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Chapter 3 Melody Chapter 3 Elements of music A melody is what we sing, hum, or whistle as we recall a familiar tune or improvise a new one. Like interesting rhythms, melodies are captivating and memorable; they may be immediately appealing. A melody ordinarily has a particular rhythm, and without it the specific melody may be difficult to identify. Generally it does not need its usual harmonic accompaniment to be recognized, however. In addition to recognizing that a melody is major or minor, there are other adjectives which can accurately describe the characteristics of a particular melody without having a good deal of technical knowledge. Some of these are as follows: lyrical quiet disjunct aggressive angular high jagged low ascending tentative descending smooth Without regard to rhythm and the other elements such as harmony usually associated with it, we may say that a melody is a linear succession of pitches--some repeated and some different. Obviously, these pitches occur over time; if they sound at the same time, then what is being heard is harmony and not melody. The foundation of melody, as well as harmony, is a scale. Scales are traditionally played from a particular pitch in one octave to the same pitch in the next. Descriptions of melodies, including major and minor, require a degree of technical knowledge in music, or at least some definitions, in order to use them appropriately. Some of them are given below and will be defined in the next few pages. Others will need to be added later to this list. broken-chord scale-wise major
minor inverted augmented Listen to how a three-note chord (triad) is transformed by Louis Armstrong into the first phrase of a familiar melody. A broken-chord melody takes its shape from the accompanying harmony. Since chord pitches are not adjacent, a broken-chord melody will not be as smooth as a scale-wise one, and yet it will not seem overly angular. A scale-wise melody is easy to identify, since it moves smoothly up (ascending) or down (descending) the scale. It may take additional time to recognize a broken- chord melody. For now, at least remember the definitions of scale-wise and broken- chord melodies. Usually, we call melodies "lyrical" (or song-like) when they use scale-wise and broken-chord melodic intervals. The range of a lyrical melody for an instrument is limited to the range of that particular instrument, but singable melodies have a range limited to one of the vocal ranges: soprano, alto, tenor, or bass. Depending on voice development, vocal ranges vary, but in general, each of the different voice classifications has a bit more than an octave range. Listen now to a melody which is considered lyrical. In other words, it is song-like and moves either in scale-wise or broken-chord motion. Notice, that in this particular piano piece by Schumann, the melody is supported by a broken-chord accompaniment The labels "major" and "minor" are equally descriptive for melodies and harmonies, but understanding them may be easier within an harmonic context. A full discussion, then, will be delayed until the upcoming topic on harmony. It will also be easier to grasp the importance of the labels major/minor after hearing musical examples where they are clearly identified. Inverted and augmented melodies should be easy to understand, but identifying them aurally may be more difficult. After a melody is first presented, its repetition is considered to be "inverted" if its melodic motion is in the opposite direction. The repetition is called "augmented" if its notes are lengthened (rhythm). In other words, it is the same melody but moving slower. Mini-Quiz When is a melody considered to be lyrical? Name four vocal range classifications. Define
Barber distinguished himself as a melodist. Almost everything he wrote has at least one gorgeous tune or memorable theme. This alone got him into trouble in certain circles as a stick-in-the-mud or even as a panderer to the vulgar. However, his gift also genuinely puzzled people. There is nothing in a Barber piece that instantly proclaims the composer, as a Copland, Ralph Vaughan Williams, or Serge Prokofieff work surely does. His melodic emphasis led certain critics to label him "neo-Romantic," a word that doesn't mean all that much. Almost nothing he wrote could have been produced in the Romantic era. The harmonies are too complex and sometimes extremely dissonant, the approach to form is as modern as Igor Stravinsky's, and the orchestration is usually quite experimental. That his music sounds full and rich simply means that the experiment succeeds. Although no prodigy, Barber nevertheless made his mark early. Op. 1, Serenade for string quartet (later orchestrated for strings), he wrote while attending the Curtis Institute. Definitely a student work, it can fairly be called "Romantic," in the tradition of Edvard Grieg's Holberg Suite , Carl Nielsen's Little Suite (also an Op. 1), and Edward Elgar's Serenade in e. However, by Op. 5, Overture