Questions tagged [melody]
A succession of notes which comprise the principal part in harmonized music.
322
questions
0
votes
0
answers
74
views
Why was Mozart so good at writing melodies?
I don't mean this in a "hurr durr IQ hurr durr GENIOUS" way. Do we know if Mozart specifically studied folk songs, lieder etc. over learning fugues and counterpoint?
- 131
0
votes
2
answers
92
views
How come scales that differ in their ascent and descent tend to use raised notes going up and lowered notes going down regardless of musical culture?
A great variety of scales across the world differ in the way they go up and down. Some examples that come to mind are the Melodic minor that has A and B natural going up but Bb and Ab going down. A ...
2
votes
0
answers
108
views
What makes the melody so counterintuitive in the chorus/refrain of Light my Fire? [closed]
In the song light my fire by the doors, the refrain of the chorus repeats: “c’mon baby, light my fire”
The last 3-4 syllables have something interesting going on in the variations that come with each ...
- 121
1
vote
1
answer
75
views
What options do I have to utilize all my created riffs to their full potential?
Playing guitar, I tend to create a whole bunch of different riffs that flow one after the other in the same key. They all sound really good together but then I wonder how I could turn them into a song....
- 13
3
votes
2
answers
102
views
What do you call it when two different melodies are combined? [duplicate]
Say that Alice has a theme song with a certain melody. Also, Bob has his own theme with a certain melody. But during a scene where Alice and Bob are together, both melodies are played together at once ...
- 233
1
vote
1
answer
57
views
Question on the definition of a dissonant passing/neighbor tone?
I am currently trying to teach myself counterpoint following Jacob Gran's videos. When I was analyzing my exercises today, I thought of this question. If the first two notes of a dissonant neighbor(or ...
- 11
0
votes
3
answers
95
views
Time signature vs. Melody [duplicate]
I have a very difficult time understanding the relevance of time signature in music. Does a musician think in terms of time signature when composing a piece, or thinks in terms of melody?
When I play ...
- 153
7
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What do you call it when someone sings a melody and simultaneously plays the exact same melody?
What do you call it when someone sings a melody while another instrument plays the exact same melody in unison?
For example:
"Crosstown Traffic" – The Jimi Hendrix Experience, intro: a ...
- 173
4
votes
3
answers
451
views
What is it called when the main melody is playing in a different time signature from the harmony?
For example, in the Phantasy Star Online Intro song, the main melody starts to play in 3/4 time, whereas the overall song (and the harmony) remains playing in 4/4 time. (starts after 10 seconds, at ...
- 233
5
votes
3
answers
580
views
How can I find a reference pitch when I practice singing a song by ear?
If I listened to a song for enough time, memorized the melody and the vocals of the original singer removed and now I am left with just the accompaniments playing in the background and I am going to ...
- 347
6
votes
3
answers
910
views
Learning to sing a song: sheet music vs. by ear
Every time I want to learn to sing a new song, I get sheet music of the song and practice playing the melody on the piano before practicing singing it to match the pitch from the piano, memorize the ...
- 347
3
votes
2
answers
733
views
Do I need to know every note I am going to sing?
If I am learning to sing a song do I need to know what notes and chords are in the song to find my reference pitch for the first note I am going to sing or singing the first note happens unconsciously ...
- 347
1
vote
1
answer
68
views
Having a hard time writing a midi melody in my DAW [closed]
I have a problem. I am writing a midi melody in a part of a song in Reaper.
I'm having a hard time writing it because several notes sound out of beat and I have no reference (bar lines) so, being a ...
- 11
4
votes
3
answers
597
views
Can a diatonic melody in one key sound like it is in another key?
Here is a simple melody I composed in C# minor but while listening to it closely, the part notated in red seems to me like the music has actually moved across to G# minor. Is it weird to say this ...
- 9,209
1
vote
0
answers
41
views
More Terms for Melodic Functions in Narrative Situations
Leitmotifs (which in this context I mean as a motif or theme representing a person, place, thing, idea, etc.) are one of the only music theory concepts that have really escaped into (comparatively) ...
- 133
1
vote
1
answer
96
views
Learning to sing: Some songs i can sing straightforwardly other i really cant is this normal?
I've been learning to sing for a year. And I noticed some great improvements but there is one thing that happens to me that is totally strange: When I listen to songs, there are songs that I can "...
- 305
2
votes
2
answers
73
views
Does the Scarlatti's 'Cortege' really sound like Gaudeamus Igitur?
