagonal slashes through its stem is played tremolo.

Sudden Changes – Sforzando A sudden Sforzando appears indicated by the notation og sf, or sfz after a continuing part, played softly (piano) in the beginning of the piece. Sforzando means you have to play a strong, sudden accent.

Sforzando (sfz) – a sudden, forced loud. Usually the appreviation is used to show dynamics in a piece of music. Below you can see how mezzo forte has been abbreviated to mf. Two additional terms are used to describe changing dynamics.

Dynamic markings. The two basic dynamic indications in music are: p or piano, meaning “quiet”. f or forte, meaning “loud or strong”.

Musical Dynamics indicate the loudness of music. We use the Italian terms piano and forte to indicate soft and loud. Mezzo-piano (mp) is moderately soft and mezzo-forte (mf) is moderately loud. More than one p or f indicates a softer or louder dynamic, such as pp or fff.

soft

Fortissimo: very loud. f. Forte: loud. mf. Mezzo forte: fairly loud.

Legato is a musical performance technique that produces fluid, continuous motion between notes. Legato notes are often slurred; that is, a group of notes is played together in one down-bow or up-bow.

In music, duration is an amount of time or how long or short a note, phrase, section, or composition lasts.

Semibreve

4 counts

Half notes are empty circles or an open head with a stem attached to the side. The duration of a half note is 2 beats.

The quarter note is the third note; it looks like a filled-in half note, with the same stem attached. You hold it for one full count, which is a quarter of a whole note.

Reading Music : Note Value