Whenever I read about theory, I notice a lot of talk about melody or harmony. Now, I'm not very musically enriched, so I don't know the exact defintion of what these are. I always figured harmony had mostly to do with multiple notes playing and sounding good (like chords and what not), and melody had more to do with a lead over that.
Anyway, I was just hoping someone could clear up what these two things are, as I think it will make my learning a bit easier.
Though a little crude your impression is correct.
There is alot of info here at guitarnoise in the lesson sections that will aid you in your harmonic/melodic education maybe you should take a look.
The best way to think about melody and harmony is this:
Melody is the psycology of music.
Harmony is the sociology of music.
Without melody I dont beleive there would be the oppourtunity for a harmony. Harmony is a construction of melodic notes working in unison. They generally follow a certain guideline scalewise as to what notes are effective together. To learn what notes work together you can look at two aspects of music.
1. Western chord construction, which is the process of taking a major scale and stacking thirds (every other note) to create harmony. For example a C chord is C-E-G or every other note of the C major scale,
C-D-E-F-G....
Harmony does not necesarilly involve this process nor does it need to follow any rules, which brings me to the other aspect of harmony...
2. Learn from whats been done. Take a look at a song and what chords are being played behind a melody. Although it seems tedious, this is the only true method to discovering just how melody and harmony work together.
Generally in standard musical notation, the "melody" is shown in standard notation form, with the "harmony" (which chords) are played in the background. Often time melody and harmony will replicate one another or complete one another. Depending on the musicians (composers) tastes.
In short Melody is consists of single strings of notes.
Harmony is a combination of notes working in unison.
Kido.
Harmony is the interaction between a bunch of notes. They can be played at the same time, as in a chord, and connected because they are simultaneous, or they could be spaced out, as in an arpeggio, connected through the listener's memory and what they expect of the notes to come. The important part is that they are connected in some way and, combined, form a structure. Technically, the structure could be random -- the notes would still interact harmonically -- but it usually isn't. The melody is the tune of the song, or the lead, if you prefer. It also has a harmonic structure, and interacts harmonically with whatever it's played over, but it goes it's own way more than the other notes which exist only to create harmony.
Basically, any group of notes creates some sort of harmony, and the melody does its own thing, although it's usually related to the other notes in some way.
melody is one note at a time.. vertical music
harmony is many notes at a time.. horizontal music
Kido,
I think you should have started your post with the last two lines.
"In short Melody ... consists of single strings of notes.
Harmony is a combination of notes working in unison. "
As a matter of fact, that was all you needed.
That is a much better way to think of it than:
"Melody is the psycology of music.
Harmony is the sociology of music"
Huh????
I'll have to think about that one. Sounds like something I might have come up with in the early 70's while staring at black light posters.
Care to expand the analogy?
i think he means melody is psychology because you are looking and isolating a person, and studying them, (just like you would notes in a melody, because there is only one at a time)
wheras sociology looks at how people act around each other and in environments so just like harmony you are looking at more than one note (like in chords) and how they act (sound) together in that place (key)
is that what you meant kiddo?
i think he means melody is psychology because you are looking and isolating a person, and studying them, (just like you would notes in a melody, because there is only one at a time)
wheras sociology looks at how people act around each other and in environments so just like harmony you are looking at more than one note (like in chords) and how they act (sound) together in that place (key)
is that what you meant kiddo?
Thank god im not the (drug addicted?) moron he was implying me to be.
Psychology= Singular
Sociology = Plural
That was close, I was beginning to question my identity. . . . I generally dont type just for the sake of typing, but we all sometimes fall prey to indulgence, sorry to have wasted your time with my lack of clarity Nick.
Thanks for the pick me up Alex!
Kido
Hey Kido, I wasn't implying anything of the sort.
It was just an odd way of looking at it. Especially when explaining to someone who asks for you to clear things up! :wink:
...and hey, sometimes odd is good.
There is a rule I have in my songwriting articles, "Do not confuse profound with vague" or vice versa. It doesn't really apply here because you did have a valid analogy. But, when you are writing in the forum instead of speaking every bit of clarity helps.
All right, go odd!
And I kinda miss those posters.
Well we all shine on--like the moon and the stars and the sun.
-- John Lennon
