What is melody?
If chords are the vertical element in music, melody is the horizontal. If we could slice through time, we might be able to capture the harmony found in music, but not the melody. So melody is the linear element of music, the organisation of pitch and rhythm working together through time.
It’s very difficult to define what represents a “good” melody. What I attempt to do in the following is to look at examples of successful musical pieces and see if there are any patterns or principles that make a melody “work”.
part one - tips 1 - 3
1. The Power of Three
This is one of the most common patterns we find in melodic development. Let’s have a look at the opening lines to “Send In The Clowns” by Stephen Sondheim :-
"A motif" is the opening notes
Ab - Bb - Eb - Eb
Isn’t it rich? (A motif) Aren’t we a pair? (A motif) Me here at last on the ground, and you in mid-air... (A motif development)
Notice that lines 1 and 2 are the same four note melodic motif. The following line “Me here at…” has a similar rhythm and feel, but extends the idea. This pattern of repeating a motif and then developing it also happens in the next section:-
Just when I'd stopped (A2 motif) Opening doors (A2 motif)
Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours. (A2 motif development)
(I’ve marked the motif A2 because it’s a development of the original idea, only a little higher in pitch).
So if you get a great idea, think about repeating it and then on the third time, see if you can develop it somehow. This principle works best for developing very short phrases e.g. four or five note ideas.
2. The Power of the Pentatonic
This is a principle true for nearly all popular sung melodies. Song melody tends to revolve around pentatonic scales. “Penta” means five, and “tonic” means notes, so a pentatonic scale is a series of five notes. The most common forms of pentatonic scales are the pentatonic major and the pentatonic minor. Here they are in C:-
Pentatonic Major Scale In C
C-D-E-G-A
Pentatonic Minor Scale In C
C-Eb-F-G-Bb
(from which we also have the blues scale by adding in the diminished fifth – F#)
Let’s take a look at “The Scientist” by Coldplay (often refered to as “Nobody Said It Was Easy”).
As this is in the key of F, here are the notes to F pentatonic major:-
F – G – A – C – D
The first line of the song uses four notes from this scale, in this order:-
F – G – F – C – A
And through out the whole of the verse, it restricts itself to just these four pitches (with a variation on the pattern at line three – notice also the “power of three” at work here). Only at the chorus do we get one new pitch (D)
F – D – C – F - D – C – F – D – C
(To the words “Nobody said it was easy”)
And only on the final two lines of the chorus are there any other pitches in the whole of the melody (Bb and E). This restriction to just a few notes gives the song a nursery rhyme like quality, making it is easily remembered. And when the movement away from the pentatonic comes (on the last two lines) the notes have more impact, because we have been unconsciously anticipating a change such as this for a long time.
3. Write Without An Instrument
In a BBC two interview about composing, Stephen Sondheim revealed how he likes to write melodies – by lying on his back and singing. Only when he thinks he may have a strong idea, does he do any further work on it with an instrument. This is an interesting principle. If you have a melody that is not dependent on accompaniment for it work, then it’s likely that you have a strong idea.
Another example of a composer working in this way is Lionel Bart, who was unable to play an instrument, and relied on others to work out the chords for his songs. Consider the strength in the melody (and counter-melodies) of “Who Will Buy” from “Oliver!” the musical:-
The same melody works when it is presented with very sparse musical accompaniment (when Oliver sings near the beginning) and also works when the arrangement becomes more complex and elaborate towards the end of the song.
So the next time you find yourself writing a melody, why not see if you can write a whole section (or even work) without touching your instrument!
