The_Complete_Idiot%27s_Guide_To_Music_Theory
The_Complete_Idiot%27s_Guide_To_Music_Theory
The_Complete_Idiot%27s_Guide_To_Music_Theory
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102<br />
Part 3: Tunes<br />
Note<br />
Ironically, the melody of<br />
“<strong>The</strong> Star-Spangled<br />
Banner” comes from an<br />
English drinking song<br />
called “Anacreon in<br />
Heaven.” Maybe the high<br />
notes are easier to hit after<br />
a few pints of British ale!<br />
Obviously, this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. (And every rule is meant to be broken,<br />
anyway!) Think, for example, of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” or “Moon<br />
River,” or “When You Wish Upon a Star.” All of these songs feature leaps of<br />
anywhere from a fifth to an entire octave in their melodies. So it’s okay to leap,<br />
if you know what you’re doing—although small steps are better suited for lessexperienced<br />
songwriters.<br />
Small steps and large leaps in a melody—the small steps sound more lyrical and are easier to sing.<br />
Stay in Range<br />
A melody with too wide a range—really hard to sing!<br />
You don’t want to cover too many notes in your melody. If the distance between<br />
the lowest note and the highest note is too wide, singers will have trouble<br />
singing all of your melody—and your melody will start to sound random and<br />
disjointed, without a home.<br />
Consider, for example, America’s national anthem, “<strong>The</strong> Star-Spangled<br />
Banner.” Francis Scott Key put his words to one whopper of a tune—one that<br />
had a rather wide melodic range. Think of how hard this song is to sing—and<br />
how many well-trained vocalists have trouble hitting all the notes. <strong>The</strong> broad<br />
range in this song doesn’t make it a bad song; it just makes it one of the more<br />
difficult songs to sing or play.<br />
Thus, if at all possible keep the lowest and highest notes in your melody within<br />
an octave of each other. (Or, at most, within an octave and a third.) You should<br />
also consider the absolute range of the voice or instrument you’re writing for,<br />
and try to stay within that range. (<strong>To</strong> learn more about voice and instrument<br />
ranges, turn to Chapter 19.)<br />
Avoid Unsingable Intervals<br />
While we’re on the topic of singability, certain intervals are easier to sing than<br />
others. Half steps and whole steps are easy to sing, as are seconds, thirds, and<br />
fifths. Some fourths, for some reason, are a little more difficult to sing, and<br />
sixths and sevenths are particularly problematic.<br />
Octaves aren’t by nature difficult—a C is a C is a C, whether it’s high or low—<br />
although the shear distance between the notes adds a degree of difficulty for<br />
singers. Along the same lines, any interval over an octave should probably be<br />
avoided, just because it’s such a big jump.