Every time I hear https://imslp.org/wiki/Keyboard_Sonata_in_E_major%2C_K.380_(Scarlatti%2C_Domenico), I think I'm hearing the melody for the third and fourth lines of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
- 770
2
votes
1
answer
122
views
The reading of a song: what a beginner in composition needs to pay attention when reading a song? [closed]
Firstly, I'm a beginner in composition and all of my songs were quite "intuitive". I'm at a stage where I really need to know music theory in order to produce better songs.
I) Introduction
...
- 231
3
votes
1
answer
67
views
Where is the palindrome melody in Schoenberg Op.15 No.1
From Mindy Beth Horowitz's dissertation, "Vocal Melody in Schoenberg's Opus 15: Boundaries of Text and Register",
The song begins with an almost palindromic melody which ascents from B3 to ...
- 119
1
vote
2
answers
72
views
A melodic 2nd above a simple minor triad has a unique feel, and a required duration. Explanations?
Examples
“Long” (first sung note) in Carpenters ‘Superstar’. B mel above A minor
“Far” in ‘Yesterday’ (McCartney). E mel above D minor
The effect is lost over a min7 (why?). Or without extended ...
- 11
2
votes
2
answers
95
views
Keep moving hand while playing a melody?
If I play a melody with the rythm like fourth, eight, eight, how should I move my hands?
My books says it should be a downstroke on the first fourth, downstroke on the first eight and an upstroke on ...
- 123
5
votes
3
answers
151
views
Can a Round Modulate?
I've been messing around with simple 2-part rounds recently, and also with modulation. The question occurred to me, can a round modulate? Initially I though not, since it would involve having parts in ...
- 289
4
votes
2
answers
654
views
If a song has no scale degree 6, how to decide between aeolian and dorian?
I don't know what I did to deserve it, but I had "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" stuck in my head this morning (perhaps better known with lyrics about an ant colony, as popularized by a ...
- 12.4k
0
votes
3
answers
174
views
Melody Notes With Borrowed Chords [closed]
If I got a chord progression and I borrow a chord from a parallel mode is the tension/harmony between the melody and the underlying chord to the parallel, or the original chord, or both?
Let's say I ...
- 105
1
vote
3
answers
197
views
Analysing melodies with mathematics [closed]
I am doing a statistics project in which I analyze the most streamed songs on Spotify to create one based on the data I get. I analyze the harmony, structure, key, tempo... I just don't know how to ...
- 29
1
vote
0
answers
71
views
Melody notes Gouryella - Tenshi [closed]
I would like to know the notes of the melody of this song
I think the notes are like this:
In 1:11:
BBBB EEEE EEEE EEEE
AAAA CCCC DDDD DDDD
GGGG C#C#C#C# EEEE F#F#F#F#
...
- 113
1
vote
0
answers
40
views
Help identifying chords/scale [closed]
I'm new to music theory and I am trying to reproduce parts of a song for practice. I really like the chords/scale that kick in at 2:36 of this song:
Open Form - Lost Desert, Amand, Reigan:
https://...
1
vote
0
answers
105
views
What makes a song not sound like classical music [closed]
For example La Califfa, it is sung by a mezzo-soprano but the melody of this song cannot be mistaken for classical music. Is there a way to explain this? What exactly makes it sound modern?
- 333
6
votes
3
answers
198
views
Melodic minor: Does 6 get raised when descending and then ascending immediately?
I found this embellished suspension in C minor:
The notes between S and R embellish the dissonant S. You can see that the leading tone 7 is raised in both descending and ascending directions, as well ...
- 63
5
votes
5
answers
164
views
Is a note that is enharmonic to a diatonic note of some diatonic scale, also diatonic in regards to that scale?
I'm learning some music theory from a book, and encountered some question in my head that I can't seem to answer.
The question is in the title:
Is a note that is enharmonic to a diatonic note of some ...
- 51
4
votes
5
answers
750
views
How do I make sure I'm hitting the right notes when I sing?
I'm a beginner. I think I will get a new vocal coach since my current vocal coach is ineffective and doesn't help me at all. I asked my question on reddit and asked a singer I know, my question is: ...
- 81
1
vote
5
answers
405
views
Can we run out of melodies one day?
There are a lot of great melodies out there, many of them classic (both classical pieces and electronic songs). They are unique and will never be repeated.
Given that melodies are created using a ...
