| ambient |
of music, characterized by sound and pattern rather than distinct notes of melody or rhythmic structure. [1/3 definitions] |
| aria |
a melody or song. [1/2 definitions] |
| auld lang syne |
(cap.) a Scottish song traditionally sung at midnight on New Year's Eve in many English-speaking countries. The contemporary melody is also popular in many other countries but may be sung on different occasions and with different lyrics. [1/2 definitions] |
| bagpipe |
(often pl.) a musical instrument, played esp. in Scotland, consisting of a double-reed melody pipe and one or more drone pipes that protrude from a flexible leather bag that is inflated through a blowpipe by the breath or by bellows. The pipes are traditionally made of wood. |
| boogie-woogie |
strongly rhythmic piano jazz in which the melody is accompanied throughout by a repeated bass pattern that uses chiefly eighth notes. |
| bop1 |
a form of jazz music having complex rhythms and harmonies which overlay and frequently obscure the melody. |
| cantus firmus |
an established melody to which other elements are added in a polyphonic composition. |
| chant |
in religious services, a prayer or reading from a holy book sung to a simple melody with many syllables on each pitch. [1/7 definitions] |
| descant |
a secondary, usu. higher, melody that is played or sung at the same time as the chief melody. [1/4 definitions] |
| grace note |
a note in music that is essential neither to the harmony nor the melody but rather is added for ornamentation. |
| harmony |
a sequence of notes in a piece of music that accompany and enhance the melody. [1/4 definitions] |
| melodic |
of, pertaining to, or characterized by melody; melodious. |
| melodious |
of, characterized by, or containing a pleasing melody. [2 definitions] |
| modal |
in jazz and popular music, of or pertaining to a composition that is based on the use of one or two major or minor chords, rather than on a series of chords established by a melody. [1/5 definitions] |
| music |
sound that has rhythm, melody, or harmony, usu. produced by voice or instrument. [1/5 definitions] |
| national anthem |
an official song or composed melody that expresses a nation's pride in itself. |
| ornament |
a musical note or group of notes added to a melody in order to embellish it. [1/5 definitions] |
| plainsong |
an unaccompanied monophonic chant or melody, such as that used in Hindu and early Christian liturgies. [1/2 definitions] |
| ragtime |
a late nineteenth and early twentieth-century American musical form, having a syncopated melody and an accompaniment in two-four time, usu. written for the piano. |
| refrain2 |
the music accompanying this repeated section, or any repeated melody. [1/2 definitions] |
| theme |
a main melody on which a musical composition is based. [1/3 definitions] |