About Melody & Harmony
Melody is a sequence of pitches heard as a musical line. Harmony describes notes sounding together or interacting across time. Different musical traditions use different tuning systems, scales, and ideas about consonance.
Pitch
Pitch is how high or low a sound seems.
Learn MoreNotes
Musical notation gives names and symbols to selected pitches.
Learn MoreScales
A scale is an ordered set of pitches.
Learn MoreMelody
Melody combines pitch with rhythm.
Learn MoreChords
Chords are groups of notes heard together.
Learn MoreKeys
A key establishes a tonal center and a set of relationships.
Learn MoreTension and Release
Harmony often creates expectation and resolution.
Learn MoreDifferent Systems
Harmony is not universal in one form.
Learn MorePitch
It relates mainly to vibration frequency, though musical perception is more complex than frequency alone.
Notes
Western notation uses letter names and staff positions, while other cultures use different systems.
Scales
Major and minor scales are common in Western music, but pentatonic, modal, raga, maqam, and many other systems organize pitch differently.
Melody
Repeated motives, steps, leaps, contour, and phrasing help listeners recognize a tune.
Chords
Triads and seventh chords are common in many Western styles, but harmony can be organized in many other ways.
Keys
Music can move between keys through modulation.
Tension and Release
Composers can delay or avoid resolution to create surprise or emotion.
Different Systems
Some musical traditions emphasize melody, rhythm, timbre, drones, or layered lines more than chord progressions.