What does melisma mean wrt to melody (?).
It’s a singing technique where one syllable is sung while moving between various notes. Think of typical soul / R&B / gospel singers or certain African or Middle Eastern musical traditions.
3 Likes
I’m not understanding it. Sorry.
It’s such a common thing, that it seems weird to have a name. But in past times it was not so common.
The opposite of melisma is this: each syllable of the lyrics is given one, and only one, melody note.
When you stretch out a syllable over more than 1 note, that is melisma. Sam Cooke’s “Whoa…” is a flashy example:
Cooke was known for his melisma.
7 Likes
Think of this style of singing
4 Likes
Got it!
Melisma is when you sing multiple notes on a single syllable of a word—it’s that smooth, flowing style you hear in gospel, R&B, and a lot of classical music. Think of how Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston glide through a bunch of notes on one word—that’s melisma in action! It adds expressiveness and can make a melody feel more emotional or intricate.
1 Like
I’m showing my age now, but let us not forget that quite a few country music artists were well known for using melisma. A little more subtle here, but two famous (infamous?) ones were George Jones and Tammy Wynette.
1 Like
I like the way Sam Cooke executes it but I feel Whitney overdoes it with this song.
1 Like
Thank you for the explanation, I didn’t know this word! And I do love Whitney!
1 Like
Gregorian chant is also heavily based on melismatic singing. A not-at-all canonical example: