Chapter 1. Melody: Musical Line

test your understanding of melody. which term describes the melody that you hear the strings playing in this excerpt? purcell, dido and aeneas, act iii, lament

mostly descending

Scientifically, a pitch is determined by its frequency.

TRUE

What is the distance between two pitches called?

an interval

Which of the following two melodies is completely conjunct?

Joy to the World

A cadence punctuates music in the same way that commas and periods punctuate sentences.

TRUE

What is the range of this melody?

Bernstein: Tonight

Wide

Test your understanding of melody. Which describe the contour and range of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries and which do not?

Ride of the Valkyries

1:16

Describes the Contour and Range

wide

disjunct

Does Not Describe the Contour and Range

narrow

conjunct

Which of the following terms describes the movement by interval in this musical excerpt?The Star Spangled Banner

disjunct movement

Which of the following terms describes the movement by interval in this musical excerpt?Joy to the World

conjunct movement

Which of the following describes the excerpted melody heard here, and which one does not?

Britten, Young Person's Guide

0:20

Describes the Excerpt

it starts ascending, followed by descending and wavelike movement

wide range

most of the orchestra seems to be playing the same melody (no obvious countermelody)

Does Not Describe the Excerpt

completely conjunct movement

Which of the following terms describe this musical excerpt and which one does not?

star-spangled banner

Describes the Excerpt

wavelike contour

disjunct movement

wide range

Does Not Describe the Excerpt

moves by small interval

Test your understanding of melody. Which of the descriptions describes what you hear in the excerpt?

Bach, Cantata No. 140, No. 4 "Wachet auf"

0:00

an instrumental melody with a vocal countermelody

Which of the following terms are used to describe a single note and which are not?

Describes a Single Note

duration

tone color

Does Not Describe a Single Note

range

contour

Which term describes the contour of the opening phrase of Joy to the World?

0:04

descending

Which term describes the melodic movement in The Star-Spangled Banner?

0:26

disjunct

Let's try out your understanding of some terms relating to melody by listening to this familiar musical theater song, Tonight from West Side Story.

Here's the text to help you follow along.

Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night, tonight there will be no morning star.Tonight, tonight, I'll see my love tonight, and for us, stars will stop where they are.Today the minutes seem like hours, the hours go so slowly, and still the sky is light.Oh moon, grow bright, and make this endless day endless night.

Now try out your understanding of terms related to melody in the activity below.

Which words occur at a cadence (i.e., the end of a phrase)? Which do not?

Occurs at a Cadence

night

star

Does Not Occur at a Cadence

slowly

minutes

Here is the text of part of Tonight from West Side Story:Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night, tonight there will be no morning star.Tonight, tonight, I'll see my love tonight, and for us, stars will stop where they are.Today the minutes seem like hours, the hours go so slowly, and still the sky is light.Oh moon, grow bright, and make this endless day endless night.Which of these outlines matches the rhyme scheme of this verse? (Hint: Lines that rhyme are indicated by the same letter.)

Bernstein, Tonight

0:54

a-a-b-b

Test your understanding of melody. Which term describes the melody that the female voices are singing in this excerpt?

Beethoven, Symphony No.9. "Ode to Joy"

0:32

conjunct

The high point of a melodic line is called its cadence.

FALSE

Which of the following terms is NOT used to describe the structure of a melody?

timbre

Let's try out your understanding of some terms relating to melody by listening to this familiar musical theater song, Tonight from West Side Story. Here's the text to help you follow along.

Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night, tonight there will be no morning star.

Tonight, tonight, I'll see my love tonight, and for us, stars will stop where they are.

Today the minutes seem like hours, the hours go so slowly, and still the sky is light.

Oh moon, grow bright, and make this endless day endless night.

Now try out your understanding of terms related to melody in the activity below.

A change occurs in the line beginning with "Today." Which is it?

Bernstein, Tonight

0:54

a countermelody is heard in the violins

Let's try out your understanding of some terms relating to melody by listening to this familiar musical theater song, Tonight from West Side Story.

Here's the text to help you follow along.

Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night, tonight there will be no morning star.Tonight, tonight, I'll see my love tonight, and for us, stars will stop where they are.Today the minutes seem like hours, the hours go so slowly, and still the sky is light.Oh moon, grow bright, and make this endless day endless night.

Now try out your understanding of terms related to melody in the activity below.How many melodic phrases, each ending with a sustained cadence note, are in this verse?

four

Let's try out your understanding of some terms relating to melody by listening to this familiar musical theater song, Tonight from West Side Story.

Here's the text to help you follow along.

Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night, tonight there will be no morning star.

Tonight, tonight, I'll see my love tonight, and for us, stars will stop where they are.

Today the minutes seem like hours, the hours go so slowly, and still the sky is light.

Oh moon, grow bright, and make this endless day endless night.

Now try out your understanding of terms related to melody in the activity below.Which term describes the range of the melody?

wide

Most children's songs have a(n) range

narrow

The parts that make up a --- are phrases; phrases end in resting places called -----.

melody

cadences.

Which term refers to the overall shape of a melody?

contour

A melodic line that moves by small intervals in a connected manner is

conjunct

Match the musical term with its functional grammatical parallel.

period cadence

sentence phrase

Melody is a concept that occurs only in Western music.

FALSE

A second melody played against the first is called a countermelody.

TRUE

When a melody is accompanied by a second melody, what is that second melody called?

countermelody

The distance between the highest and lowest pitches in a melodic line determines its

range