melisma
Americannoun
noun
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Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of melisma
First recorded in 1605–15, melisma is from the Greek word mélisma “song, tune”; see melody, -ism
Explanation
Melisma is a musical term used to describe the technique of singing a single text syllable — like "love" — while moving between several different notes in succession. Melisma, often referred to as "riffing," is a common technique in rhythm and blues. You'll hear it in other types of music, too, including pop, opera, and gospel music. Melisma is often used to showcase a singer's agility and range, or to add flair to a song. You'll sometimes hear singers using melisma on words like "brave" and "free" when singing the U.S. national anthem. The opposite of melisma is syllabic singing, where each syllable of a word gets just one note — think "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He asked permission to try it out in front of the London audience, before drifting into a wordless, intimate melisma.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2024
As an example, he cites her vocal melisma on the flamenco track, “Bulerías” — “nobody else in pop can touch that,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2022
The arresting opening sounds a high note with a long falling melisma on the syllable “la” and a very sparse bass line.
From New York Times ● Dec. 20, 2019
Beyoncé’s proficiencies include the art of publicity, and her messaging is as precise as her melisma.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 18, 2019
The closing words of each Psalm are chanted more 171 slowly and impressively, a long "triad" being substituted for the "melisma," sung piano.
From Letters of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy from Italy and Switzerland by Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix
For LeRoy, this idea resonates with the concept of melismas, or a group of notes sung at one syllable that often express a feeling without words, that is also often used in gospel music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2022
“We started sending each other mixes,” he said, explaining how snippets of Rosalía’s vocal melismas made their way into his 2021 trap-bolero, “Aquel Nap ZzZz.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 17, 2021
Fantasia doesn’t stint on the high-flying melismas that made her an “American Idol” winner on “Christmas After Midnight,” a set of largely familiar Christmas songs with arrangements leaning toward small-group jazz.
From New York Times ● Nov. 29, 2017
Pérotin writes extravagant melismas on single vowels, which function like the luxuriously illuminated capitals of medieval manuscripts, lending majesty to the text and celebrating the artistry of the setting.
From New York Times ● Jan. 6, 2016
Her voice held exhortations, gospel growls, flamboyant melismas, fast hip-hop articulation and melting romance.
From New York Times ● Sep. 27, 2015
On her debut EP, “Finding Foundations, Vol. 1,” Ms. McFerrin shows wonderful vocal dexterity, deftly swerving from sharp, clearly enunciated staccato bursts to fluttery, free-form melismata.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2017
If the repetitions and melismata of his English-text setting owes much to Britte, the level of dissonance in his more static accompaniments is much higher.
From The Guardian ● May 17, 2012
This orchestral treatment was well adapted to music full of cadenzas, vocalises, and melismata of all kinds, and in which tutti were the exception.
From An Autobiography by Stravinsky, Igor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
