Originally Posted by: dlwalkeIn contrast I feel like I haven't seen much at all on melody other than the very general idea of scales which tells you what the prime candidate tones are for your melody.[/quote]

I address the concept of melody in this lesson.

https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=30711&s_id=495

You might also enjoy this thread in my forum which went into great detail on the topic of melody.

https://www.guitartricks.com/forum/thread.php?f=36&t=55996

[quote=dlwalke]So I'm wondering if I am missing a bunch of stuff, or if theory as it relates to melody is less developed or just less involved than that of harmony.

Principles of melody & melodic construction are more malleable, less generalized. By contrast it's easier in general to state principles of harmony or rhythm in definitive terms.

That said there are quite a few characteristics often studied when discussing melody: scale & specific scale degrees used, how they relate to chords used, specific interval motion (step, leap), direction (up, down), rhythmic length, motifs, phrases, sequences.

I discuss the melody used in these terms in my classical & jazz tutorials. And I often discuss melody in these terms in my improvisation tutorials.

Hope that helps!