Unit 3 – MELODY AND HARMONY UNIT 3 Introduction: What is the difference between Melody and Harmony? - Melody is a succession of notes - Harmony is a combination of notes sounding simultaneously 1. Melody 1.1 Definition: Melody is a succession of tones comprised of mode, rhythm, and pitches so arranged as to achieve musical shape, being perceived as a unity by the mind. In a piece of music where there is more than one voice, or where harmony is present, the melody is the dominant tune of the composition. 1.2 Kinds of melody - Ascending melody - Descending melody - Undulated melody (wavy) - Linear melody - Zigzag (crooked) melody - irregular Listen the class examples 1.3 Interval We can define interval as the distance between two pitches. The interval between two notes is the distance between the two pitches in other words,, how much higher or lower one note is than the other. other This concept is so important that it is almost impossible to talk about scales, chords, harmonic progression, cadence without mentioning intervals. 1.3.1 Step and half step Step is an interval of a second. Within the context of a scale, a step is the interval between one degree and the next, regardless if it is a major, minor, augmented, or diminished second. 1.3.1 Naming Intervals a) The first step in naming the interval is to find the distance between the notes as they are written on the staff. Count every line and every space in between the notes, as well as the lines or spaces that the notes are on. This gives you the number for the interval
b) Then, you have to find the steps and half steps between the notes (remember: half steps are only between E-F and between B-C) Example The interval between C and the F above it is 5 half steps, or two and a half steps.
You can count any number of whole steps or half steps between notes; just remember to count all sharp or flat notes (the black keys on a keyboard) as well as all the natural notes (the white keys) that are in between. c) We can also determine if the interval is ascending or descending and if the it’s a melodic interval or a harmonic interval
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Exercise 1: Identify the intervals below in terms of half steps and whole steps.
Exercise 2: Fill in the second note of the interval indicated in each measure.
1. 4 Scales We define scales as a series of notes in ascending or descending order that presents the pitches of a key or mode, beginning and ending on the tonic of that key or mode. Scales are ordered in pitch or pitch class, with their ordering providing a measure of musical distance. The degrees of a scale have specific names shown below The first degree of the scale is the tonic The second is the supertonic The third is the mediant The fourth is the subdominant, subdominant The fifth is the dominant, dominant The sixth is the submediant The seventh is the leading tone or the subtonic -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Harmony 2.1 Definition Definit ion of harmony We can define harmony as the concordant (or consonant) combination of notes sounded simultaneously to produce chords. Harmony is when you hear two or more different tones sounding at the same time. And what is the function of harmony? Melodies can sound very boring without harmony. Harmony helps the melody Harmony supports the melody and gives the music texture or mood. You can change how a piece of music sounds by changing only the harmony. - The same melody will sound very different if you y ou play it with one harmony or another. - Harmony is added to melodies to make them more interesting. 2.2 Chords We define chords as the sounding of two or more notes (usually at least three) simultaneously. simultaneously - Chords make harmony. - Chords move in a vertical line (up and down). Look at how these notes are stacked on top of each other. This is what harmony looks like. You will hear clusters of sounds when chords like this are played. Chords and harmony move in a vertical line (up and down).
Now, we are going to build chords
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2.3 Consonance and dissonance Consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable and music sounds sweet and pleasing to the ear as opposed to dissonance. The strictest definition of consonance may be only those sounds which are pleasant Dissonance is the quality of sounds which seems "unstable", and "need" to "resolve" to a "stable" consonance Traditionally Dissonance chords have been considered harsh and have expressed pain, grief, and conflict." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------SUMMARY Melodies move in a horizontal line, from left to right. It's just like reading a sentence, which also moves from left to right. Melodies can sound very boring without harmony. If you remember that melodies move in a horizontal line (left to right) and harmonies move in a vertical line (up and down), you can understand anything in music. Exercise 3 Give the complete name for each interval.
Exercise 4 Build chords with the next notes
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