Syllabik

Syllabic is used as an adjectivally used word ("syllabic") in the description of vocal music for the term "syllable". One speaks in particular of a "Syllabic text distribution" in order to express that a syllable of the melodic text is assigned to each tone of a vocal melody.

The opposite of a syllabic is the "melismatic text distribution", which means that several tones are sung on a text syllable. The question of syllabic or melismatic text distribution is important in the musical analysis, especially in studies of Gregorian chant, music of the late medieval period, or of artifices.

The following note sample (from the Messiah by Georg Friedrich Händel) demonstrates the contrast between syllabic and melismatic text distribution: the long melisma over the word "born" in the soprano ("S") and in the alto ("A") stands in a contrast to the rest of the text, which is purely syllabic. This makes the word "born" particularly prominent. Edit FootnotesQuote text

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