1. Written Script for Audio Lecture
Conjunct vs. Disjunct
In music, as stated in the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Music, motion “denotes the course upwards or
downwards of a melody or melodies. In the shaping of a single part, progress of one note to an adjacent
note by step is called conjunct motion and progress to some other note by leap is called disjunct
motion”.
Conjunct Motion-smoothly connected small intervals that connect by step to adjacent notes. You can
think of a smoothly flowing stream or a smooth path through a park. Both of these images bring an
image to mind that are similar in the flow of a conjunct melody. A scale that moves up and down by
step is considered to be conjunct. The children’s song Row Row Row Your Boat begins with 8 conjunct
beats. Up until you hear the word “Merrily” all of the notes have been connected.
Disjunct Motion-notes that leap or skip from one to another. Melodic movement that is disconnected,
angular, or scattered is considered disjunct. The Star Spangled Banner is an example of a disjunct
melody. The notes skip and go up and down with leaps and skips.
Melodies can also move horizontally with an even smooth motion. Ancient Gregorian chants were very
horizontal in design with few pitches and conjunct motion.
Vertical melodic movement means that the pitches ascend, climb and continually rise. One such song is
Do-Re-Mi from the Sound of Music.
Melodies have shapes much as highways do. They wind around, cut a straight swath or meander around
in their journeys. Melodious melodies may have periods of conjunct sound when the notes are beside
each other step-wise and then other sections when the notes move by skips and leaps.
The distance between the highest and lowest note in a melody is called the range. Composers need to
know the vocalists or the instruments range when writing a melody. It is also helpful to know the range
of a piece of music when a musician is considering finding a piece of music to perform. The range in a
melody can be compared to the range of valleys to plains or mountains to prairies.
Instruments used to perform music contribute to the overall sound color of the melody. For instance, a
flute has a soft, mellow tone color (timbre) and is often selected to play consonant and conjunct music.
It could however be used to play melodies with wide intervals and disjunct patterns. A classical guitar is
considered a mellow and consonant instrument more so than a jazz saxophone or trumpet although it is
possible for both of those instruments to perform consonant sounding melodies with conjunct motion.
A singer performing experimental electronic music by Milton Babbitt is more likely to be performing
disjunct and dissonant sounding music while the same singer may be capable of sing consonant baroque
selections by Handel.
Please view the Prezi by Josh Hill to further enhance your understanding of conjunct and disjunct motion
in melodies.