melisma

music

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June 23, 2026

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Melisma is a musical technique where a single syllable of text is sung with multiple notes. This is often referred to as melodic embellishment or a cadenza. It is a characteristic of certain styles of plainsong, where a single syllable can be set to several notes. While the term itself is rooted in Greek for "song" or "melody," its application in music involves elaborating on a single vowel sound with a sequence of notes. This contrasts with syllabic singing, where each syllable gets one note.12

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clausula
…based on the Gregorian chant melisma (several notes to a syllable), which in the organa of the Notre-Dame school alternated with sections featuring coloratura-like passages in relatively free rhythm above a slower-moving cantus firmus.
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…based on the Gregorian chant melisma (several notes to a syllable), which in the organa of the Notre-Dame school alternated with sections featuring coloratura-like passages in relatively free rhythm above a slower-moving cantus firmus.
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musical composition
Development of composition in the Middle Ages
…corresponds to one note; “melismatic” refers to a phrase or composition employing several distinct pitches for the vocalization of a single syllable. Late medieval composers made clever use of these distinctions, including an intermediate “neumatic” style (Greek pneuma, “breath”) to create ever more extensive polyphonic pieces. By the 12th…
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…corresponds to one note; “melismatic” refers to a phrase or composition employing several distinct pitches for the vocalization of a single syllable. Late medieval composers made clever use of these distinctions, including an intermediate “neumatic” style (Greek pneuma, “breath”) to create ever more extensive polyphonic pieces. By the 12th…
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blues
Form
…use vocal techniques such as melisma (sustaining a single syllable across several pitches), rhythmic techniques such as syncopation, and instrumental techniques such as “choking” or bending guitar strings on the neck or applying a metal slide or bottleneck to the guitar strings to create a whining voicelike sound.
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…use vocal techniques such as melisma (sustaining a single syllable across several pitches), rhythmic techniques such as syncopation, and instrumental techniques such as “choking” or bending guitar strings on the neck or applying a metal slide or bottleneck to the guitar strings to create a whining voicelike sound.
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