to the School for Scandal , we have flown far beyond the nineteenth century. The orchestration and opening bitonal harmonies may derive from Richard Strauss (although they sound clearer), but the second, pastoral tune – as diatonic as Robert Schumann – is something new. It seems to come from nowhere, and yet it sings in a full-throated, natural way. In his early work, Barber taps into this new lyricism in piece after piece. Outstanding examples include Music for a Scene from Shelley , Symphony No. 1 , First Essay for Orchestra , cello sonata, string quartet (from which Barber orchestrated the Adagio for Strings , his best-known piece), the choral classic Reincarnations , and the violin concerto. The violin concerto (1939) is a transitional work: the first two movements sing sweetly and intently; the last movement burns the barn down with complex meters and new dissonances. From here, Barber moves definitely into the modern period, to some extent influenced by Stravinsky, but absorbing these influences into new idioms. The works of the 1940s (most clearly, the Capricorn Concerto for flute, oboe, trumpet, and strings) lean very strongly to neo- classicism. Yet none of them shows a consistent approach. These works include Symphony No. 2, Second Essay for Orchestra , the cello concerto, the ballet Medea , Souvenirs (a suite of nineteenth-century ballroom dances), the piano sonata, Commando March for band, and the glorious Knoxville: Summer of 1915 for soprano and orchestra. Despite the broadening of his musical language, Barber never loses his lyrical gift. Each of these works is stuffed with themes that stick in the memory. Postwar, Barber continued going his own way. Some major works of the period are the Toccata Festiva for organ and orchestra, Summer Music for woodwind quintet, the "Wondrous Love" variations for organ, Hermit Songs , the choral Prayers of Kierkegaard , a magnificent piano concerto, Andromache's Farewell for soprano and orchestra, and three operas: Vanessa , A Hand of Bridge , and Antony and Cleopatra , the first two with libretti by the composer Gian Carlo Menotti, the last using much of the Shakespeare play. Antony and Cleopatra (1966; revised 1974) cut Barber's composing activities short. He never had written all that much, although what he did publish usually entered standard
repertoire. Further, he published much less than he wrote. For example, of more than 100 songs, he published only 38. Antony and Cleopatra , a high-profile commission from the Metropolitan Opera to inaugurate its new house at Lincoln Center, flopped miserably, due mainly to a bloated, incompetent production from the director and original librettist Zeffirelli. The production occasioned a fury of critical attack, essentially condemning Barber as irrelevant to the music of the time, whatever that may mean. Barber never recovered his stride after this. He continued to compose, but very sporadically, and to revise Antony. Works from this period include Fadograph of a Yestern Scene (1971), Third Essay for Orchestra (1978), and Canzonetta for oboe and strings (1978). The later pieces were not performed much during his lifetime. The major organizations which had competed to commission him lost interest. However, his music, never completely out of public regard, has begun to come back. Almost all his output has made it to CD in various performances. The critical wars during his life have to a large extent ceased to matter. The music continues to matter. ~ Steve Schwartz Regarding the composer, Samuel Barber: 1. What are his dates? 2. His nationality? 3. Name a work other than "Adagio." 4. What does adagio mean? (Check Glossary if you need assistance from the internet.) Rhythm What holds rhythm together, regardless of the simplicity or the complexity of the patterns, is the beat. A beat, simply defined, is a regularly recurring pulse, its regularity so evenly spaced that its continuation is easily predicted and felt. It seems natural for human beings to instinctively feel the beat of music. This is because of the measured nature (pulses or cycles) of our human system, the most obvious being our heart beat. We know that our heart may beat faster with increased activity, but the intervals between pulses remain regular. Interestingly, the range of speed of our heart beat is similar to the range of musical tempos. In general, we perceive a musical tempo of 72 beats per minute as being moderate, neither strikingly fast nor slow. Clearly, if the musical tempo were half of that, we would perceive it as extremely slow. Conversely, a tempo of 120 beats per minute would be quite fast, without question, just as it is with our heart beat. You may enjoy hearing a recording of an actual heart beat, presented on the web as an instructional module to compare different heart-beat symptoms. The speed of your heart, when you are not moving about much, is probably in the range of 72 beats per minute or slower. That is an easy speed to identify, since this is simply a bit faster than one beat per second.
