# Melodic pattern

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{{See also|Prosody (linguistics)}}
thumb|Simple melodic pattern. {{audio|Four note ascending melodic pattern.mid|Play}}
thumb|Melodic sequence on the lines "Send her victorious," and "Happy and glorious," from "God Save the Queen" {{audio|God Save the King melodic sequence.mid|Play}}

In [music](/source/music) and [jazz improvisation](/source/jazz_improvisation), a '''melodic pattern''' (or '''motive''') is a cell or germ serving as the basis for [repetitive](/source/repetition_(music)) [pattern](/source/pattern). It is a figure that can be used with any [scale](/source/scale_(music)). It is used primarily for [solos](/source/solo_(music)) because, when practiced enough, it can be extremely useful when [improvising](/source/musical_improvisation). "Sequence" refers to the repetition of a part at a higher or lower pitch,<ref>Berg, Shelly (2005). ''Alfred's Essentials of Jazz Theory'', p.83. Alfred Music. {{ISBN|9780739030899}}. "Melodic sequence is the repetition of an idea transposed by some interval."</ref><ref>Briggs (2011). ''The Language and Materials of Music'', p.202. Third Edition. Highland Heritage. {{ISBN|9781257996148}}. "Melodic sequences are patterns that repeat at different pitches."</ref><ref>Randel, Don Michael; ed. (2003). ''The Harvard Dictionary of Music'', p.768. Harvard. {{ISBN|9780674011632}}. "Sequence: The repetition of a phrase of melody (melodic sequence)...at different pitch levels, the succession of pitch levels rising or falling by the same or similar succession of intervals."</ref><ref>Giffe, William Thomas (1906). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=3e0sAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22melodic+sequence%22&pg=PA107 A Practical Course in Harmony and Musical Composition]'', p.107. T. Presser. {{pre-ISBN}} "A melodic sequence may consist of a melodic design, or phrase, repeated in a symmetrical manner."</ref> and melodic sequence is differentiated from [harmonic sequence](/source/sequence_(music)). One example of melodic motive and sequence are the pitches of the first line, "Send her victorious," repeated, a step lower, in the second line, "Happy and glorious," from "[God Save the Queen](/source/God_Save_the_Queen)".

thumb|center|400px|Melodic pattern in C major.<ref>Berle, Arnie (1997). ''Mel Bay Encyclopedia of Scales, Modes and Melodic Patterns'', p.9. {{ISBN|0-7866-1791-8}}.</ref>

"A melodic pattern is just what the name implies: a melody with some sort of fixed pattern to it."<ref>Greene, Ted (1985). ''Ted Greene -- Jazz Guitar Single Note Soloing'', p.42. Alfred Music. {{ISBN|9780739053843}}.</ref> "The strong [theme](/source/subject_(music)) or [motive](/source/motif_(music)) is stated. It is repeated more or less exactly, but at a different pitch level."<ref>Haerle, Dan (1993). ''Jazz Improvisation for Keyyboard Players'', p.2-7. Alfred. {{ISBN|9781457493874}}.</ref>

==See also==
*[Color (isorhythm)](/source/Isorhythm)
*[Imitation (music)](/source/Imitation_(music))
*[Melody type](/source/Melody_type)
*[Lick (music)](/source/Lick_(music))
*[Phrase (music)](/source/Phrase_(music))

==References==
{{reflist|25em}}

==Further reading==
*Hanon, C.L. (2000) ''The Virtuoso Pianist''. {{ISBN|9781569221440}}. Cited in Baerman, Noah (2003). ''Big Book of Jazz Piano Improvisation'', p.&nbsp;33. {{ISBN|9780739031711}}.
*[Lateef, Yusef](/source/Yusef_Lateef) (1981). ''Repository of Scales and Melodic Patterns''. Fana Music. Cited in Baerman (2003), p.&nbsp;33.
*[Slonimsky, Nicolas](/source/Nicolas_Slonimsky) (2000). ''Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns''. {{ISBN|9780825672408}}. Cited in Baerman (2003), p.&nbsp;33.

{{Jazz theory}}
{{Melody}}

Category:Melody
Category:Repetition (music)

{{music-theory-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Melodic pattern](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodic_pattern) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodic_pattern?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.