Hobbies Playing Music The Musical Definition of Melody Share PINTEREST Email Print Hero Images / Getty Images Playing Music Playing Piano Tutorials Piano Chords Buying Advice Music Education Playing Guitar Home Recording By Brandy Kraemer Updated September 26, 2018 Melody is the main tune of a song; the outcome of a series of notes. Melody is regarded as “horizontal” because its notes are read from left-to-right, while harmony is “vertical” because the notes are played simultaneously (and therefore must be written vertically in notation). The complexity of a song is observed in its texture. Musical texture can be simple or elaborate - and everything in between - and melody fits into this concept in the following ways: Monophonic: A single line of melody with no harmony. Biphonic: Two different, simultaneous melodies (though some overlap of notes may create harmonies). Heterophonic: A slightly elaborated melody with one or two voices and some intervals. Harmony is sprinkled throughout. Homophonic: A single line of melody with harmony in the form of chords. Polyphonic: A composition with many voices and harmonies. Many melodies may appear throughout the composition. Also Known As: melodia (It) mélodie (Fr) Melodie (Ger) Pronunciation: mell'-oh-dee; mell'-ə-dee