Intervals
An interval is the distance between two pitches.
The combination of intervals in a melody gives it different shapes. These shapes can be described in a number of ways:
- A melody that moves by step.
- A melody which moves in leaps, using larger intervals than a 2nd.
- Chromatic harmony uses notes from outside the key to colour the chords.
Arpeggios are rising and falling melodies that use the notes of a chord. A broken chord is the alternation of the first, third and fifth degrees of the scale. Here鈥檚 an example in the melody of a piano sonata by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
Question
What type of melody has a lot of leaps in it?
Disjunct
Scales
Most of Western Classical music is based on scales. A scale is a set of notes ordered by increasing or decreasing The frequency of a sound. Sounds with a high pitch have a high frequency.. The intervals between these pitches give each scale a different characteristic and name.
The two videos below explain the types of scales and their characterics.
Melody
Melodies can be described in different ways:
- diatonic melodies are mainly based on major or minor scales
- chromatic melodies include notes outside the key of music
- atonal melodies are not based on any key or tonal centre
Keys
When music is based on a major or a minor scale, it is said to be in the key of this scale. The key signature is found at the start of the music. It indicates which scale is being used, and the sharps and flats used in the scale.
Phrases
Phrases are the musical version of sentences. They end with different types of Two adjacent chords appearing at the end of a musical phrase indicating a pause, conclusion or harmonic interruption. - like commas or full stops. Phrases can be different lengths, depending on the piece of music.