melisma

American  

[mi-liz-muh] / mɪˈlɪz mə /

noun

Music.

• melismas,
  plural
• melismata
  plural

1. an ornamental phrase of several notes sung to one syllable of text, as in plainsong or blues singing.

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melisma British  

/ mɪˈlɪzmə /

noun

1. music an expressive vocal phrase or passage consisting of several notes sung to one syllable

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• melismatic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• melismas
  plural
• melismata
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of melisma

First recorded in 1605–15, melisma is from the Greek word mélisma “song, tune”; see melody, -ism

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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

See Examples For:

melisma melismas melismata

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

Her singing too strikes a throwback note, with less of the almost-rapping she was doing in songs like the trappy “7 Rings” and more of the fluid R&B melisma she inherited from Mariah Carey.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2020

But, even beyond Simone’s lyrics, her integrative technique itself—her use of gospel piano, blues melisma, classical riffs—refutes myths of black deprivation.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 12, 2019

Her use of melisma was impeccably tasteful — always just enough, never too much.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 16, 2018

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 Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

After filming in July, he went into the studio with Hadyn to work on the score, collecting trilling melismas from musical artists Moses Sumney, Diana Gordon and Nadiah Adu-Gyamfi.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2022

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

She can belt and she can tease; she can aim a note as directly as a missile or turn its trajectory into an aerobatic spiral of leaping, quivering, scalloping melismas.

From New York Times ● Jun. 13, 2018

She floated lines with grace and deftly dispatched little embellishments and melismas.

From New York Times ● Apr. 29, 2016

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

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 Igor Stravinsky

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