Skip to content
    Music GCSE

    Melody

    What Melody means in Music GCSE, as defined for Pearson Edexcel.

    Definitions of Melody

    Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.

    Check what you remember

    Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain Melody in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.

    Reference: Pearson Edexcel

    A succession of single sounds, most frequently an individual strand or part within a fuller musical texture, and usually tuneful or otherwise prominent or memorable.
    Pearson Edexcel · Appendix 3: Musical vocabulary - Organisation of pitch
    Notes that move one note after another, distinguished from a chord, which requires simultaneous sounding.
    Pearson Edexcel · Appendix 3: Musical vocabulary - Organisation of pitch
    The tune carrying the words, which the words are distinguished from.
    Pearson Edexcel · Appendix 3: Musical vocabulary - Dynamics and performance matters
    The tune, which is distinct from the words sung to it.
    Pearson Edexcel · Appendix 3: Musical vocabulary - Dynamics and performance matters

    Topics that use Melody

    Related terms

    Using Melody in the exam

    Check the command word and mark scheme for your exact question. After comparing your explanation with the reference, use the term in an answer on the linked topic. This practice does not predict an exam mark.

    Practise Music questions

    Create a free account to answer exam-style questions on this topic and get feedback on your answers.

    Start free

    A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge

    All Music GCSE terms