Vocabulary
melody
- a sequence of pitches with
coherent shape; discernible from rest of the musical fabric
pitch
- note which makes up a melody
scale
- the notes which make up melodies, made of wholeand
half steps
tune
- a
familiar type of melody, simple and sing-able or whistle-able
motive-
a distinct fragment of melody, often repeated a.k.a. motif
theme
- a
complete phrase or subject which is used in longer pieces
phrase
- a musical sentence, the subsections
of a complete tune
sequence
- a
repeated pattern of melodic fragment; duplication at two or more pitches
cadence
- the
punctuation in a musical phrase or the end of the phrase
parallelism
- a device in song where
similar text is set to similar melody
contrast
- the opposite of parallelism,
sections are contrasting
consonance
- sounds which can rest
together easily
dissonance
- sounds which do not rest
easily together, that create tension
monophony/monody-a
single melody with no accompaniment
homophony
- melody with chordal accompaniment
polyphony
- several
melodies at once
counterpoint
- the melody which accompanies
another melody
imitation
- a device in fugal writing
where a melody imitates the shape of another
tonality
- the
home key or chords which are part of melodies and their scalar components
modality
- major and minor forms
of scales; Often changed in mid-piece
I)
Melody is the single most recognizable element of music. Can be just rhythmic.
A)
Elements for consideration
1)
Shape - the overall up and down-ness of the line, contour.
2)
Motion - steps or leaps between notes.
3)
Energy - lots of leaps is more energy. so is lots of fast notes.
B)
Technical terminology - golden rules of melody.
1)
Pitches make up scales which
make up melodies. [Names
for specific notes (see diagram from Kerman, p. 32) coincide with a specific
pitch.]
2)Whole and
half steps make up scales which
make a mode, either major
or minor. [Kerman p. 33]
E.g. "Row Row..." in major and minor key
II)
Describing melodies
-
Melodies have a shape. Up and down, steps or leaps
-
When they are complete, or come to a cadence
they are called a phrase
-
Phrases that hang together, are singable and make sense are tunes
-
Long melodies that are part of longer pieces are called themes
-
Repeated fragments are called motives;They
can either be parallelor
contrast what melodic
material has come before.
E.g.s
Ellington
"Dont Get Around Much Any More"
Beethoven
5th
Symphony
Mahler
Symphony
#5
-Sometimes
a fragment is repeated at several different pitch levels and is called
a sequence.
E.g.
Bach Invention a minor /"Weaver of Dreams"- Don Grolnick
III)
Melodic Texture - how many melodies at one time.
Monophony/Monody
- like Gregorian chant, only one line. Can be very effective as mood music
in modern dance.
E.g.
Hildegard of Bingen "Columba" also has a modal cadence.
Homophony
- melody with accompaniment
Polyphony
- more than one melody
at one time
Counterpoint is
the other melody which happens at the same time. Latin form=contrapunctus
=point against point.
E.g.s:
J.S.
Bach Invention #6 E major
or
Prélude
in c- from WTCII or
Cherry
String Quartet #2, 1st mvt.
IV)
Tonality and modality
Modesare
the scalar formulas that make up melodies. They come from ancient times
and cultures and have been adapted through time for various uses. In sum,
they give us the feeling of a home key - a tonality
for a piece of music of melody. You know instinctively when you hit the
home key. It rings fully in your mind's ear. There will much more discussion
of this in the Harmony section.