Moods of Melody

[shady11]

I know to achieve different moods it depends upon choice of sound, different modes of scales etc but is there more to it than this? Is there any type of resource that is very specific on melody creation. In terms of how doing different things to the melody (jumps, breaks etc) alters the "feel".

 

[ashhole]

melody is a combination of many things including composition, synthesis/sound design, use of effects and processing...all these will affect how a melody sounds!

also choosing different modes and scales will give off a different sound...

one advice i can give you is to learn how to create and understand motifs...motifs are key to creating a good and memorable melody IMO...come up with a simple motif and keep repeating this motif which employing pitch changes...

 

[bandcoach]

I know to achieve different moods it depends upon choice of sound, different modes of scales etc but is there more to it than this? Is there any type of resource that is very specific on melody creation. In terms of how doing different things to the melody (jumps, breaks etc) alters the "feel".

The following two threads address your needs and concerns:

https://www.futureproducers.com/for...d-very-much-appreciate-any-help-given-435276/

https://www.futureproducers.com/for...ideos/14-tricks-improve-your-melodies-386637/

melody is a combination of many things including composition, synthesis/sound design, use of effects and processing...all these will affect how a melody sounds!

also choosing different modes and scales will give off a different sound...

one advice i can give you is to learn how to create and understand motifs...motifs are key to creating a good and memorable melody IMO...come up with a simple motif and keep repeating this motif which employing pitch changes...

At one level I can agree that instrument will impact on how the melody is perceived - but in and of it itself a melody is simply a sequence of notes, with a given rhythm and dynamic contour/profile.

And, yes, motivic development is the hallmark of a lot of great music - Beethoven's 5th and 9th symphonies are stand out examples of how to build a work from a small number of melodic ideas that are presented, exploited and redesigned to create and maintain interest, develop contrast and maintain continuity in the listener.

see the above two linked posts to better understand this concept.....

 

[ashhole]

The following two threads address your needs and concerns:

https://www.futureproducers.com/for...d-very-much-appreciate-any-help-given-435276/

https://www.futureproducers.com/for...ideos/14-tricks-improve-your-melodies-386637/



At one level I can agree that instrument will impact on how the melody is perceived - but in and of it itself a melody is simply a sequence of notes, with a given rhythm and dynamic contour/profile.

And, yes, motivic development is the hallmark of a lot of great music - Beethoven's 5th and 9th symphonies are stand out examples of how to build a work from a small number of melodic ideas that are presented, exploited and redesigned to create and maintain interest, develop contrast and maintain continuity in the listener.

see the above two linked posts to better understand this concept.....

thanks! i agree that yes a melody is a sequence of notes with rhythm, contour and dynamics...however, those note values are affected by the sound design and will make the melody sound slightly different if a parameter is changed...say the attack or release of the amp envelope...i believe that composition and sound design go hand in hand...that is what i was trying to say, sorry if i was unclear...

i'm currently working on coming up with good but effective motifs...i think they are key to a memorable melody

 

[bandcoach]

thanks! i agree that yes a melody is a sequence of notes with rhythm, contour and dynamics...however, those note values are affected by the sound design and will make the melody sound slightly different if a parameter is changed...say the attack or release of the amp envelope...i believe that composition and sound design go hand in hand...that is what i was trying to say, sorry if i was unclear...

Whilst I understand that you are talking from a synth patch design perspective, I would argue that to understand the function of timbre (which is what you are arguing more than anything else) you need to revisit the idea of orchestration, a simple example should suffice:

[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/melSonorities.mp3[/mp3]

the audio is 9'47" long. It illustrates how we can create a sonority simply by combining individual orchestral instruments (synth patches). Each instrument presents the theme in turn. We then proceed to duos, trios, quartets, quintets and finally the full sextet:

Grouping

Solo

Duos

Instrument?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Oboe

X

X

X

X

X

X

Basson

X

X

X

X

X

X

Trumpet

X

X

X

X

X

X

Trombone

X

X

X

X

X

X

Violin

X

X

X

X

X

X

ViolonCello

X

X

X

X

X

X

Grouping

Trios

Quartets

Quintets

Sextet

Instrument?

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

Oboe

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Basson

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Trumpet

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Trombone

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Violin

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

ViolonCello

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Baritone horn is equivalent to a trombone

Now to consider the manipulation of this theme into other parallel tonalities
By changing the accidentals (#/b) in the melody we can shift the mood of the melody dramatically:

[mp3]http://www.bandcoach.org/fp/audio/melSonoritiesTonalVars.mp3[/mp3]

Explore each of the tonal/modal areas and compare it to the original theme - note what has changed and what has stayed the same. Lastly, note aurally how the theme has changed character simply by changing one or more notes to fit a new scale/mode.

Scale/Mode	Tones
Major	E-F[sup]#[/sup]-G[sup]#[/sup]-A-B-C[sup]#[/sup]-D[sup]#[/sup]-E
Nat minor	E-F[sup]#[/sup]-G-A-B-C-D-E
Phrygian	E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E
Dorian	E-F[sup]#[/sup]-G-A-B-C[sup]#[/sup]-D-E
Lydian	E-F[sup]#[/sup]-G[sup]#[/sup]-A[sup]#[/sup]-B-C[sup]#[/sup]-D[sup]#[/sup]-E
Mixolydian	E-F[sup]#[/sup]-G[sup]#[/sup]-A-B-C[sup]#[/sup]-D-E
Minor Pentatonic	E-G-A-B-D-E
Major pentatonic	E-F[sup]#[/sup]-G[sup]#[/sup]-B-C[sup]#[/sup]-E
Blues	E-G-A-A[sup]#[/sup]/B[sup]b[/sup]-B-D-E