music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...

, a step, or conjunct motion,Bonds, Mark Evan (2006). ''A History of Music in Western Culture'', p.123. 2nd ed. . is the difference in pitch between two consecutive notes of a musical scale. In other words, it is the interval between two consecutive scale degrees. Any larger interval is called a skip (also called a leap), or disjunct motion. In the

diatonic scale In music theory, a diatonic scale is any heptatonic scale that includes five whole steps (whole tones) and two half steps (semitones) in each octave, in which the two half steps are separated from each other by either two or three whole st ...

, a step is either a minor second (sometimes also called ''half step'') or a major second (sometimes also called ''whole step''), with all intervals of a minor third or larger being skips. For example, C to D (major second) is a step, whereas C to E ( major third) is a skip. More generally, a step is a smaller or narrower interval in a musical line, and a skip is a wider or larger interval with the categorization of intervals into steps and skips is determined by the tuning system and the pitch space used. Melodic motion in which the interval between any two consecutive pitches is no more than a step, or, less strictly, where skips are rare, is called ''stepwise'' or ''conjunct'' melodic motion, as opposed to ''skipwise'' or ''disjunct'' melodic motion, characterized by frequent skips.

Half steps

In the major scale or any of its modes, a step will always be a movement of 1 or 2 semitones, and a skip a movement of 3 or more semitones. In other scales an augmented second—an incomposite step equivalent to 3 semitones—and/or a diminished third—a skip of 2 semitones—may be possible.

Melody

Melody A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combina ...

may be characterized by its degree and type of conjunct and disjunct motion. For example,

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

plainchant melodies are generally characterized by conjunct motion with occasional thirds, fourths, and generally ascending fifths while larger intervals are quite rare though octave leaps may occur between two separate phrases.

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

melodies are generally characterized by conjunct motion, with only occasional leaps of more than a fifth and then rarely anything but a sixth or octave. In contrast, melody in the 20th century varied greatly including the diatonic idiom of the 18th century ( Classical), the variety of idioms from the 19th century (

Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

), and newer nondiatonic scales in the 20th century.Bonds (2006), p.540. Some of these later idioms included many or predominantly leaps.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steps And Skips Intervals (music) Melody

Half steps

Melody

See also

References