Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [melody]

A succession of notes which comprise the principal part in harmonized music.

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Any quick way to know if my tune is already used?

When I come up with a lick/melody, there always lingers that question of "Has this melody already been used?" Should I worry about it or is there a way to find out without too much hassle?
manejar
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Melody for haiku poem?

Are there any popular melody or tune to sing a haiku poem?
Jan B. Kjeldsen
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What causes notes to appear to follow a progression of melodic expectations? How does this work?

If I play a single note, it by itself doesn't evoke a melody or tune. But if I play a sequence of notes, suddenly relationships spring up between them. For instance, if I play CDEFGABC, I don't hear isolated notes but instead a scale.  Why do these…
Stan Shunpike
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Standard or fundamental melodic patterns

Between systems like the circle of fifths, useful tools like the “chord board” (a chart that, if you follow the “rules of the game” allows you to create strong progressions), “standard” progressions, such as La Folia or the “Pachelbel” Progression,…
286642
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Why do these two songs seem impressive yet are easy to "sing"

Sorry for the snarky title, but I am genuinely curious if there is some fundamental musical properties to these songs that make them the "go-to" songs for their typical amateur performers. (Also, please don't take offense if you love either. My…
Anthony
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Why is the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star used everywhere?

We've all heard the lullaby Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It's madly famous. Today I noticed that the melody used in the piece is actually used in The Alphabet Song. ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ or whatever it's called. If you listen to Baa Baa Black…
Featherball
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What does "plagal" actually mean for modal music and melody generally

Basic textbook descriptions of the church modes seem clear, but I find things confusing when looking at actual compositions. I especially don't understand what "plagal" modes really means. I have a book, Helmore, Plain Song, with an authentic/plagal…
Michael Curtis
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Is it more common for the main melody to be in the higher part and the accompaniment in the lower part? If so, why?

I have noticed in my own songs and in general that the main melody of songs in in the high part and the accompaniment is in the lower part. Why? Is there a biological or theoretical reason for why this configuration is preferred?
Stan Shunpike
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Should melody avoid nonchord tones since they are disonant?

Should nonchord tones be avoided since they are "dissonant"?
Pabble Goobs
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system for analyzing melodies

When I want to learn more about what makes a harmony special, I go right to roman numeral analysis. I have a list of melodies that caught my ear, and I wanted to see what makes them work. I am wondering, given that a melody is based on many…
286642
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Vocal Deviation?

Okay so this could be really simple but i don't know much music theory so it's difficult to search for... I want to know what it's called when a melody deviates from the regular melody in music. You seem to see it happen towards the end of a…
Pierce
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When learning how to write a good melody is it more important to analyze the notes against the bass or against the chord?

When looking at a score of a song I have always looked at a melody against the notes of the chord root but recently I started learning counterpoint and I feel that I may have overlooked the importance of the melody note against the bass. A bassline…
user35708
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How to Make an Instrument's Melody Sound Right With a Vocal Melody?

Every time I add a melody with a distinct rhythm (from say the piano) to my vocal melody, I notice that the music starts sounding confusing and irritating. Some songs have riffs (ie a melody of an instrument) and have a vocal melody. Examples to…
Music Lover
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How does one describe the melody of a song?

I'm in a music appreciation class. I have to write a paper describing the various elements of two songs. By the time I get a reply, it will be too late, but I still really want to learn this as well as I can. What are some words that could be used…
Melanie Shebel
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Melody Extraction from Music

How would I extract a monophonic (single notes) melody from a song? I'm thinking in particular from ABC notation, but that doesn't matter. Is it reasonable to always take the highest pitch when the notes are polyphonic, or is that too simple to work…
Joel
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