Writing Melodies Flashcards
What is a melody?
A series of single tones
What makes a good melody?
Coherency
Unity
Interest
What are the two Primary Rules the movement of a melody follows?
Melody follows a scale
Melody follows a chord
Scale movement is also known as…
…diatonic, conjunct or step-wise progrrssion.
What are inactive scale steps?
The pitches of the tonic triad, that form the harmonic center.
What are active scale-steps?
The pitches, that fall outside the tonic triad and the harmonic center.
How do scale-steps resolve in major?
In order of urgency:
7 upwards to 1
6 downwards to 5
4 downwards to 3
2 is neutral and can resolve to 1 or 3.
What are the grammatical building blocks of a melody?
Note
Figure/Motif
Phrase
Which notes would normally begin a phrase?
The notes of the tonic triad.
There are two ways a phrase can begin rhythmically. What are these?
Accented on the first strong beat.
Unaccented, with a pick-up in the previous bar or slightly delayed, after the first beat.
If a phrase begins with a pick-up or delayed, how does it affect its cadence?
The shift is added or subtracted at the end.
How does a phrase end?
With a tonic note on an accented beat, preceded by one of the pitches in the dominant triad. (i.e. Perfect Cadence)
Within the scope of the first Primary Rule, what kind of moves are possible?
Repetition, step and leaps in thirds, with respect to resolutions of active scale-steps.
How can the natural tendencies of active scale-steps be counteracted i.e. delay the gratification of a resolution?
By approaching stepwise from inactive tones from the opposite direction.
When approached in the direction of their resolution, how does it affect the natural inclinations of active scale-steps?
The need to resolve is reinforced.
How does a leap of a third contrary to the natural tendency of an active scale-step influence the urge of the melody? (According to the first Primary Rule)
The melody desires to turn back with a leap or step.
When a melody follows chord, what is the movement called?
Disjunct movement, skip or leap
How are scale- and chord-line movement connected?
They are interchangeable almost at any point.
What causes monotony?
Uniformity of rhythm
Narrow compass
Frequent return to the same tone on the same beat in consecutive measures
In what order must the notes succeed each other in disjunct movement along a chord-line?
They can appear in any order.
How do melody and harmony work together?
A well executed melody facilitates a great harmony.
While writing the melody, what contextual element is crucial to keep in mind for good melody writing? Why?
The harmony and chords, that the melody reflects or is referencing.
Describe the movement of leaps.
They can start from any note, upwards or downwards, but they must follow a chord structure.
In chord-line movement, the composer need not adhere to…
…the natural resolutions of active scale-steps, instead they can move freely along the chord.
