The_Complete_Idiot%27s_Guide_To_Music_Theory

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108 Part 3: Tunes Note See Chapter 19 for more information about instrumental and vocal ranges. You want your music to fit with your words. In the simplest sense, this means arranging the rhythm of the music so that it fits the natural rhythm of the words. You don’t want your singers to be forced into awkward phrasing to fit all the syllables into a given space. Most words and phrases have a natural pace, and will suggest a rhythm to you. Make sure your music’s rhythm fits this lyric rhythm—in particular, avoid putting an unaccented word or syllable on an accented part of the measure, like the downbeat. You also want the flow of your melody to match the flow of the words. For example, if the words ask a question, you probably want the melody to flow upward, to imitate the way a human voice ends a question on a higher pitch. In addition, you want the feel of the music to match the feel of the lyrics. If the lyrics are sad, you probably don’t want to set them to a happy-sounding melody. There are exceptions to this rule, of course—mismatching words and lyrics can create a sense of musical irony that is appropriate in some situations—but in general, you want your melody to reflect the feel of the lyrics, even when played without vocals. Write for a Specific Instrument or Voice The type of melody you compose might be dictated by the specific voices or instruments you’re writing for. For example, if you’re writing for flutes, you probably don’t want to create a booming, bombastic melody—they won’t be able to play it. By the same token, too high a melody will be difficult for low male voices to sing. You need to find not only the right range for a given voice or instrument, but also the right feel. Match the requirements of your melody with the right voices and instruments to avoid an unpleasant listening experience. Be Unique Finally, you should know that a melody doesn’t have to be harmonically or rhythmically complex to be memorable; it doesn’t have to be long or short or any certain length. It does, however, have to be distinctive. A memorable melody might remind us of other melodies, but it can’t duplicate them. The best melodies have something unique about them, some distinctive hook or motif or rhythmic pattern that makes them stand out. It’s difficult (if not impossible) to teach you how to be unique, so this is something you’ll have to address on your own. Does your melody stand on its own? Does it sound a little like something else you’ve heard? Does it sound a lot like something else you’ve heard? As with many aspects of composition, this is one area in which you’ll have to trust your ears—and one that you definitely have to listen for. Learn More About Composing Writing your own music is fun, but it requires mastery of many musical skills— of which we’ve only covered a few in this chapter. Whether you want to write songs or symphonies, the same techniques of composition apply. You have to
start with a good grounding in music theory (which is why you’re reading this book!), and then proceed from there to learn how to create memorable melodies, interesting chord progressions, and sparkling orchestrations. If you’re interested in learning more about writing music, check out my companion book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music Composition (Alpha Books, 2005). Think of the composition book as “volume two” of the book you’re currently reading; it’s a natural progression from music theory to composition, and one you should explore if you’re interested. The Least You Need to Know ◆ A melody consists of a logical progression of tones and rhythms. ◆ Melodies typically follow a two-, four-, eight-, or sixteen-measure form. ◆ Melodies typically conform to a specific scale or mode. ◆ The best melodies are often the simplest—in terms of both tune and rhythm. ◆ Longer melodies can typically be divided into two parts, with the end of the first part creating a tension that is resolved in the second part. ◆ You should make sure that your melodies are truly singable—and the only way to do this is to see if you can sing them! Exercises Exercise 8-1 Complete the last two measures of this four-measure melody. Exercise 8-2 Complete the last two measures of this four-measure melody. Chapter 8: Melodies 109
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Music Theory Second Edition by Mich
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Contents at a Glance Part 1: Tones
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Contents Part 1: Tones 1 1 Pitches
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Finding Your Way ..................
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Instrumental Solo .................
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Good Keys and Bad Keys ............
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During the summer of 2001, I taught
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xvi The Complete Idiot’s Guide to
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xviii The Complete Idiot’s Guide
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xx The Complete Idiot’s Guide to
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xxii The Complete Idiot’s Guide t
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Pitches and Clefs In This Chapter
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Some instruments produce a broader
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If you’re reading ahead and want
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Notes on a Piano Keyboard A good wa
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Above—and Below—the Staff The b
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The grand staff looks like this: Th
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Exercises Exercise 1-1 Write the na
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Intervals In This Chapter ◆ Chang
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Two half steps equal one whole step
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Major and Minor Intervals When you
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Beyond the Octave You don’t have
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And take special note of those inte
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Scales In This Chapter ◆ Putting
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The Intervals of the Major Scale No
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Tip When you’re playing a piece o
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Scale Notes D minor D-sharp minor E
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Scale Notes E minor F minor F-sharp
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Scale Notes F minor F-sharp minor G
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The Intervals of the Ionian Note Ha
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F Lydian mode is relative to the ke
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B Locrian is relative to the key of
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Major and Minor Keys In This Chapte
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Key Key Signature and Scale D Major
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Same as This Scale Notes Major Key
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Accidents Will Happen When you assi
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How to change to the key of C. The
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2 Part Rhythms You don’t have to
Page 82 and 83: 58 Part 2: Rhythms Taking the Measu
Page 84 and 85: 60 Part 2: Rhythms Definition A not
Page 86 and 87: 62 Part 2: Rhythms How to count var
Page 88 and 89: 64 Part 2: Rhythms Tip Another way
Page 90 and 91: 66 Part 2: Rhythms Exercise 5-4 Wri
Page 92 and 93: 68 Part 2: Rhythms Note Classical m
Page 94 and 95: 70 Part 2: Rhythms When you have an
Page 96 and 97: 72 Part 2: Rhythms Tip In most musi
Page 98 and 99: 74 Part 2: Rhythms Exercises Exerci
Page 101 and 102: Tempo, Dynamics, and Navigation In
Page 103 and 104: Italian Tempo Terms Tempo Means …
Page 105 and 106: When you see a fermata, hold the no
Page 107 and 108: Two accent marks and a marcato. Mor
