Most of us recognize a melody when we hear one but it's not easy to define. The New Oxford American Dictionary defines melody as "a sequence of single notes that is musically satisfying." That definition is too vague as it could include random tones from wind chimes and bird chirps for some listeners! For the purposes of musical study, our definition of melody must be more specific than the Oxford Dictionary.
Like wind chimes, melody has pitch and duration. Unlike wind chimes, melody is linked to human breath capacity, language and thought patterns. Plus, melody is organized with a sense of beginning and ending, forming a recognizable whole. When you sing in the shower, you are singing a melody.
What is Melody? | Professor Frary (7:05)
Many melodic traits are quantifiable—range, motion, articulation, phrase, and cadence—and may be used to describe and classify melodies.
Range
The distance from the lowest to highest note in a melody is called range. Range is expressed as a numerical value called an interval: 3rd, 4th, 5th, octave, etc.
The highest note in the First and Only is C whereas the lowest note is A. The resulting range is a third.
Movement from note to note in a melody is either stepwise or by leap. Ode to Joy uses stepwise movement: moves up and down the scale without skipping tones. Some melodies mix stepwise and movement by leap together:
Motion | Melodic movement by step and leap in Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Articulation
Articulations control the attack and decay of a note, the note's beginning and end. The two basic articulations are staccato and legato.
If notes are short and detached, they are said to be staccato:
If notes flow smoothly, they are said to be legato.
The melody of He is Lord is legato and stepwise. The distance from the lowest to the highest note, C-sharp to F-sharp, yields the range of a forth.
He is Lord | Stepwise and legato movement
Phrase
The first section of Ode to Joy is organized in two segments. Each segment begins the same and ends with a long duration. These segments are called phrases—basically a musical sentence.
Ode to Joy | Phrase structure
The long duration at the end of phrases, called a cadence, creates a sense of repose. Vocalists and wind players breathe after the cadence.
Ode to Joy | Second phrase with a complete cadence
The cadence at the end of the first phrase is unstable, ending on the second note of the scale (re), sounding as if asking a question. This type of cadence is an incomplete cadence.
The cadence at the end of the second phrase falls on the first note of the scale (do or tonic) and sounds stable or complete—the answer to the question. This stable cadence is a complete cadence. Coupling of two phrases together in a question-answer relationship creates balance and is typical of song writing.
The last section of this chapter, Key and Scales, is optional and will not be included in tests or quizzes. However, a basic knowledge of keys and scales will enhance your understanding of the music studied during this semester.
Optional
Key and Scales
Tonic
Melodies are built around a stable tone known as the tonic. The tonic exerts a gravity like pull on surrounding tones. When you sing the do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do scale, the pull from ti to do is powerful due to the magnetic attraction of do, the tonic. Due to its stability, the tonic is often the final tone in a song.
Sing Ode to Joy. The incomplete cadence at the end of the first phase ends on D, an unstable note, thus creating an impetus to move to the next phrase. The final note, C, is the tonic—the most stable and restful note of the melody. The tonic is also referred to as the keynote.
Ode to Joy
Major Scale
The sounding of pitches in a melody establishes a hierarchy of musical tones in the mind of the listener. When this hierarchy of tones is arranged in ascending or descending pitches, the result is a scale. The most common scale is the major scale, sang as do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do.
Major Scale | Sing the solfège pattern of do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do
The melody of Ode to Joy was created from the major scale and, in this case, the C major scale. Thus, Ode to Joy is said to be in the key of C major. Both scales and keys are named after the tonic or keynote.
The major scale is easily identified and sung by the average person. However, to accurately describe and/or define a major scale, we must understand two types of intervals: half steps and whole steps.
A half step is the smallest interval in Western music and may be demonstrated by playing adjacent white and black keys on a piano, playing adjacent frets along the same string on a guitar or singing from ti to do.
A whole step is equal to two half steps. For example, singing from do to re, moving two frets on the guitar or playing from C to D on the piano are whole steps.
Major Scale | Red dots indicate the C major scale on the piano. Half steps occur between the B to C and E to F keys. Other scale tones use whole steps.
Scale Interval Pattern
The major scale has an interval pattern of whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step and half step.
You may find it easier to retain the major scale pattern by remembering that it has a half step between the third and fourth tones and the seventh and eighth tones. The remaining tones are separated by whole steps.
Major Scale | Half steps between scale degrees 3 to 4 and 7 to 8.
Modulation
The major scale may begin on any pitch. For example, if the pattern starts on G, we identify it as a G major scale in the key of G major. If the pattern begins on D, it's a D major scale, etc. When a scale pattern or melody is transposed—moved up or down in pitch—we call it a key change or modulation. In a key change, the scale's interval pattern is maintained with symbols called accidentals.
Modulation is a technique commonly used to enhance contrast and tension.
Accidentals
To maintain the correct interval spacing in a song, symbols called accidentals are used. Accidentals are placed on the note's left side to indicate raising or lowering of a pitch. The most common accidentals are the sharp, flat, and natural:
Sharp
Flat
Natural
Raises a half step
Lowers a half step
Cancels/Restores
Sharp symbols raise the pitch of a note by a half step. The flat lowers the pitch of a note by a half step. A natural symbol is used to cancel a prior accidental, restoring the original pitch.
Say the letter name of the note followed by the accidental name: A-sharp, A-flat, D-natural, etc. These designations are often used in the titles of pieces, e.g., Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra in E-Flat Major.
The C major scale below is followed by three scales employing accidentals to adjust interval spacing, thereby changing the keys to D major, E major and F major.
Major Scale in Different Keys | C, D, E and F major scales
Accidentals are mainly used to notate exceptional pitches outside of normal scale tones in a key, e.g., chromatic tones. For normal accidentals within a key, a key signature is used.
Key Signature
It is tedious to write out the same accidentals over and over. To avoid monotony, composers placed the accidentals at the beginning of each staff to remind performers which pitches should have flats or sharps. This inventory of accidentals is called a key signature. Here's examples of key signatures:
Key Signature | Sharps in the key signature: F-sharp and C-sharp
To read key signatures, observe the positions of the accidentals on the lines and spaces. In the above example, the first sharp on the left is centered on the uppermost line of the staff—the F line. Thus, F is sharp throughout the piece. Likewise, there's a sharp on the C space, so all C notes are sharp.
The key signature below has two flats: one on the B line and another on the E space. Thus, all B and E notes are flat, i.e., lowered by a half step:
Key Signature | Flats in the key signature: B-flat and E-flat
Listen to Ode to Joy in C major. Next, listen to the D major version. The melody sounds the same but is transposed up a whole step from C. To maintain the melody's interval pattern in D major, a key signature with F and C sharp is used.
Characteristics of Melody
Range
Melodic Motion
Phrase
Optional Studies
Key and Scales
