# Parsons code

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Notation used to identify a piece of music

Parsons Code of [Ode to Joy](/source/Ode_to_Joy)

* R U U R D D D D R U U R D R

      *-*
     /   \
    *     *
   /       \
*-*         *         *-*
             \       /   \
              *     *     *-*
               \   /
                *-*

Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can [download the audio file](https://upload.wikimedia.org/score/f/t/ftyllein0ih05ypeevwvuxkratybut8/ftyllein.mp3).

The **Parsons code**, formally named the **Parsons code for melodic contours**, is a simple notation method used to identify a piece of music through [melodic motion](/source/Melodic_motion) – movements of the [pitch](/source/Pitch_(music)) up, down or static.[1][2]

## The code

The first note of a melody is denoted with an [asterisk](/source/Asterisk) (*), although some Parsons code users omit the first note. All succeeding notes are denoted with one of three letters to indicate the relationship of its pitch to the previous note:

- * = first tone as reference,

- u = "up", for when the note is higher than the previous note,

- d = "down", for when the note is lower than the previous note,

- r = "repeat", for when the note has the same pitch as the previous note.

## Directory of Tunes and Musical Themes

Denys Parsons (father of [Alan Parsons](/source/Alan_Parsons)[3]) developed the system for his 1975 book *The Directory of Tunes and Musical Themes*. Representing a melody in this manner makes it easier to index or search for pieces, particularly when the notes' values are unknown. Parsons covered around 15,000 classical, popular and folk pieces in his dictionary. In the process he found out that *UU is the most popular opening contour, used in 23% of all the themes, something that applies to all the genres.[4]

An earlier, alternative method of classifying and indexing melody was devised by [Harold Barlow](/source/Harold_Barlow_(songwriter)) and Sam Morgenstern in *[A Dictionary of Musical Themes](/source/A_Dictionary_of_Musical_Themes)* (1950).[5]

The *Directory of Tunes and Musical Themes* was also published in Germany in 2002 and reissued by [Piatkus](/source/Piatkus) in 2008 as the *Directory of Classical Themes*.[6]

### Editions

- Parsons, Denys (1975). *The Directory of Tunes and Musical Themes*. S. Brown. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-904747-00-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-904747-00-X).

- Parsons, Denys (2002). *The Directory of Tunes and Musical Themes*. Bohmeier. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-89094-370-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3-89094-370-5).

- Parsons, Denys (2008). [*The Directory of Classical Themes*](https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/denys-parsons/the-directory-of-classical-themes/9780749951788/). Piatkus. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7499-5178-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7499-5178-8).

## Examples

[Twinkle Twinkle Little Star](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Twinkle_Twinkle_Little_Star_plain.ogg)

Tune for *Twinkle Twinkle Little Star*

*Problems playing this file? See [media help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Media).*

- "[Twinkle Twinkle Little Star](/source/Twinkle_Twinkle_Little_Star)": *rururddrdrdrdurdrdrdurdrdrddrururddrdrdrd

- "[Silent Night](/source/Silent_Night_(song))": *udduuddurdurdurudddudduruddduddurudduuddduddd

- "[Aura Lea](/source/Aura_Lea)" ("[Love Me Tender](/source/Love_Me_Tender_(song))"): *uduududdduu

- "[White Christmas](/source/White_Christmas_(song))": *udduuuu

- First verse in [Madonna](/source/Madonna_(entertainer))'s "[Like a Virgin](/source/Like_a_Virgin_(song))": *rrurddrdrrurdudurrrrddrduuddrdu

## See also

- [A Dictionary of Musical Themes](/source/A_Dictionary_of_Musical_Themes)

- [List of music software](/source/List_of_music_software)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The Parsons Code for Melodic Contours"](https://web.archive.org/web/20050522000653/http://www.musipedia.org/pcnop.0.html). *Musipedia*. Archived from [the original](http://www.musipedia.org/pcnop.0.html) on 2005-05-22. Retrieved 2005-05-08.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Cai, Yang (9 January 2017). [*Instinctive Computing*](https://books.google.com/books?id=2-PeDQAAQBAJ&dq=Instinctive+Computing+Parsons+code&pg=PA177). Springer London. p. 177. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781447172789](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781447172789).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Alan Parsons biography"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190918093350/http://alanparsons.com/artists-posts/alanparsons/). *Alanparsons.com*. Archived from [the original](http://alanparsons.com/artists-posts/alanparsons/) on 18 September 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Uitdenbogerd, Alexandra L.; Yap, Yaw Wah (January 2003). [*Was Parsons right? An experiment in usability of music*](http://ismir2003.ismir.net/papers/Uitdenbogerd.pdf) (PDF). ISMIR 2003. Johns Hopkins University.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Abbott, John (11 June 2014). ["A Dictionary of Musical Themes: Morgenstern and Barlow (1950)"](https://atuneadayblogdotcom.wordpress.com/2014/06/11/a-dictionary-of-musical-themes-morgenstern-and-barlow-1950/). *A Tune a Day*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Parsons 2008](#CITEREFParsons2008)

## External links

- [Themefinder](http://www.themefinder.org) allows searching musical themes by Parsons Code (called "Gross Contour" on the search page).

- ["Musipedia (The Open Music Encyclopedia)" uses Parsons code for encoding songs in their database](http://www.musipedia.org/about.html)

- [FolkTuneFinder.com](http://www.folktunefinder.com/) uses Parsons code (amongst other methods) to search a database of folk tunes.

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