Music & Audio Engineering

Melody

Generally for modern styles of music, melodies follow the chord progression.

In Practical Terms

Generally, melodies:

Use chord tones on chord changes

Use repeated / recursive structures

Example chord progression:

C | Em | Dm | G

A simple melody could be:

Notes E | G | F | D
(from chord tones)

Melody overlaid with chord progression:

C | Em | Dm | G

Add more notes and rhythms to the line for more interest.

Melodies use repeated / recursive structures. Repetition is either verbatim, or repeated at different pitches, or repeated with other variation. Example:

*First line from "What a Wonderful World"*

Within this line are patterns that are repeated at different pitches, and the entire line itself is also repeated:

Musical structures are often recursive / nested / fractal-like.

More Info

Many styles of melodies exist, but generally they work on the wider principles of tension followed by resolution, and repeated structures.

Tension can be created by:

Using non-chord tones
Using notes outside of the key
Increasing pitch
Rhythmic syncopation

Tension can be resolved by:

Resolving to chord tones
Resolving to notes within the key
Decreasing pitch
Resolving syncopation (landing on a strong beat)

Repetition can be found at every scale (i.e., when you zoom in / zoom out) in music, from the smallest rhythmic / melodic unit to entire sections of the music.