Home > Melodic music

The fundamental principles and structural norms of melodic music were established in what is sometimes known as the Common practice period, dating from the 18th century to the early 20th century. Melodic music tends to have a consistent metre, pulse and tempo, things that are far less emphasised in contemporary music.

In the west, melodic music has developed largely from folk song sources, and been heavily influenced by classical music in its development and orchestration. In many areas the border line between classical and melodic popular music is imprecise. Opera is generally considered to be a classical form. The lighter operetta is considered borderline, whilst stage and film musicals and musical comedy are firmly placed in the popular melodic category. The reasons for much of this are largely historical.

Other major categories of melodic music include music hall and vaudevilleVaudeville is a style of theater, also known as variety which flourished in North America from the 1880s through the 1920s. Its popularity rose in step with the rise of industry and the growth of North American cities during this period, and declined with, which, along with the ballad, grew out of European folk musicFolk music in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. Folk music arose, and best survives, in societies not yet affected by mass communication and the commercialization of culture. It normally was shared and performed by the entire. Orchestral dance music developed from localised forms such as the jigThis article is about the folk dance jig, for other meanings, see Jig (disambiguation). The jig (sometimes seen in its French language or Italian language forms gigue or giga is a folk dance type as well as the accompanying dance tune type, popular in Ire, polkaPolka is a type of dance and genre of dance music; it originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia, and is still a common genre of Czech folk music; it is also common both in Europe and in the Americas. In classical music, many polkas were comp and waltzThe waltz is a dance in 3/4 time, done primarily in closed position, the commonest basic figure of which is a full turn in two measures using three steps per measure. It first became fashionable in Vienna in about the 1780s, then spread to many other coun, but with the admixture of latin american, negro blues and ragtime influences, it diversified into countless sub-genres such as big band, cabaret and Swing. More specialised forms of melodic music include military music and religious music.