Lesson video

Hi, I am Dr.

Southall and I'm gonna be teaching you this music unit about harmonic progressions and basslines.

So let's begin.

In this lesson, you'll be able to develop a melody line from triadic harmony using passing notes, and considering rhythmic, textural, and structural elements.

There are five key terms for this lesson.

The first is harmony, the notes or chords that accompany the melody of a piece of music.

The second is octave, an interval of eight notes.

For example, C to the next C, up or down, is an octave.

Passing note, a melodic note not from the chord, linking two chord tones.

The next is monophonic, a texture that consists of a single line of music.

And the final term is homophonic, a text that consists of two or more musical lines moving at the same time, with the same rhythm.

There are four parts to this lesson.

The first is triadic harmony to build a melody.

An effective melody should fit musically with the underlying harmony.

Most melody notes should be taken from the chord underneath.

We can use triadic harmony to create the basis of a melody in the same way we build a chord from a bassline.

If the bass note plays one note in the triad, we can find the other two notes as the basis of our melody.

Our melody would be based on notes from the triad chords in the C major scale.

C, D-minor, E-minor, F, G, A-minor, B-diminished.

Here they are on a keyboard.

D-minor, E-minor, F, G, A-minor, and B-diminished.

In notation, the chords look like this.

So you can see those notes at the bottom, in the bass clef we have C, and the chord formed is C E G, and then D, and D F A, and so on.

We use the bass note to work out the triad and note options for our melody.

So you imagine the bass notes are on the bottom there, you can see them, and then the triad is on the treble clef stave above.

What would the melody notes be if our bass note was G, and what would they be if the bass note was C? Remember, we're going to use those triads to help us and they are indicated on the keyboards at the bottom of the slide.

Sam says, "If the bass note is G, "the melodic notes can be B or D." There's our G triad and you can see the other two notes are indeed B and D.

Well done Sam.

Jacob says, "If the bass note is C, "the melodic notes can be E or G." Let's look at that triad.

C E G, Jacob is also correct.

Well done, Jacob.

Melodies are more effective when they are higher in the scoring.

We can address this by playing the two triad notes up the octave.

In other words, count up eight notes, including the first note.

A normal triad would be played as shown in the picture.

However, if we're gonna move this up an octave for the two triad notes, we're gonna move those like this and they're gonna be there, which means for this example, we would move them from our left hand to our right hand 'cause they're further up the keyboard.

Which of the following is not the correct notes for a triadic harmony? <v ->D F A,</v> G B D, A D E, or C E G? Well done, the answer is C.

The notes that are not correct for a triadic harmony are A D E.

D is not the third note, it's the fourth note.

Therefore, it's not following that pattern of the third and fifth.

What are the harmony options for the melody if the bass note is F? Think about those triads again.

The answer is A and C.

If you start from F, you can go F, G, A, B, C.

F A C.

Time for some independent practice.

Add in the third and fifth above each of the notes of this ground bass or your own ground bass.

We have a series of notes here.

So we've got, this is in the bass clef.

We have C, G, F, G, F, G, A, B.

So what you're gonna do is for each one of those notes, you're gonna add in the third and fifth above each of the notes.

The success criteria is as follows, find the bass notes in the left hand.

Work out the other two triad notes an octave higher.

So those won't be two notes up.

You're gonna move them onto your right hand.

Practice playing the ground bass in the left hand and the triad notes in the right hand, just like I just said.

And each note is gonna last for about two beats.

So make sure they're all the same length and they're all two beats long.

Good luck.

Okay, this is what it should have looked like if you used the example provided.

So you can see on the bass clef, we have that sequence, C, G, F, G, F, G, A, B.

And then we've added in, in the treble clef, the third and fifth above.

And remember, we've also moved them up one octave.

Hopefully you got those right.

Let's move on.

Does the triadic harmony work with the ground bass? Well, let's have a think about some reflective questions here.

Did you use the third and fifth notes of the triad in the right hand? Were they played up the octave? Was each chord and bass note played for two beats? Did you listen to your performance back? Did it sound musically correct? Did you perform both hands together or in a pair? And how did you ensure that both parts worked together? Part two, applying triadic melody to a ground bass.

To create a single line melody, we can take one of the triad notes out the harmony.

Watch these two clips and listen to the music and decide which one you prefer.

Keep in mind that it's not that one is wrong and the other is right, it's about personal preference.

But see if you can justify your decision.

Let's watch each one in turn.

(gentle piano music) (gentle piano music) Keeping the middle note can make the harmony sound fuller than the highest note, but both work musically.

In these two examples, the third and fifth notes in the chord alternate.

Does one work better than the other? Can you justify your decision using key vocabulary? So let's listen to the first one, which is alternating between the middle and top note of the chord, followed immediately by the second clip, which is alternating between the top and middle note of the chord.

Watch carefully.

(gentle piano music) (gentle piano music continues) As both examples use notes from the triad, both are musically successful.

The first example overall has a more conjunct or less jumpy shape.

The important point when composing a melody is to start with notes that are taken from the triad.

