Chapter 5
Finding Melodies Where
You Least Expect Them
In This Chapter
Understanding melodies and musical frameworks
Discerning melodies in speech
Picking out melodies from your environment
Getting the most out of the Muse
Seeking melodies through instruments
Exercising your melodies
W
hat exactly is a melody? Or, from a composer’s standpoint, perhaps a
more important question is: Why do you need one (or several)?
Where can you find them?To answer the first question, putting it very, very simply: A melody is a suc-
cession of notes built on a musical framework.A melody is probably the most important part of a composition. It’s the lead
line you find yourself humming after hearing a song, and it’s the part of a
song that seems to be the hardest to get out of your head.Sounds simple enough. Maybe too simple, but it’s a good start.What Is a Musical Framework? .....................................................................
Obviously, throwing a random succession of notes together will almost cer-
tainly not produce a good melody. Yet many successful compositions might
sound to many listeners as though that’s just what the composer did. And
believe it or not, there are tools available in several computer programs that
will do just that — randomize notes into musical phrases (see Chapter 2 for a
brief survey of music software).