Page 109 and 110: Another navigation technique uses a
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Page 113: 3 Part Tunes Discover how to put to
Page 116 and 117: 92 Part 3: Tunes The complete melod
Page 118 and 119: 94 Part 3: Tunes The melody for Bac
Page 120 and 121: 96 Part 3: Tunes Definition A passi
Page 122 and 123: 98 Part 3: Tunes A four-measure mel
Page 124 and 125: 100 Part 3: Tunes A simple four-not
Page 126 and 127: 102 Part 3: Tunes Note Ironically,
Page 128 and 129: 104 Part 3: Tunes Simplifying a rhy
Page 130 and 131: 106 Part 3: Tunes You can achieve t
Page 134 and 135: 110 Part 3: Tunes Exercise 8-3 Comp
Page 136 and 137: 112 Part 3: Tunes Note The notes of
Page 138 and 139: 114 Part 3: Tunes Note In this and
Page 140 and 141: 116 Part 3: Tunes Chord Extensions
Page 142 and 143: 118 Part 3: Tunes Minor seventh cho
Page 144 and 145: 120 Part 3: Tunes Seventh, ninth, a
Page 146 and 147: 122 Part 3: Tunes Note In classical
Page 148 and 149: 124 Part 3: Tunes Changing chords i
Page 150 and 151: 126 Part 3: Tunes Exercise 9-3 Writ
Page 152 and 153: 128 Part 3: Tunes Let’s use the k
Page 154 and 155: 130 Part 3: Tunes Note These exampl
Page 156 and 157: 132 Part 3: Tunes Let’s put toget
Page 158 and 159: 134 Part 3: Tunes Note In classical
Page 160 and 161: 136 Part 3: Tunes I-ii-IV-V This pr
Page 162 and 163: 138 Part 3: Tunes Note The blues pr
Page 164 and 165: 140 Part 3: Tunes Old Johann was ab
Page 166 and 167: 142 Part 3: Tunes Writing a Melody
Page 168 and 169: 144 Part 3: Tunes Exercise 10-5 Cre
Page 170 and 171: 146 Part 3: Tunes Parts of a Song W
Page 172 and 173: 148 Part 3: Tunes Tip When you have
Page 174 and 175: 150 Part 3: Tunes ◆ Mass A vocal
Page 176 and 177: 152 Part 3: Tunes Exercises Exercis
Page 179 and 180: 12 Chapter Transcribing What You He
Page 181 and 182: Listening—Actively Before we get
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Hearing Intervals Lesson 2, Track 1
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Interval Song-Specific Phrase Major
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many measures long the melody is, a
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Exercises Exercise 12-1 Play each o
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Accompanying Melodies In This Chapt
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A chord sheet—no melody. Working
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Block Chord Accompaniment The easie
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The benefit of this approach is tha
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Once you’ve figured out the chord
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14 Chapter Transposing to Other Key
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These scenarios are more common tha
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The chord progression transposed to
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or hold to their original pitches.
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5 Part Embellishing Discover how to
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188 Part 5: Embellishing Note This
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190 Part 5: Embellishing A common c
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192 Part 5: Embellishing Making Har
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194 Part 5: Embellishing Definition
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196 Part 5: Embellishing The lower
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198 Part 5: Embellishing Avoid exte
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200 Exercises Part 5: Embellishing
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Chord Substitutions and Turnarounds
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Altering the Bass Here’s another
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Replacing the I chord (C Major) wit
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Substitution Example (for the G7 ch
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Turnaround Example (in C) I-♭III-
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Exercise 16-6 Add a two-measure tur
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216 Part 5: Embellishing Definition
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218 Part 5: Embellishing Tip If you
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220 Part 5: Embellishing What’s c
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222 Part 5: Embellishing Exercise 1
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18 Chapter Composing and Arranging
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Voice Range (Concert Pitch) Write I
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Brass Brass instruments typically a
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Transposition Range Sounds Instrume
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listed (they’re grouped by family
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Instrument Range (Concert Pitch) Wr
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Instrument Range (Concert Pitch) Wr
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Exercises Chapter 18: Composing and
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Lead Sheets and Scores In This Chap
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Make It Simple Even simpler than th
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A typical chord sheet. Chapter 19:
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A four-part choral arrangement. Jaz
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A score for big band. Note A marchi
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A score for full orchestra. Chapter
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Today, thanks to computer technolog
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The Least You Need to Know ◆ Lead
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Performing Your Music In This Chapt
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That means you need to know a littl
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3 1 Conducting in three. Finding th
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Just because you’re done with thi
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The Complete Idiot’s Music Glossa
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The Complete Idiot’s Music Glossa
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key A combination of a tonic and a
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pitch The highness or lowness of a
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transposition Translating pitch. tr
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276 Appendix B
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Answers to Chapter Exercises Here a
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Exercise 2-3 Exercise 2-4 Exercise
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Chapter 4 Answers to Chapter Exerci
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Exercise 5-7 Exercise 5-8 Chapter 6
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Exercise 9-7 Exercise 9-8 Chapter 1
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Exercise 14-2 Exercise 14-3 Exercis
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Exercise 17-7 Chapter 18 Exercise 1
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294 Appendix D 11. Lesson Two: Inte
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296 Appendix D 31. A 32. C 33. G 34
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298 Appendix D Scale Exercises (Tra
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300 Appendix D Melody Exercises (Tr
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302 Appendix D Chord Exercises (Tra
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Index Symbols/Numbers I chord, 130-
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preparations, 257-258 rehearsal rou
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Lydian mode, 40-41 lyrics melodies,
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performing music, conducting 2/2 ti
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tacet (dynamic marking), 83 tempo,
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