Much of our everyday activity "moves" in duple meter, with walking being an obvious example. Many types of dancing are in duple time. We could safely say that the major rhythmic characteristic of a march is that it is in duple time. Now, listen to the Beethoven march you heard earlier. Whether you count (or feel) the beat as left, right, left, right, or 1, 2, 1, 2, there is no doubt regarding the meter. Another basic characteristic of rhythm which we have already discussed separates a duple-meter march from other pieces in duple meter. That is its tempo; marches are traditionally in the range of 120 beats per minute, as is this musical example. Music in triple meter is almost as easy to find and identify as music in duple. Some traditional dances, such as a waltz or the more stately minuet, are in triple meter. In addition, the musical variety and contrast provided by triple meter make it popular with many composers. Generally, Western music gives equal importance to these two groupings. Musical notation indicates the meter in the "time signature," given at the beginning of a line of music. Also called "meter signature," these two numbers, while looking like a fraction, are really independent of each other. The top number (usually, 2, 3, or 4) indicates whether the music is in duple or triple meter. This corresponds to the "number of beats in a measure." The bottom number, while less important to the purposes of this textbook, refers to the type of note which receives one beat. Musical notation indicates the meter in the "time signature," given at the beginning of a line of music. Also called "meter signature," these two numbers, while looking like a fraction, are really independent of each other. The top number (usually, 2, 3, or 4) indicates whether the music is in duple or triple meter. This corresponds to the "number of beats in a measure." The bottom number, while less important to the purposes of this textbook, refers to the type of note which receives one beat. A more complex metrical concept is "compound time." In a most usual example (6/ time at a fast tempo), both the beat and its division are indicated in the top number (6). That is, the six actually indicates that there are six divisions for a measure of
two beats. Thus, counting quickly, 1 , 2, 3, 4 , 5, 6 with emphasis (accents) on 1 and 4, gives the meter a feeling of triple time embedded in duple time. Even at a slower tempo, when the conductor may indicate all six beats, the feeling of meter is still the same--sub-groups of 3 within groups of 2. Because "compound meter" is rather complex in notation as well as in its aural analysis, this "lesson" on compound time is only theoretical. "Triple meter" is an acceptable label when hearing 6/8 time. Mini-Quiz Which are you not yet able to answer? About how fast is a slow beat? a fast one? What is the difference between duple and triple time? Classify the times of a march, a waltz, a minuet What is meant by "compound time?" Define: tempo, adagio, moderato, andante, allegro, vivace, ritardando, tempo, adagio, moderato, andante, allegro, vivace, ritardando, accelerando, meter,time signature, meter signature. George Gershwin thought rhythm was fascinating, and this belief was obviously the basis for his popular tune, Fascinating Rhythm. As you listen, get to know why Gershwin was so important to American music on the internet. What are Gershwin's dates? His nationality? What else did he write? Is Fascinating Rhythm in duple or triple time? Rhythm may be described with the following terms. simple strong repetitious even slow unpredictable duple meter dotted rhythms shifting meter dominates waltz allegro complex weak captivating uneven fast driving triple meter syncopated triplets subtle march andante
Although is it not very difficult, it does take practice. And since it is such an important feature of all types of music, its mastery will be beneficial. However, aural identification of major and minor is not a requirement in this textbook. We will have many other times to practice identifying major/minor during this study of music, but listen again to a simple major scale, followed by a minor one. Click the play button to listen to it several times. Some people think of major as happy and minor as sad, but there are many musical selections which prove to be just the opposite. A better way to differentiate might be to have an example of a familiar tune which you know to be major and a second one which is minor. These may become your points of reference until major/minor discrimination becomes easier. Can you think of a familiar tune which is minor? How about major? Listen to two melodies you may know, one after the other. Remembering a familiar melody as it relates to either major or minor should assist in identifying the modality of less familiar melodies. The first melody is "America". It is in a major key. The second is the opening motive of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony; it is in a minor key. If you don't have your own "points of reference" for major and minor melodies, use these. They should be easy to remember. Listen to these two melodies one more time before turning the page. So, most melodies as well as harmonies that we hear today, whether in classical music, jazz, or popular music, are either major or minor. The tune may be played in a mode other than its original one, but if that is done with a familiar song, the change may be so dramatic that the song becomes almost unrecognizable. Knowing simple chord structure assists in understanding harmonies as well as melodies. This instructional module provides a basic introduction. Remember that harmony is a simultaneous use of different pitches while melody takes place over time. In addition, there is a rather simple principle for putting the notes together. We normally skip one letter name between members of the chord (an isolated harmony). So, C (skip D) E (skip F) G is a simple chord made up of three notes. In fact, this specific structure is the norm. And this simple chord is called a triad. Finally, to complete this set of terms for our basic harmonic structure, the bottom note is the " root ," the next note up is the " third ," and the top note is the " fifth ." When a chord is
