We’re taught to play melodies in music schools. But the teacher doesn’t always know how to play a melody to convey the composer’s intended meaning. There, it all comes down to accenting the strong and relatively strong beats in a measure. We strive to convey a pulsating movement through repeated accents. Each measure begins with a clearly defined, emphasized note. This is noticeable in those who still live by the “old” ideas of playing music. But music isn’t made up of measures. This is a mistake. From the general to the specific.
Let’s move on to melody.
We all know that melody consists of a consistent movement or a movement in leaps (intervals) down or up. When writing a melody, the composer uses two instruments: excerpts from various scales and all sorts of intervals. Consequently, scales are played smoothly, as we usually play them, while a leap is, in a way, the beginning of a new melody (micromelody).
Micromelody
— begins with an interval and ends with an interval
— can consist of a single note
Take any melody and try breaking it down into smaller micromelody units. The beginning of the micromelody units should be played with a barely noticeable accent.
For example, here’s a picture: (anyone who reads the melody will understand where it comes from and where it’s used)
The way we’re taught in school is picture number 1
red check mark — a strong accent
green — an accent weaker than the strong one
red check mark with hyphens — a strong accent with gradual weakening/tension
How to play this picture is picture number 2
red check mark — a barely noticeable accent, just to highlight the boundaries of the micromelody units
green line — the movement of the micromelody units
Digging deeper into the structure of this melody, we found 16 micromelody units. And how to play micro-melodies separately, dynamically or technically, is up to you to decide.
If you are a meticulous musician like me, then most likely, after learning this information, you will take up all your works and analyze them from the point of view of micromelody.
Good luck, musicians!
What’s your favorite melody? Share it with me in the comments!
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