Production Through Performance

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5.1 Playing melodies

Melody is the most important part of a song. It’s what film composers use to remind you of certain characters or emotions in a story, and it’s what jingle writers use to get the names of products stuck in consumer’s heads. Being able to play melodies on piano allows you to feel the connection between notes and chords.

  • Watch the walkthrough video.

  • Learn the information below.

reading augmented notation

Melody: A single-note line that is either played or sung.
Staff: The five horizontal lines in standard notation that show a note’s pitch. A note can be placed on a line or in the spaces between lines. The higher a note is on the staff the higher the pitch.

Augmented Notation: The same as standard notation with three additional features — letter names for notes, counts and parentheses, and finger placement — making it easier to decode.
Finger Numbers: Numbers that correspond to each finger from left to right. On the right hand the thumb is 1, index finger is 2, middle finger is 3, ring finger is 4, and pinky is 5.

Finger Placement Numbers: Numbers next to noteheads that signify where to place the hand to play notes most easily. When a finger placement number is written, it indicates a position shift or a stretch.

Counts & Parenthesis: Numbers and parenthesis that show the attack, sustain, release, and rest states of a rhythm. The first “count” or number in a parenthesis is the attack, every other count is a sustain, and the closed parenthesis is the end of the rhythm or release. Counts outside of parentheses are periods of rest.

 

Practice

MELODY READING

  • Practice reading melodies with augmented notation using the Noteflight score.

  • Be sure to follow the finger placement numbers and rhythms.

  • Practice playing a bass line and chords using the chord symbols.

  • Modify a couple notes or rhythms in the melody to make it your own.

Learn the melody for each line first before playing with the backing track.
Even though it is fun to play with the recording, you can start to rely on the playhead to show when to play notes.

OPEN IN NOTEFLIGHT

  • Break down the elements of a melody while practicing.

    1. Find the pitches by playing only the letters.

    2. Count and clap the rhythm only.

    3. Count and play the pitches WITHOUT a steady beat.

    4. Count and play the pitches with a steady beat, but at a tempo in which you can minimize mistakes.

    5. Count and play the pitches at the indicated tempo.

 

Compose

MELODIES BY EAR

The best way to write a melody organically is to play what you hear. There are three parts to writing melodies this way: creation, comprehension, and retention.

  • Creation: Play a chord progression on loop using a DAW or a piano. Sing or play a melody on top of the progression until you find something you like.

  • Comprehension: Slow the melody down so it’s easier to hear the individual notes.

  • Retention: When you hear a melody over a chord progression, try to remember it by playing it back in your head.

Other ways to practice playing melodies by ear:

  • Play along to songs you know.

  • Try to play childhood melodies from memory.

  • Sing a portion of a melody and try to play it.

COMPOSE A MELODY

Write a melody by ear over the IV V vi vi progression in this project.

  • Enable cycle mode by clicking on ↻ button at the top right of the Soundtrap window.

  • Use the C major and A minor pentascales to improvise a melody over the loops.

  • Once you have found a melody that you like, record it over the track using the recording instructions.

  • Listen back to the melody and determine if it is memorable by singing it back to yourself.

  • You can always go back and alter your melody after it has been recorded.

OPEN IN SOUNDTRAP

    1. Add a piano and keyboards track

    2. Enable cycle mode

    3. Improvise a melody

    4. Disable cycle mode

    5. Record the melody

    6. Quantize the performance and snap the ends of notes to the grid