arranged "in thirds," the bottom note (the root) also identifies the label of the chord. If the root of the chord is C, then we call it a C chord. Even when the triad is inverted, these labels remain the same. Note that a chord inversion is not arranged "in thirds." Even more complex harmonies can occur in tertian harmony. With a root, third, and fifth, a triad may become more complicated by adding a seventh (often found), a ninth (a bit rare), or even an eleventh (very rare). The basic construction feature of complex harmonies as well as more simple triads is that a letter name is skipped between chord members. Of course, you can no longer call these complex chords "triads." An acceptable collective term is " extended chords. " How the melody/harmony relationship is conceived has to do with the music's texture. Of course, we may correctly describe music as thick or thin, depending on the number of notes played at the same time and how close they are together. But when the label "texture" is used in a technical sense, the reference is to one of three choices: monophonic, homophonic, or polyphonic. Monophonic texture is made up of a single line for a melody with no harmony. We experience monophonic texture often when we hear a person casually hum or whistle a tune. Interestingly, the "whistler" may not be conceiving the tune as monophonic at all, with the harmony probably imagined. Early Gregorian Chant is monophonic; monophonic textures are also occasionally found as solo passages composed without harmony. Most of the classical and popular music we hear today is homophonic. Homophonic texture includes a single predominant melody with an accompanying harmony. Polyphonic texture joins together two or more melodies, with optional additional harmonies supporting. The harmony which results, then, is based on the skill of the composer to "weave" the melodies together. Actually, there may be a polyphonic treatment of a single melody rather than "weaving" two or more different melodies together. A fugue is a good example of this, where a single melody overlaps itself. Much of the music of the first half of the 18th century had a polyphonic texture. Listening to the music of Bach from that period of time gives us a good example of the sound of polyphonic music. While developing this aural skill is not a requirement in
possible nor desirable, form and the building blocks of music may be generally compared to literary types. There is also a similar comparison between form in the visual arts, especially architecture, and music. The need for repetition in musical forms is especially pronounced--much more so than in literature--and in that regard the music/visual art relationship is stronger. Music also has its building blocks of notes, motives, phrases, themes, and sections to create complex musical structures called, for instance, theme and variations, sonatas, symphonies, and rondos. Above all, repetition and contrast come into play at the most basic level--that of combining single notes--and continue undiminished into the highest levels of symphonic structures. A composer, through a natural instinct or a purposeful act, provides a melodic shape and rhythmical character to a very small group of notes (three or four are enough) to make a motive. The motive is then repeated, placed in various harmonic and textural contexts, and altered through various permutations, to make a phrase, a theme, and eventually an entire work. To be sure, other similar and contrasting motives are put into play, but a superior characteristic of aesthetically-satisfying music is not in the number of motives that are presented but in how they are treated. Most musical phrases are balanced in length. As a matter of symmetry, a four- or eight- measure phrase, sometimes repeated and sometimes followed by a contrasting phrase, is the norm. When a composer breaks from that mold, it is noticeable to the ear as something unexpected and may be delightful when used artistically. Good music does not need to follow the norm, in form or in other characteristics. It is the creative use of tradition, mixed with originality, which generates the evolution of music as we observe it over time. Listen now to a repeated three-measure phrase. It seems a bit different and yet has a feeling of completeness. Whatever symmetry is lost is made up in a unique, appealing character. Also, symmetry may be present in many ways other than the length of a phrase. Phrases are combined to make sentences or periods, the terms taken from verbal structures. Themes, which usually take on a special character and often are repeated throughout a work, result. These larger structures repeat and include other varied themes to shape even larger and more complex musical structures. Thus, we have entire pieces or movements which we recognize as complex structures, and we call them sonatas , symphonies , and sonata- allegro forms as well as the more formally-suggestive theme and variations and rondos.
