Melody and Texture

Melody
A horizontal arrangement of pitches of a specific duration. A succession of tones arranged in such a way as to give a musical sense.

Properties of a melody:
1. Moves according to rhythm. 2. Melody has dimension. It may be short or extended. The range of a melody may be narrow, moderate or wide. (Range is the pitch distance from the lowest to the highest note.)

Melody has direction. (Ascending, descending, and repeating or repetitive)

Moves according to rhythm. All melody has rhythm but rhythm can exist without melody .

Melody has dimension. It may be short or extended. . Figures or extended- the smallest unit in
a musical composition.

Motif- is similar to figure but motif is more characteristic of

the melodic line. The motif presents the prevailing idea the composer wants to convey.

Section- is composed of a motif and a figure

Phrase- is composed of two sections.

Melody has direction

ascending

 Ascending melodies create a feeling of tension, energy, or excitement. Descending melody creates a feeling of repose, loss of energy, or relaxation.

descending

repeating

4. Melody can be in high, medium, or low register depending on the voice or instrument used. It may transfer from one register to another. (Register is the part of total compass of an instrument or voice that has qualities distinct from the other parts of this range.)

Melody in high register

Melody in medium register

Melody in low register

5. Melody has progression. Progression refers to the intervals between the tones. Melodies may move in repeated tones, by steps, skips or leaps.

Melody has progression

repeated

By steps, ascending

By steps, descending

Ascending progression by skip

Progression by skip, descending

Progression by leaps

Interval
Is the distance or the difference in pitch between any two tones or sounds.

 The size of the interval is calculated by counting the letter names upwards, from the lower to the higher note and both notes are included in the total.

Letter names

Interval names 1. According to position: Unison, 2nd, rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, Octave. 3 Added quality: perfect intervals such as prime or unison, perfect fourth, perfect fifth, and octave.

2. According to degree or function or order: tonic, supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading tone or sometimes known as subtonic.

According to position

Letter names

The interval from c to d is a second

8th or 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th octave

According to degree

Interval names

ii

iii

IV V

vi

vii I

tonic submediant super tonic dominant tonic mediant leading tone subdominant

Scales Melodies come from scales or modes. In ancient Greece scale was called as mode. Now in the modern times we call it scale which comes from Latin the word scala, meaning ladder.

 A series of tones arranged in a set pattern in which the notes of a composition are derived. Maybe arranged in ascending or descending order.

Raga(s)
A scale which is the basis of all Indian Music. It consisted of 6 tones of 7 pitches or even more and composers create music based on raga:

c 1

d 2

e 3

f 4

g 5

a 6

bb
7

The first five tones in the center of b raga are e to b

bb

Morning Raga:

c d b e b f# a # c c

b a b fb e b d b c

Pentatonic scale:

c
1

d
1

g
11/2 1