Melody
Comparing Melodies : Intro to Melody
Important Terms: Melody , Pitch, Range (high/low) , Accompaniment, Instrumental Music,
MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT THESE MEAN
MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT THESE MEAN
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Melody
Definition:A series of musical notes that the listener perceives as a single entity. -What does a single entity mean? Rule of thumb: What is being sung OR what you would sing back -In most popular music today, the melody is generally provided by the Vocalist, or the Lyrics -Music Where the Melody is Provided by Instruments only is called INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC |
Note
Definition: Any Single Pitch. The smallest unit of sound. A Notes and be either HIGH or LOW ,This describes it's Range ---------HIGH--------- Very High Notes Soprano Tenor Basso Profondo ---------LOW-------- |
****** Anything going on in a song other than the melody would be called accompaniment , or accompanying music . I.E. Singer would be Melody, Drums, Piano, Guitar, ETC. would be accompaniment*******
Visualizing Melody......
So, essentially, a Melody is a bunch of Notes mixed together going up and down and up and down in RANGE
Imagine we visualize the notes in a melody.
We wouldn't have a straight line, because that would just be one long note that doesn't change, which wouldn't make for a very interesting song
Imagine we visualize the notes in a melody.
We wouldn't have a straight line, because that would just be one long note that doesn't change, which wouldn't make for a very interesting song
The notes are constantly changing ranges, going low to high in different increments (sometimes jumping around from VERY low to VERY high, and sometimes just moving a little bit)
Look Below - Although we do not all read music, look at the "Happy Birthday" sheet music below: We can see that the dots (representing the notes) don't just stay on one line or space (like the straight line), but they move around jumping to higher lines (higher range) to lower lines (lower range) and all around.
Melody Delivery
*****We will see this term 'DELIVERY' again - it simply means : Within the context of a song or piece of music, what/who is providing it to us (or 'playing' it). *******
Some Examples of Different Melody Delivery....
Vocal Male
Vocal Female
Instrumental Saxophone
Instrumental Violin
Scream Singing
Foreign Language
Rap/Spoken
Vocal Female
Instrumental Saxophone
Instrumental Violin
Scream Singing
Foreign Language
Rap/Spoken
Components of a Melody : Keep in mind that when dealing with vocal melody, there are two parts: The Lyrics + the Melody - I.E. the Melody is made up of the musical notes, and the lyrics words set to that melody.
In Other words - Think of any song not he radio - I could play any melody on my trumpet, but I would only be playing the MUSICAL part of the melody, not the LYRICAL!
OR
Think of that same song - I could SPEAK the lyrics , And that way I would only be covering the LYRICAL part of the melody , and ignoring the MUSICAL
In Other words - Think of any song not he radio - I could play any melody on my trumpet, but I would only be playing the MUSICAL part of the melody, not the LYRICAL!
OR
Think of that same song - I could SPEAK the lyrics , And that way I would only be covering the LYRICAL part of the melody , and ignoring the MUSICAL
In-Class Activity: Comparing Melody
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Cover Song Definition:
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a previously recorded, commercially released song by someone other than the original artist or composer. In a cover song, some things will stay the same, while some change. These are choices the new artist has to make. Generally the LYRICS and MELODY stay intact, but the delivery changes (male instead of female etc. ) |
Song List:
Example 1 Cover - Example 1 Original Example 2 Cover - Example 2 Original Example 3 Cover - Example 3 Original Example 4 Cover - Example 4 Original Cover Song Questions: 1. What characteristics of the melody have changed in the new cover version?
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Judging Melody
Simple ------------------------VS.---------------------- Complex
This is one way we will be judging melody and all other aspects of music.
What are some characteristics of melody that would make it Simple or Complex ?