Two Musical Ideas: Melody and Harmony

Hum or sing 'Happy Birthday' quietly to yourself. You just sang the tune — the part everyone recognises. Now imagine someone else singing a different set of notes at the same time, making the song sound richer and fuller. How do you think those two parts are different? Think about it for a moment before reading on.

Music is made up of many different building blocks. Two of the most important are melody and harmony. A melody is the main tune of a piece of music. It is a series of single notes played one after another, in order. When you hum a song, you are humming the melody. It is the part you can sing along to and remember easily. Think of the melody as the 'star' of the music — it carries the main idea. Harmony is what happens when extra notes are added underneath or alongside the melody. These extra notes are played or sung at the same time as the melody. Together, the melody and those extra notes create a richer, fuller sound. Harmony is like a team of supporters making the star shine even brighter. Here is a simple way to picture it. Imagine a rainbow. The brightest stripe on top is the melody — the one your eye follows. The other stripes underneath it are the harmony — they support the top stripe and make the whole rainbow beautiful. Melody and harmony often work together in music. A singer might carry the melody while a guitar or piano plays chords underneath. A chord is when two or more notes are played at the same time — chords are one of the main ways harmony is created. If there is only one note at a time, with no other notes added, there is melody but no harmony. When extra notes are stacked on at the same time, harmony appears.