Melody

Robert Walsh
Melody is:

Motion: creates the “shape” or “contour” of the melody.

Rhythm: the movement of the melody.

1.Stay close to the Harmony or suggest it
2.Control the Range
3.Balance Steps and Leaps
4.Manage Melodic Rhythm
5.Alternate where the melody Enters.
6.Manage Your Endings
7.Manage the Contour.
Mozart Symphony #40, K550

Main Hook:
Opening Motif

Germ
Steps and Leaps
Balance step-wise motion (stability) with leaps (interest).
More often than not, a melody returns to step-wise motion
after a leap (or two).

Plamondon – Blues du businessman

Daniel Bélanger: Les deux printemps
Handel: Joy to the World
Closed and Open Endings

Ma belle étoile by Edmond Dufort

Following the Lines
Phrasing
- Natural = musical (believable conversational lyrics help)
- Use natural emphasis on syllables and words within phrases.

Placing emphasis on the wrong syllables sounds bad:

How you doING?
BroTHER can you spare A dime?
The presiDENT fell down THE stairs.

Melisma
Don’t overdo it (hard to understand lyrics)
Select a word that has some significance (I/he/she/they/why/see,
etc.) rather than a word like a, an, it, or the.
Exercise: Use the following chord progression and create a melody “following
the line”.

Am - D9 - FMaj7 - E7sus

Or :

I – vi – ii - V
 Exercise: Write melody and chords using these lyrics:

Verse 1 Chorus
I wish I could see what’s in her head I’m on pause
When she gets that far away gaze (glaze?) But she’s on play
Maybe she leaves the planet Spinning around another universe
Maybe she’ll be gone for days I wonder how long she’ll stay
She always finds her way back to me I’m on pause
And I take what I can get But that’s okay
But I’d love to know the places she goes As long as she lands back in my life
And the characters she’s met She can take a little time away.

Use contour, rhythm, range to create contrasting sections. Ensure you have:
- At least one open ending;
- A good balance of leaps and steps;
- A climax to the melody.
3. Exercise Using Verse/PreChorus/Chorus Form. Try writing a song using these criteria:

Verse: Repeat at least one line.

Base the melody on a fluid, not-very-active rhythm.
Use a fairly static contour.
End with an open ending.
PreChorus: Limit yourself to no more than 3 lines.
Create an asymmetrical number of bars.
Start the section with a new chord.
Use a melody that features a few leaps.
Make the contour rise at least a little from the Verse.
Make the melody a little more active.
End with an open ending.
Chorus: Use lots of repetition.
Make the melody very rhythmic, making the rhythm the defining feature.
Make the contour rise at least a little from the PreChorus.
End with either a closed ending.