Step
A step is the movement of a melody to the immediately neighbouring note, that is, by one degree of the scale. Larger distances are called leaps. Steps make a melody singable, leaps set accents.
Step and leap
Melodies move in two ways. The step leads to the neighbouring note, the leap skips one or more notes. Most memorable melodies move mostly by step, and the single leap gains its effect precisely by being the exception.
Steps
Every note lies directly next to the previous one, on the staff from line to space. This is the soft, flowing movement that shapes children's songs and chorales.
Leaps
Here notes are skipped: from C to G a fifth, from G to E a minor third down, from E to C a minor sixth up. This feels gestural and picks out individual notes.
On the scale a step is either a whole tone or a semitone. Measured as an interval it is a second, a leap is a third or larger. The measure “step” therefore refers to the scale, not to the keyboard: a step can skip a key on the piano, namely in the case of a whole tone.
Why this matters for melodies
Our memory often retains the shape of the movement, the contour, rather than the exact notes. Does the melody rise, fall, leap far or move in small steps? Small intervals connect, large ones separate and stress. If you invent melodies yourself, you can follow a simple rule of thumb: move mostly by step, set an accent with a leap and steer towards a high point. What this means for structure and tension is explained on the page Melody.
Common mistakes
- Equating step with semitone: A step is the way to the neighbouring note of the scale and can be a whole tone or a semitone.
- Listening only to single notes: Pay attention to the direction of the line and to where it leaps.
Continue on Maikstrings
Related terms
MelodyIntervalSemitoneScaleDegree (scale)MotifPitch
Editor: Maik Krohm · reviewed on 3 October 2026
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