Members polishpaul Posted June 18, 2011 Members Share Posted June 18, 2011 Whilst I appreciate all the deep discussion on melody, I would like to point people in the direction of this visual analysis of the notation I posted earlier (a good example of why TAB is not so hot, IMO): I would refer to the blue boxes as "pre-emptors", the red boxes as "the melody", the green boxes as "rogue elements", and the yellow boxes as "something to do with the next US election" : You can see that the red boxes contain the same rhythmic pattern.....only the notes within this change, as the music progresses. This simple, repeating melody has made bucketloads of money! Download the image, then zoom in, to see the colours of the boxes better..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members polishpaul Posted June 18, 2011 Members Share Posted June 18, 2011 .....study the red boxes, and their relationship to the blue.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members polishpaul Posted June 18, 2011 Members Share Posted June 18, 2011 ....green is the hit......and yellow? Everyone needs apple pie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 3shiftgtr Posted June 19, 2011 Members Share Posted June 19, 2011 Great thread. Really killer. What makes a great melody is completely subjective. One person's "can't get it out of my head" is another's "I hate the melody that is in my head." The kinds of melodies that tickle my wick these days are usually longer types. An easy to listen to one is Pat Metheny's "Third Wind" first melody. It has killer flow over the chords and is just beautiful. I can't remember how many bars it is, but I think it is something like 64 bars (at stupid fast tempo). But if you listen to it once or twice, you can sing the whole thing cuz it just FLOWS..... "Word to Herb" by the Screaming Headless Torsos also comes to mind. LOOOOOVE that melody. Listen to it a few times and you won't be able to get it out of your head. And it is like 16 bars at a med tempo with weird "bop" timing. Cascading melodies like Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" or wiggle my stick a bit. Of course "Cliffs of Dover" is another great example. But for me, the thing that ties it all together is that one note or phrase flows perfectly into the next, and that means that the CHORDS under the melody have to imply a really cool flow too. Melody does not stand alone. The Monkee's "Tapioca Tundra" has some pretty straight rhythmic stuff, but the flow of the melody over slightly skewed harmony, just makes it cool. And it is the rhythm that makes it PHYSICAL. Using Tapioca as an example, the end of melody line is "I cannot be a part of me, for now its part of you" has a rhythm to the consonants in the sentence, that just when you combine the words, their rhythms, the melody, and the attached harmony that has made it a favorite of mine since I heard it in 3rd grade. My favorite melodies either soar ON TOP of the rhythms or INSIDE the rhythms.....The key is that the accents in the melody fit perfectly with the harmonic content's movement, and that the patterns meld, rise and fall IN CONJUNCTION with each other. ....just a few thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members polishpaul Posted June 19, 2011 Members Share Posted June 19, 2011 Great thread. Really killer. What makes a great melody is completely subjective. One person's "can't get it out of my head" is another's "I hate the melody that is in my head." The kinds of melodies that tickle my wick these days are usually longer types. An easy to listen to one is Pat Metheny's "Third Wind" first melody. It has killer flow over the chords and is just beautiful. I can't remember how many bars it is, but I think it is something like 64 bars (at stupid fast tempo). But if you listen to it once or twice, you can sing the whole thing cuz it just FLOWS..... "Word to Herb" by the Screaming Headless Torsos also comes to mind. LOOOOOVE that melody. Listen to it a few times and you won't be able to get it out of your head. And it is like 16 bars at a med tempo with weird "bop" timing. Cascading melodies like Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" or wiggle my stick a bit. Of course "Cliffs of Dover" is another great example. But for me, the thing that ties it all together is that one note or phrase flows perfectly into the next, and that means that the CHORDS under the melody have to imply a really cool flow too. Melody does not stand alone. The Monkee's "Tapioca Tundra" has some pretty straight rhythmic stuff, but the flow of the melody over slightly skewed harmony, just makes it cool. And it is the rhythm that makes it PHYSICAL. Using Tapioca as an example, the end of melody line is "I cannot be a part of me, for now its part of you" has a rhythm to the consonants in the sentence, that just when you combine the words, their rhythms, the melody, and the attached harmony that has made it a favorite of mine since I heard it in 3rd grade. My favorite melodies either soar ON TOP of the rhythms or INSIDE the rhythms.....The key is that the accents in the melody fit perfectly with the harmonic content's movement, and that the patterns meld, rise and fall IN CONJUNCTION with each other. ....just a few thoughts. ....and most welcome they are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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