Reply #18: Some information for my fellow musical illiterates

[Jim Lane]

The term used by wtbymark, "malismal", was new to me, and nothing relevant showed up on Google.

After a bit of floundering, though, I found this:

Melisma, in music, is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is referred to as melismatic, as opposed to syllabic, where each syllable of text is matched to a single note. (from for "Melisma")

So, wtbymark, you thought you could fool me with your clever typo? Hah! :)