the tonic than a major 7th interval (12 semitones) is. It took many years of exposure to the diatonic 7th chord before listeners started to appreciate this chord.
music.
The 7th chords will generally harmonize only with melodies that are in the Key of its tonic, like C7 will
harmonize only with melodies in the Key of C and D7 will sound well only with melodies in the Key of D.
CHAPTER 9
Melody, Musical Form and Design
The melody of a music piece has 2 basic components:
melodic contour and rhythm. They give the melody its distinctive character.
If we draw a line connecting the notes of a melody on the music sheet we draw its contour. The rise and fall of the line reveals the overall pattern of the pitch movement. The contour shows the range of the melody, its highest and lowest points. The contour of most melodies is like the top line of the silhouette of a mountain range. There is a direction; it does not jump around aimlessly. Many melodies start from a low point and move upward to a high point (the culmination point). Frequently, the line descends gradually to a low point, near where it started.
Some melodies may start low and progress to a culmination point and end there. This produces a dramatic effect. Other melodies may start with relatively high notes, gradually drop down to lower notes and climb up to a culmination point. Many patterns are possible. Most melodies have definite shapes.
PITCH RANGE
Pitch range is the interval between the highest and lowest notes. Most folk songs have a range of about an octave. The smallest range is about a 6th interval. Children’s songs are often limited to a 5th interval.
Melodies with a range greater than an octave have more dynamic qualities. The most common range of Beatles’ song is greater than an octave, being that of a 10th or an 11th. CONJUNCT AND DISJUNCT
Movement from a note to another is classified as conjunct or disjunct. Conjunct movements are a whole tone or semitone intervals. Disjuncts are intervals greater than a whole tone.
Melodies must have the appropriate combination of conjunct and disjunct movements depending on the atmosphere they intend to create. Conjuncts tend to be monotonous and put listeners to sleep. Disjuncts sound jerky and disjointed.
MELODY AND RHYTHM
We respond to changes in pitch and rhythmic movement of a melody. Melody can not be separated from
rhythm. A melody whose notes are played in a different
rhythm is harder to identify than a melody whose notes are modified but played in the original rhythm.
MELODIC UNITS
The smallest musical unit that expresses an idea is called a motive. The next larger is a phrase. Phrases may be organized into larger sections called parts or specialized sections called periods. The parts or periods are often organized into a larger section called a song form. Song forms are organized into compound song forms.
THE MOTIVE
It takes only 2 notes to make a motive, if the notes are sufficiently distinctive such that each note can be audibly differentiated from the other. For example, one note is on the up beat while the other note is on the down beat or if one note is a 4th or a 5th interval of the other. The motive may be modified by changing the order of the notes or by adding connecting notes so that a disjunct is changed to a conjunct movement. Modification may be done by contrary motion. Contrary motion is making the notes go in the opposite direction. When the original notes go up, the notes in the
variation go down or vice versa. THE PHRASE
A phrase is a segment of a melody similar to a sentence in a speech. It is a melodic unit a singer sings in one breath.
THE PART
The next larger melodic unit is a part. A part is made up of a series phrases. The last phrase of a part is marked by a pause, a cadence. The cadence is not very definite and tends to signal that another part is to follow.
THE SONG FORM
The song form is a combination of 2 or more parts. The parts are somewhat similar, but are distinguishable enough to stand alone as an independent unit.
THE TWO-PART SONG FORM
In a two-part song form, the first part ends with a strong cadence on a natural note other than the tonic. This way the listener expects something more to come and feels a sense of conclusion only when the last part ends with the
tonic.
THE THREE-PART (TRIPARTITE) SONG FORM
The three-part song form is characterized by a third part that is the melody of the first part. If we designate the melody of the first part as “A” and the melody of the second part as “B”, then the three-part song form is describes as ABA. Some composers, to make sure that listeners remember the melody of the first part, repeat its melody (usually with some variations) before going to the melody of the second part. The melody of the first part is easily recognized when the melody of the second part returns to the melody of the first part (now the third part). This three- part song form is described as AABA.
THE COMPOUND SONG FORM
This is a combination of two or more song forms. The song for that comes first is called the principal song. The second is often called the trio. The term trio was used because when these forms were developing, the second form was composed for three vocal parts or three instruments that were to be played simultaneously. The term trio is commonly used even if the second song form is not a
trio in the literal sense. (The practice of still doing things the same way even when the reasons for doing them are no longer valid is not the monopoly of music artists).
After the trio, the principal song returns, usually with some variations.