Melisma in music - so-called jewelry. The signs of the Melismas refer to the signs of the abbreviated musical note, and the task of using these very ornaments is to colorize the main pattern of the melody played.
Initially, the melodies arose in singing. In European culture there once existed, and in some Eastern cultures a melismatic style of singing still preserved — singing with a large number of chants of individual syllables of the text.
Melisms played a large role in the old opera music, in that area they included various types of vocal ornamentation: for example, roulades and coloratura, which singers and singers with great pleasure embraced their virtuoso arias. From about the same time, that is, from the 17th century, decorations began to be used rather widely in instrumental music.
What are the types of melismas?
These melodic figures are usually performed at the expense of the time of the sound of the previous notes, or at the expense of those notes that are decorated with melism. That is why the duration of such a turn is usually not taken into account in the duration of a measure.
The main types of melismas are: trill; groupeto; long and short forshlag; mordent.
Each of the types of melodies in music has its own established and previously known rules for performance, and its own sign in the system of musical symbols.
What is a trill?
A trill is a quick repetitive alternation of two small duration sounds. One of the trill sounds, usually the bottom, is assigned to the main, and the second to the sub. The sign denoting a trill, as a rule, with a slight continuation in the form of a wavy line, is placed above the main sound.
The duration of the performance of the trill is always equal to the duration of the note chosen by the main sound of melism. If the trill needs to be started with an auxiliary sound, then it is designated by a small note coming before the main one.
Devilish trills ...
Regarding the trills, there is a beautiful poetic comparison of them with the singing of the pieces, which, however, can be attributed to the rest of the melism. but only with the observance of the corresponding imagery - for example, in musical works about nature. Simply, there are other trills - evil, evil, for example.
How to perform gruppetto?
The adornment of "gruppetto" consists in a fairly quick execution of a sequence of notes, which is the chording of the main sound by the upper and lower auxiliary ones. The distance between the main and auxiliary sounds is usually equal to the second interval (that is, these are adjacent sounds or adjacent keys).
Gruppetto is usually denoted by a curl that resembles the sign of mathematical infinity. These curls are of two types: starting from the top and starting from the bottom. In the first case, the musician must begin the performance from the top auxiliary sound, and in the second (when the curl begins at the bottom) - from the bottom.
In addition, the duration of the sound of Melism also depends on the location of the sign that designates it. If it is located above a note, then the melism should be performed all the time of its duration, but if it stands between the notes, then its duration is equal to the second half of the sound of the specified note.
Short and long Forschlag
This melism is one or several sounds that stand directly in front of the sound being decorated. A vorchlag happens to be either “short” or “long” (it is also often called “long”).
At times, a short forshlag (and even more often it is this way) can consist of only one sound, which in this case is indicated by a small eighth note with crossed out calm. In the case of the presence of several notes in a short format, they are designated as small sixteenths and do not cross out anything.
A long or long forshlag is always formed with the help of one sound and enters into the duration of the main sound (as if sharing with it one time for two). Usually indicated by a small note with a duration of half as long as the main note, and with uncrossed calm.
Mordant crossed out and non-crossed
A mordent is formed from the interesting crushing of a note, as a result of which the note crumbles into three sounds. They are the two main and one auxiliary (the one that penetrates and, in fact, crushes) sounds.
Auxiliary sound is the upper or lower adjacent sound, which is set in a range, sometimes for greater sharpness, the distance between the main and auxiliary sound is compressed to a semitone with the help of additional sharps and flat sounds.
Which auxiliary sound to play - upper or lower - can be understood by the way the symbol of the mordent is depicted. If it is not crossed out, then the auxiliary sound should be a second higher, and if, on the contrary, crossed out, then lower.
Melisms in music are a great way to give melodies lightness, a kind of capriciousness of character, stylistic coloring under the old music, without using changes in the rhythmic pattern (at least in the musical notation).
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