New answers tagged melody
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It's also known as a 'walking bass'. You're walking down the scale. It walks/works going upwards too. Just before where an E note will come at the beginning of a bar, try playing an F♮. It's out of key, but can sound quite effective.
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This is a pretty common approach to basslines that dates back centuries. It's known as a "step-descent bass," and with some chromatic pitches you can also end up with what is known as a "lament bass."
Often a bassline like this repeats over and over, as it sounds like yours does. In such instances, we also call it a "ground bass," which just indicates a ...
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There are several responses to this. One is (as ttw's answer notes) that other harmonies (such as ii, iii, and vi) can be interspersed among the primary notes of the schemata.
But I think there are several other answers, including:
The question seems to be only considering a subset of Gjerdigen's schemata. The very first schemata Gjerdingen discusses is ...
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Gjerdingen's work on schemata does show some use with secondary chords. (ii and vi and iii) The point is that the schemata are not complete; there may be notes (and chords) between elements of these schemata. A simple V-I may become a ii6-V-I or ii6-F6-V-I or the like. Similarly for schemata. The actual chemata need not occur contiguously but only need to be ...
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One ambiguity in the question seems to be whether the examples of Pachelbel et al. are harmonic progressions vs. melodic bass lines. Historically, many of these riffs were thought of primarily within a melodic framework as a bass line, with only some general trends for harmonization. I'd say that continues today, as bass line patterns like descending ...
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This example is following Bob Gjerdingen's convention for schemata.
From the introduction to his Music in the Galant Style (pp. 20-21):
Names of scale steps. When I refer to the steps of a scale or key
from an eighteenth-century perspective, I often use the names favored
at that time. In place of the nineteenth-century English syllables
doh, ray, ...
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My main instrument is guitar and early on I learned about playing scales over chords, but then I found an old out of print book "Modern Improvising" by Leon White that has a listing of 115 different melodic patterns, exercises to help a guitar player create melody lines instantly while improvising. In my own situation, I started doing these exercises and ...
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I was assuming that the white-circled numbers under the bass parts were the thoroughbass and that the black-circled numbers above were the scale degrees ...
You are right, this is not the case.
I guess : The numbers are relating to the moveable do (DOREMI= 123).
The excerpt begins in Gm:
G,A,Bb,C,D = 12345
l.h. G =1, r.h. D =5
in the second line (2nd ...
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In the Gregorian chant there are terms for the 5th (and 6th) in modes like tenor or repercussion tone, and finalis. All neumes can be considered as melodic clichés or elements.
in the baroque era until today we have the Ruggiero 1231-4564 ... (walking bass) or the Alberti bass patterns (all kind of triads).
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I am wondering if there are similar guides/platitudes/clichés/etc. for melodies.
Yes.
They may not be interesting to see when written out as abstractions. But patterns like...
^3 ^2 ^1
^1 ^5 ^6 ^5
^1 ^6 ^2 ^1
...are common melodic segments. (The numbers mean "scale degree", so ^1 is the first scale degree, the tonic, or DO is solfege.) Each is just a ...
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To me, it sounds like a disconnect in audience expectations.
OP claims to be making a rather exact transcription, adhering closely to Mozart's original pitches, textures, etc.
OP's audience apparently wants a more free arrangement.
These are two different things. Either explain your approach to your audience, and they will have to deal with it. Or write ...
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I have been told before that in my Mozart arrangements, I stick too closely to Mozart's original and I often get told to add notes that Mozart didn't even use like say adding a ninth to a dominant seventh.
Adding a ninth when Mozart didn't include a ninth is altering the music away from Mozart.
But you can write the music in different octaves depending on ...
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