Definition of: melody

(mel′ə·dē) noun plural ·dies
1. Pleasing sounds or an agreeable succession of such sounds.
2. Musical sounds or quality, as in the words of a poem.
3. A poem written or suitable for being set to music.
4. Music a A succession of simple tones, usually in the same key, constituting, in combination, a rhythmic whole: distinguished as a formal element from harmony and rhythm. b The chief part or voice in a harmonic composition; the air. [<OF melodie <LL melodia <Gk. melōidia choral song <melōidos melodious <melos song + aoidos singer] Synonyms: harmony, music, symphony, unison. Harmony is simultaneous; melody is successive; harmony is the correspondence of two or more notes sounded at once, melody the succession of a number of notes continuously following one another. A melody may be wholly in one part; harmony must be of two or more parts. Accordant notes of different pitch sounded simultaneously produce harmony; unison is the simultaneous sounding of two or more notes of the same pitch. Tones sounded at the interval of an octave are also said to be in unison, but this is not literally exact. Music may denote the simplest melody or the most complex and perfect harmony. A symphony (apart from its technical orchestral sense) is any pleasing consonance of musical sounds, vocal or instrumental. Compare METER², SONG, TUNE. Antonyms: discord, dissonance.