We identify rather short pieces and sections according to how many themes they contain and how these themes repeat or relate to each other. Most traditional and popular songs, for example, are in either binary (AB) or ternary (ABA) form, with A representing the first theme and B the second. These forms are very simple, with each theme containing only a phrase or two. Larger, more complex forms may also follow these patterns in the broad sense, with both A and B having sub-sections. Notice that ternary (ABA) form is quite symmetrical. Jazz and popular musicians have come to call the B section "the bridge," since it links two A sections together. The element of form is rather easy to discuss and to understand, since form can be related visually. A building, for instance, can be seen as a broad AB or ABA form; some may take on the characteristics of theme and variations or rondo. Simple visual forms are easy to recognize, but musical forms are not always obvious on first or even second hearing. As opposed to the near-instantaneous cognition of a building's form, music occurs over time, requiring familiarity with the work before its form is grasped. For this reason, a thorough study and understanding of form will come over time and will not be attempted in this introductory chapter. Repeated listening will bring about recognition of repeated themes, contrasting sections, and subtle formal characteristics. This is a nice and simple Mozart aria in AB form. After a short instrumental introduction, an 8-measure phrase (A) is followed by a contrasting one (B). So, it is a bit like a sentence with two contrasting phases. This AB arrangement, whether with two short phrases or two long sections of music, is called binary form. This listening example is in ABA (ternary) form. A first section (a phrase, repeated) returns after a contrasting section. Listen to this ternary form more than once. Notice that its distinguishing characteristic--the return of A--seems necessary, since B does not end with a sense of finality. The earlier binary form (AB) had a B section which was musically structured to "bring closure." Go back one page and listen again to the melody
The thematic scheme is simply A1, A2, A3, A4, etc. "A" itself is usually in a simple AB or ABA form. A good example is the last movement of Beethoven's 3rd Symphony (The Eroica). When you are asked to read about Beethoven on the internet later in this topic, see if you can determine the reason his third symphony was subtitled eroica (heroic). Mini-Quiz Compare form in music with poetry and architecture. Give two examples of thematic alterations. Name three complex musical forms. Compare binary, ternary, and rondo forms. What is a "normal" musical phrase length? There is a practice quiz for this topic, but before taking it, determine if you need to review a bit more. If you can answer most of the following questions as well as those in the previous "control frame," go ahead now and take the practice quiz. If not, go through this topic once again. Identify: normal phrase length two examples of thematic alterations musical phrases, sentences, periods, themes three complex musical structures theme schematics for binary, ternary theme schematics for rondo, theme and variations the bridge similar formal elements in music/poetry; music/architecture The composers Beethoven, Barber, and Dvorak have been recently introduced. You should read a short biography of them. From it, determine (as a minimum): their nationality; the period of time in which they lived; and the names of one or more of their compositions. A Composer Master Index is available on the internet to provide this information about these composers. Find these composers there and read about them.
