Music - Melody

What is a melody and how do we describe it?

Melody in music is simply the main tune that we can hear. Questions on melody might ask you to complete the missing pitches in a short melody, identify an interval, describe the shape of a melody or name an ornament or a particular melodic device.


Don’t forget to describe the obvious – the first three of these are easy to hear and will usually get you marks. Only then move onto the more complicated, technical terms.


Direction: is the melody rising or falling? Describe what happens in detail, e.g. “At first it rises then it falls” or “the melody keeps falling and rising in a repeated pattern”

Type of movement: is the melody leaping (e.g. arpeggios) or moving by step (scales). If it is leaping, are the gaps small (e.g. thirds) or large (e.g. sevenths)

Range: Does the melody use only a small range (a fourth or a fifth) or does it cover a much wider range? Is the range of the melody generally high or low? As with all elements it is worth listening to see if it changes (“e.g. at first the range is quite low but it slowly gets higher”)

 

Scales: Is the melody based on a particular scale? The most common scales are listed below

Major

Minor

Pentatonic

Blues

Chromatic (either part of whole of chromatics scales – only using semitones)

Melodic Devices

The following melodic devices might be used in a melody line or may be used to develop a melody:

  • Ostinato: a short melodic idea that is repeated continually (called a riff in popular music).
  • Sequence: a melodic idea that is immediately repeated at a different pitch.
  • Imitation: the opening of a melody is copied in one or more other parts in the texture while the original melody continues.
  • Inversion: a melodic idea that has been turned upside-down. Every upwards step or leap is changed to a downwards one, and vice-versa.
  • Retrograde: a melodic idea that is repeated backwards.

Ornamentation

Ornaments are extra notes that are added to decorate a melody:

  • Grace note: a quick note that comes before the main note. One type of grace note is the acciaccatura.
  • Trill: a rapid alternation of two pitches next to each other.
  • Turn: an ornament made up of four notes. The note above the written note, the written note, the note below and the written note again.
  • Mordent: an ornament made up of three notes. The written note, the note above or below and the written note again.

Intervals

An interval is the distance between two notes. Intervals are always counted from the lower note to the higher one, with the lower note being counted as one. Intervals come in different qualities and size. If the notes are sounded successively, it is a melodic interval. If sounded simultaneously, then it is a harmonic interval.

The smallest interval used in Western music is the semitone (half step). A visual representation of a half step would be the distance between a consecutive white and black note on the piano. There are two exceptions to this rule, as two natural half steps occur between the notes E and F, and B and C.

A tone (whole step) is the distance between two consecutive white or black keys. It is made up of two half steps.

Teoria - Intervals Ear Training

Teoria - Scales Ear Training

Teoria - Melodic Dictation Ear Training

Qualities and Size

Intervals can be described as Major (M), Minor (m), Perfect (P), Augmented (A), and Diminished (d).

Intervals come in various sizes: Unisons, Seconds, Thirds, Fourths, Fifths, Sixths, and Sevenths.

2nds, 3rds, 6ths, and 7ths can be found as Major and Minor.

Unisons, 4ths, 5ths, and Octaves are Perfect.

  • When a major interval is raised by a half step, it becomes augmented.
  • When a major interval is lowered by a half step, it becomes minor.
  • When a major interval is lowered by two half steps, it becomes diminished.
  • When a minor interval is raised by a half step, it becomes major.
  • When a minor interval is raised by two half steps, it becomes augmented.
  • When a minor interval is lowered by a half step, it becomes diminished.
  • When a perfect interval is raised by a half step, it becomes augmented.
  • When a perfect interval is lowered by a half step, it becomes diminished.


Questions to help describe melody

Does the melody use step-wise movement, and/or move by leaps?

Does the melody descend, ascend, arc or stay in the same place?

Does the melody have a large or small range?

Can you hear any melodic devices?