Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun music a secondary or supplemental melody played simultaneously with the primary melody.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

counter- +‎ melody

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Examples

  • Anyhow, this is how it was pretty much written, but I started pondering on whether it was really building the way I wanted it to, and ended up trying out some fancy malarkey with verse lyrics for Puck to sing in countermelody to the Regulars verses.

    Archive 2009-10-01 Hal Duncan 2009

  • Anyhow, this is how it was pretty much written, but I started pondering on whether it was really building the way I wanted it to, and ended up trying out some fancy malarkey with verse lyrics for Puck to sing in countermelody to the Regulars verses.

    More Musicality Hal Duncan 2009

  • A pair of hunting horns joins in with a countermelody, soon joined by a second pair of horns and finally the timpani.

    The Splendid Start to a Farewell to Opera Barrymore Laurence Scherer 2011

  • Supported by soft harmonies, the turning, trilling English horn melody evolves into a duet, as the flute line becomes a birdlike countermelody of rapid notes, accented with soft triangle strokes suggesting dewdrops glinting in the sun.

    The Splendid Start to a Farewell to Opera Barrymore Laurence Scherer 2011

  • Then, in a gesture of almost bittersweet emotion, the solo cello returns, taking up the theme against a sympathetic countermelody in the flute and oboe.

    The Waltz That Defines Vienna Barrymore Laurence Scherer 2010

  • Voices shouted below, accompanied by the mournful wail of a fiddle; and then, in countermelody, the lilt of a penny whistle.

    Masked Lou Anders 2010

  • In place of smooth four-part harmony, we hear heavy, rough-edged unison singing with a keening falsetto countermelody on top.

    Lovely Sounds of Sorrow Terry Teachout 2010

  • The strings were playing a waltz at a ball, a tune that is then deconstructed into its melodic and accompanying parts, including the self-pitying viola countermelody that no one will ever care about or hear.

    In performance: NSO family concert 2010

  • Voices shouted below, accompanied by the mournful wail of a fiddle; and then, in countermelody, the lilt of a penny whistle.

    Masked Lou Anders 2010

  • She plucks that viola in precise patterns – repeated notes, a syncopated chord, a countermelody – as the only accompaniment for her gentle, transparent voice, which has an undercurrent of Celtic melancholy.

    CMJ Music Marathon: “Sound Guys Love Me” - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com 2007

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