Tag: melody

Tip #131 – Experimenting with Melodic Coupling

Melodic Coupling is when an additional melodic line in the same contour and rhythm is added to a main melodic line at an interval above or below it.

Rock, metal, and punk songs are notorious for using melodic coupling in the way of adding a new line above the main melody at a perfect fifth – hence, the power chord.

Doubling at the octave is also considered a form of melodic coupling, but it doesn’t create a full sense of harmony as other harmonic intervals would suggest.

So, today’s tip is a small suggestion to play around with different intervals in coupling. Diatonic thirds, sixths, and octaves are the most common – but that means we shouldn’t neglect other perfect intervals or diatonic seconds and sevenths.

Also, just like the example below, you can experiment with diatonic and continuous chromatic intervals. In other words: instead of switching between m3 and M3 intervals, just keep one throughout a melodic line!:

Try it out and see what possibilities it may unlock.

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Tip #130 – Pros of Melodic Overlap

Melodic overlap is a concept that we have covered before in previous tips. Just like dovetailing and staggering entrances for a continuous line – melodic overlap is when a melodic line for one group of instruments is sustained and carried-out by another group.

This can be done by having half of the violins play the melody, and then at the midway-point have that first half sustain a note while the other half continue where the melody left off at a new phrase.

Like passing the baton in a race!

Now, some of you reading this might think that this is a stupid idea. Why can’t the instruments just play the melodic line start-to-finish?

Well, here is a list of pros and possibilities utilized from using melodic overlap:

  1. Divides sections into smaller groups for more polyphonic or antiphonal possibilities.
  2. Becomes a smooth entrance for a new line
  3. Adds interest, excitement, and momentum
  4. Creates a flow of thematic materials
  5. Prepares the audience’s ear for contrapuntal lines.

So as you can see, there are a lot of benefits of using melodic overlap in your new composition.

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Tip #125 – Crossing Voices to Avoid Repetition

Say you had this line written and you wanted to arrange it for three voices:

What would you do? Would you simply gives lines top-to-bottom?

While that is an option, you do run into the danger of sounding monotonous with having some voices continuously repeat notes.

A way to avoid this is by crossing voices!

So, instead of having the bottom two voices stay of the E4 and C4 respectively, they can cross and alter between the two.

Therefore, you would get something similar to this when arranging for three voices:

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Tip #116 – Key Change with a Predictable Melody

Once you established an “earworm” melody in the listener’s… ears of course, you have the ability to pull out the rug from underneath them and do a key change.

How?

Well, first take a look at the composition below:

Say that the first four measures is the original motif/chorus/theme… whatever you want to call it. We know that on every repeat the second measure of the four measure pattern the melody is an A4.

However, that pitch can be harmonized in a multitude of ways. Looking back at the example above, the pitch is now harmonized with an A major triad instead of an A minor triad. This chord then acts as a IV chord in a IV-V-I progression taking us to the key of E Major.

This sounds smooth to the ear because we were already expecting that A to happen… just not the other notes around it.

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Tip #108 – Innate Pulls of Dominant Modulations

Take a look at the melody below and analyze it the best you can:

Notice how the melody seems to be for the most part centered in an E Mixolydian mode.

However, you have those two measures highlighted in blue that hint at a temporary modulation to B Mixolydian. Then, it returns back to E Mixolydian.

If you play this melody, the transition works so smoothly. Why?

Well, think about the B Mixolydian mode. The mode itself is built around a B7 chord. In common music theory practice, the B7 chord will resolve (typically) to a chord with a root in E.

Thus, that is why the modulation from B Mixolydian is smooth, because it has the innate pull to resolve back to a centered tone of E anyways.

So, for this tip’s overall lesson: when using temporary modulations, consider the resolution of the scale/mode as well as the chords built on it for a seamless transition.

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Tip #102 – Ending on a “Wrong” Note

I dislike using the word “wrong” – mostly because a note is wrong only if you don’t like it and you purposely played it. So in that case, anything musically done with purpose is right.

That being said, on with today’s topic:

Sometimes, I find myself ending a phrase, melody, or musical idea on a note that appears in the chord. While that is not necessarily a problem, I do find it predictable. Especially if the harmony is stagnant.

Today is a gentle reminder that you should experiment with ending on melodic tones that are not the tonic or a chord member of the present playing harmony. This can allow a feeling on continuation or mystery. Irresolution that can develop into a new idea.

See how different tension tones work or sound better/worse than each other.

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Tip #96- Last-Minute Chorus Key Change

You might have already heard this in a song on the radio or on your playlist today. Nonetheless, it is a cool topic to cover.

Even with an awesome chorus in your song or exciting exposition in your composition, you might want to spice it up.

Take this mock-chorus below:

One thing that we can do is repeat the chorus, but transpose the section up an entire interval – creating a key change last minute to surprise the audience. The most commonly used intervals are the minor second (m2):

Major second (M2):

And minor third (m3):

Experiment with all three, or try a rarely used interval!

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Tip #68 – Boxed Melody

Continuing with the idea of limitation to unlock creativity, take into the idea of boxed melody.

Basically, this means keeping the span of the melody to a relatively close interval (at most a P5) over a set bass pitch.

Below is a commonality of limited melodic range found in blues harmony. Play around with setting yourself some criteria of limitations as to which pitches you can use over each unique harmonic root. Don’t always make it tonal, too. Experiment and have fun!


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Tip #8 – Finding That Melodic Pair with Contrary Motion

Have you ever noticed that when we ask a question, our voices tend to wander higher in pitch? Even as you were reading that pervious question, the voice in your head must have had direction in their tone, contour, and phrasing. When someone answers a question, the voice goes in the opposite motion and lowers in pitch.

Sure, can you find examples where this does not happen? Yeah, but it is a phenomenon of a natural occurrence of contrary motion in contour.

Say you have a melodic fragment, and idea, that needs some kind of “answer” to it. First, observe the melodic intervals, direction, and shape of the melodic line.

Now, flip that shape upside-down in your head. For example: if it went up, have the melody go down now in roughly the same interval area. This adds a complemental structure to the melody.


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