- 381
3
votes
1
answer
93
views
Is there a historic origin for final ending (cadence) of V-I with melody tones ^3 ^1 in some jazz standards?
In some jazz standards I see a final ending of V-I using melody tones ^3 ^1, for example...
Cherokee in B flat
All of Me in C
Note that the ^3 in those examples is not some kind of embellishment of ^...
- 53.6k
3
votes
0
answers
46
views
How to know in which scale i am from the notes of a melody? [duplicate]
Is there a way to know in which scale a melody is? I have no musical lessons and i learned the minimum that i know from the internet but i think i have some basis (or i want to think it at least). My ...
2
votes
3
answers
156
views
Making a melodic line stand out in written score
I'm arranging an orchestral piece for solo piano, and find myself transcribing a passage with a single melodic line in the lower register, which to play on piano should alternate between the left and ...
- 1,485
1
vote
0
answers
40
views
What is the piano melody to this song [closed]
in the beat of Distance by Beast Coast, I think the first note is a D# but I'm not sure about the others.
- 11
6
votes
2
answers
327
views
What does "plagal" actually mean for modal music and melody generally
Basic textbook descriptions of the church modes seem clear, but I find things confusing when looking at actual compositions. I especially don't understand what "plagal" modes really means.
I ...
- 53.6k
4
votes
3
answers
494
views
notation for different versions of melody
I have a simple song for which I know two melodies to play. They are not played simultaneously - one has to choose between one of them.
What is the common/standard notation for that?
As far as I know, ...
- 728
8
votes
3
answers
694
views
Is there some theory that suggests that sequences may be formed by "sampling" earlier sequences?
Is there some theory that suggests that sequences may be formed by "sampling" earlier sequences?
Often music theory seems to suggest progression as "where to go next", but I've ...
- 181
2
votes
1
answer
107
views
Schumann posthumous variation V's choice on descending the semitone or whole tone
Here is the starting part of Schumann posthumous variation V,
I am interested in knowing the "logic" or the "reasoning" why and how Schumann chose the descending tones of the ...
- 733
1
vote
1
answer
78
views
How to smoothly change between vastly different melodies [closed]
I'm starting a Concerto(Piano) and all of the problems I have come across are A: regarding the orchestration(this is my first orchestral piece) and B: the 2 subjects of the first sonata movement are ...
- 39
4
votes
3
answers
127
views
On Schumann posthumous variation V's note on a natural G or a flat G
This shows the first two bars of Schumann posthumous variations V.
Look at this music note (red-squared), I am curious to know why Schumann chose a natural G instead of the original flat G in this ...
- 733
3
votes
1
answer
96
views
Is there a term for repeated melodies of different length
Inspired Flight's "An Outlet" is an example of what I mean.
For the first few measures, a melody of 16 eighth notes is established in middle register (if I ...
- 183
5
votes
4
answers
788
views
Should melody avoid nonchord tones since they are disonant?
Should nonchord tones be avoided since they are "dissonant"?
- 673
3
votes
2
answers
103
views
Why might two jumps in contrary motion be avoided? [duplicate]
The goal is to write a well-constructed and easily singable melody. There is a motif in my melody that outlines a C major triad like this: E4 G4 C4 (in that order). Why might it not be wise to have ...
- 1,148
8
votes
2
answers
492
views
What techniques and methods govern how melody can suggest a certain harmony?
In The Art of Strict Musical Composition, Volume 2 chapter 3, by Johann Philip Kirnberger (student of Bach) he writes “Here it must be stated first that every good melody is based on a proper harmony, ...
- 81
6
votes
5
answers
467
views
How do rhythm and melody compete and cooperate to define the horizontal space of music?
I have some conceptual trouble understanding the differences between rhythm and melody.
I get that harmony is the vertical dimension of music (thinking in terms of sheet music or a piano roll view in ...
- 79
4
votes
3
answers
529
views
What's it called when you play the same exact melody with a different rhythm?
As an example, here is the original iconic melodic phrase that's used throughout the Trails Sky games:
https://youtube.com/embed/3GB-xej4GFc?start=66&end=85
But here in this next piece, the exact ...
- 233
1
vote
0
answers
37
views
1
vote
2
answers
178
views
What characteristics of a piece contribute to defining its tonal centre?
I have been wondering since a long time that what exactly in a piece defines the scale and the tonal center. Even if we are given a chord progression that is followed through the entirety of the song, ...
- 161