2. PITCH: MELODY, INTERVALS & SCALES
1. MELODY
Pitch is the quality of sound that depends on the wave frequency and allows us to distinguish between low and high sounds. We represent different pitches in scores by means of musical notes.
Melody is a succession of sounds with different pitches and durations.
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Range is the distance between the lowest and highest notes of a melody. It can be narrow, as in children’s songs, or wide.
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Melodic line or contour is the shape of the melody, obtained joining all the noteheads.
Birds On The Wires
Types of melodic lines​
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Flat melody: melody that hardly moves either up or down and it uses repeated notes.
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Ascending melody: melody that goes from low to high notes.
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Descending melody: melody that goes from high to low notes.
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Arch melody: melody that goes from low to high notes and returns to low notes or vice versa.
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Undulating melody: melody that moves up and down in small intervals, creating a wave-like pattern.
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Zig zag melody: melody that moves up and down in wide intervals, creating peaks.
Vivaldi - Autumn
(Flat melody)
R. Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra
(Ascending melody)
Pachelbel - Canon
(Descending melody)
Mozart - 12 Variations K. 265
(Arch melody)
Grieg - Morning Mood
(Undulating melody)
Mozart - Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525
(Zig zag melody)
Which is the predominant type of melodic line?
Bizet – Habanera (Carmen)
Beethoven – Symphony n. 7 II. Allegretto
2. INTERVALS
Interval is the distance between any two notes. We obtain the name of the interval by counting the number of notes it covers, from the first to the last. For example, the interval between do and mi is a third (do-1, re-2, mi-3).
Types of intervals
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Melodic interval: interval in which both notes sound successively (one after another); they are written horizontally.
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Harmonic interval: interval in which both notes sound simultaneously (at the same time); they are written vertically.
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Ascending interval: interval in which the first note is lower than the second note.
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Descending interval: interval in which the first note is higher than the second note.
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Conjunct interval: interval in which both notes are consecutive steps in a scale.
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Disjunct interval: interval in which both notes are not consecutive steps in a scale.
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Simple interval: interval in which the distance between both notes does not exceed an octave.
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Compound interval: interval in which the distance between both notes exceeds an octave.
Tones and semitones
Western music divides the octave into 12 semitones.
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A semitone or half step is the smallest distance between two notes or between any two adjacent piano keys.
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A tone or whole step equals two semitones.
Other traditions use microtones. Arabic and Turkish music divide the octave into 24 quarter tones, while Indian use 22 shrutis. Microtonal music often sounds unfamiliar to Western ears.
3. SCALES
A scale is an ordered succession of ascending or descending notes. Most melodies are built within a specific scale system that varies across cultures.
Types of scales​
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The diatonic scale is a seven-note scale made up of 5 tones and 2 semitones. It can be major or minor depending on the distribution of semitones. Do major and La minor are the model scales. It is the most common scale in Western music.
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The chromatic scale is a twelve-note scale made up of 12 semitones.
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The pentatonic scale is a five-note scale that avoids semitones, made up of 3 tones and two groups of tone and semitone. It is common in Eastern music, blues and rock.
Flats, naturals and sharps
These are musical signs that modify the pitch of the notes.
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â™ Flat: musical sign that lowers the pitch of the note one semitone.
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â™® Natural: musical sign that cancels the effect of a sharp and a flat, restoring the note to its natural pitch.
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♯ Sharp: musical sign that raises the pitch of the note one semitone.
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Where can we find them?
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If they are in the key signature at the beginning of the staff, they affect the notes of the same name throughout the entire composition.
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If they are before a note, they are called accidentals and they affect the notes of the same name in the same bar.
ACTIVITIES​
1. Indicate the type of each melodic line. Listen and identify the order in which they sound.
2. Name the following intervals and mark with an X the types.