CHAPTER 1
Melody: Musical Line
OVERVIEW
Of all the materials of music, melody stands out as one of the most accessible and appealing to
the ear. This chapter presents melody as a concept that students can understand via a language
very similar to the one employed to describe the structure of sentences, visual art, and physical
objects. Recognizing the characteristics of melody can help students understand how melodies
are crafted to sound memorable, interesting, and distinct.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the concept of melody as a succession of pitches perceived as a recognizable
whole
2. To understand a melody as defined by its contour and range
3. To understand the concept of intervals and how the movement of successive intervals
creates conjunct or disjunct melodies
4. To understand the structure of melody as being made up of phrases (which end in cadences,
or resting points)
5. To recognize the simultaneous sounding of a main melody and a countermelody
LECTURE SUGGESTIONS
1. Play the first phrase of the “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Ask the
students as a group to hum or sing back the melody, or tune, of the excerpt. Afterward,
explain to the students that they have recognized and reproduced the melody of the “Ode to
Joy.” Repeat the exercise with the first phrase of The Star-Spangled Banner. Next, display
to the class the melodic notation of the “Ode to Joy” and ask the students to follow the
contour of the melody during the next hearing. As the excerpt plays, trace the contour under
the notation with a pointer, mouse, etc. Ask the students what shape the contour makes
(line, arch, or wave). Repeat the exercise with The Star-Spangled Banner. Ask the students
to compare the ranges of the excerpts. Which is narrow, and which is wide? Next, ask the
students if they hear or see on the staff of each excerpt the movement of intervals whose
pitches seem close together (conjunct) or far apart (disjunct). As each excerpt plays, trace
the contour under the notation, emphasizing the distance between intervals.
2. Display to the class the text of Amazing Grace, making sure the four phrases are on
separate lines. Ask the class to recite the text as the group. Afterward, ask the students
how many phrases they heard. What signaled the beginning and ending of a new phrase?
Emphasize to students that in music, the pauses are called cadences. Ask the students to
stand and sing Amazing Grace, noting when cadences occur to signal the end of one
phrase and the beginning of the next. Display to the class the melodic notation of
Amazing Grace and ask the students to identify the range, contour, and movement of the
melody as you play a recording. If they have trouble, trace the contour of the melody
while the excerpt plays. Emphasize to students that they can now recognize the basic
components of melody: range, contour, movement, phrase, and cadence.
3. Play the trio of John Philip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever, asking students to raise their
hands when they hear the main melody (first strain) of the trio repeat. Ask the students what
is the same and what is different about the first and the later appearance of the main trio
melody. Students should be able to identify the main melody in both sections (played by the
trombones) and the piccolo countermelody in the repeated section. If students have trouble
recognizing the piccolo countermelody in the repeat, isolate the two examples and play
them back to back (skipping the second strain of the trio, the “dogfight”). Emphasize that
the secondary melody is an example of a countermelody.
ASSIGNMENT SUGGESTIONS
1. Recall a melody you know by heart; it could be a folk song learned in school, a hymn from
church, a lullaby sung to you as a child, or a favorite pop song. What are the range, contour,
and movement of the melody? How many phrases does the song contain? Where are they?
(The words can help define the structure.)
2. Think about melodies that are often sung by large groups (such as The Star-Spangled
Banner, Happy Birthday, For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow, Take Me Out to the Ball Game,
and Auld Lang Syne). Try singing these songs with your friends/classmates outside of class.
Are some more difficult to sing than others? If you forgot the words, could you still sing the
melody? What connections can you make between the answers to these questions and the
components (range, contour, movement, phrase, and cadence) of these well-known
melodies? What conclusions can you draw about the structure of songs sung en masse?
3. Assign a series of listening excerpts, some with single-melody textures and others with
countermelodies. Ask students to distinguish the excerpts with single melodies from those
with countermelodies. You might pair a Gregorian chant with Bach’s Cantata No. 140,
Wachet auf (“Sleepers Awake”), IV, or America with Haydn’s Symphony No. 94
(“Surprise”), II, variation 1.
TEACHING CHALLENGES
Students who have difficulty matching pitches will present the biggest challenge for teaching this
material. As you listen to your students sing, take note of how many voices are off pitch or do
not adjust to the melodic contour. If you hear a significant number of pitch problems, you might
want to review high versus low, using a keyboard or music staff to emphasize the visual
dimension of pitch. As you move forward in the lecture and class activities, make sure to
incorporate visual cues that correspond to melodic contour (pointer, mouse, arms and hands,
etc.).
SUPPLEMENTAL REPERTORY
Chopin: Prelude in E minor, Op. 28, No. 4 (conjunct melody)
Joplin: Maple Leaf Rag (disjunct melody)
Offenbach: Les contes d’Hoffmann, Barcarolle (“Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour”) (conjunct melody,
narrow range)
Puccini: Gianni Schicchi, “O mio babbino caro” (disjunct melody, wide range)
CHAPTER OUTLINE
Melody: Musical Line (Chapter 1)
I. Musical Sound
A. Sound perceived as measurable pitch
1. pitch: determined by frequency
2. note: symbol placed on staff, designates frequency and duration
B. Timbre: tone color, distinct quality
II. Defining Melody
A. Horizontal aspect of music; linear movement
B. Melody: tune (succession of single pitches, recognizable whole)
1. range: distance between lowest and highest notes
a. narrow, medium, wide
2. contour: overall shape
a. ascending, descending, arch, wave, static
3. melodic movement
a. interval: distance between two pitches
b. conjunct: small, connected intervals
c. disjunct: larger, disconnected intervals
III. The Structure of Melody
A. Component parts like parts of a sentence
1. phrase: unit within a larger structure of melody
2. cadence: end of phrase, resting place
a. inconclusive or conclusive (like a comma or period)
3. rhyme scheme: ending of text lines coincide with musical phrase
4. climax: high point in melodic line
a. peak in intensity, range
5. countermelody: secondary melody