So again, it doesn't matter which way round you do those.

So both examples from those videos were valid.

They were both correct in terms of taking notes from the triad, but they do have slightly different qualities when you listen to them.

Is this triadic melody based around thirds, fifths, or a mixture of both? The melody is based around fifths as there are five notes including the root note between the bottom and the top pitch.

We have C, D, E, F, G, and the second note starts on G.

So we go G, A, B, C, D.

And that's correct.

D is listed.

Time for some practice.

Compose a melody line for this or your own ground bass.

The one we've provided is in this sequence, C, G, F, G, F, G, A, B.

For the success criteria, I want you to choose one of the chord notes for each note.

This can be either the third middle note, or the fifth top note, or a mixture of both.

Practice playing the ground bass in the left hand with the triad notes in the right hand.

Each note lasts for two beats.

Good luck.

Here are some options that you may have chosen if you used our example.

So using C as your starting note, the third is E, and the fifth is G.

And remember, we've moved those up in octave.

The second example starts on G, so the third note is B, 'cause we go G, A, B, and then the fifth note is D, and so forth.

Let's listen to someone else's attempt at this.

And I want you to ask yourself, does this piece use triadic melody? Does it work? Can you identify the thirds and fifths? (gentle piano music) (gentle piano music continues) Now, if you find that difficult just from listening to it, you can see that music on the two staves as well.

So you've got the notation to work from, if you need it.

So this piece does use a triadic melody made up of a mixture of thirds and fifths.

So it works musically.

The first note is a third, then a fifth, then a fifth, then a third, then another third, then a fifth, then a third, and then the last note, again, is a third.

Part three, melody, passing notes, and rhythmic development.

The shape of a melody refers to the intervals between each note.

So if we look at the notes on the screen, you can see that the interval between the very first note, which is an E, and the second note, which is a D, is just one note.

The interval is one between those two.

Between the second and third note, again, we're only moving by one.

And then again with the third and fourth, and then again with the fourth and fifth.

However, at this point we're making a larger jump and we're going from the A to the D, which is four notes 'cause we're including A, B, C, D.

One note again and one note to finish.

As you can see here we have the note E and the note D, and that is a second interval.

Then we have another second interval, and another second, and another second, but at this stage we're moving more than one note.

And you can see we're starting at A, so we're including A, and then it goes A, B, C, D, that's a fourth interval.

Then again, second, and finally second.

In this melody, most of the intervals move by step except for between notes five and six, which is an interval of a fourth.

To make the change from A to D smoother, we can add passing notes.

This is a note not from the underlying chord, which will connect the two melodic notes.

What two notes are between A and D? Well, it's B and C, isn't it? So if we add B and C to the melody between those two notes, between the A and the D, it would look like this and it would sound like this.

(melodic piano music) Did you hear the two quavers that we've added? The rhythm of the melody has to change to allow these new notes to fit within the two beats.

To add passing notes to our melody, find the intervals which are larger than one note apart.

Choose where you want to add passing notes.

Work out the notes in between those notes in your intervals.

Where there is more than one option, like a really large interval, try the different passing notes that could be used.

So try different combinations.

Adapt the rhythms so the extra notes all fit within the original two-beat rhythm.

For example, you may need to use two notes and change them to quavers, like you saw in the previous example.

Let's check for understanding, which of the following intervals are larger than a third? Is it A up to F, D down to B, E up to A, or C down to A.

The answer is A up to F and E up to A.

Time for some practice.

Add passing notes to your triadic melody.

The success criteria for this is work out the intervals in your melody, which are larger than one note.

Work out what notes could be played in the gap.

Listen to the different options and choose where to add passing notes, and to change the rhythm to ensure the main melodic notes still land on every two beats.

Good luck.

Where could passing notes be used with this melody? Well, if we look at those intervals, we have a number of opportunities to create passing notes.

Here, we've used those opportunities to create different types of passing notes or different styles.

So have a listen and notice the difference between the first case, where we have no passing notes, and the second case, where we have inserted passing notes whilst maintaining the number of beats per bar.

(gentle piano music) Let's hear it one more time.

(gentle piano music continues) Now let's listen to the second one where we've inserted passing notes where we have large intervals.

(gentle melodic piano music) And one last time.

(gentle melodic piano music continues) Did you spot the passing notes? Most of them are highlighted for you in the second visual.

Passing notes can be added in these places, and the first interval is more than five notes.

So the composer has chosen which notes and rhythm to include.

You can see that we've used a pair of quavers in the first one, four quavers in the second one, a crotchet in the third one, crotchet in the fourth one, and a crotchet in the fifth one.

Part four, applying different textures to develop structure.

A ground bass can be used as a structure for a longer composition.

Each time the ground bass repeats, the music can develop slightly.

This keeps it interesting and develops the idea into a complete piece.

Here's three examples and we're gonna watch each one in turn.

So the first video you see next will be the top example, followed immediately by the second example, followed immediately by the third example.

If you'd like to pause and repeat these videos, then please do.

(gentle piano music) (gentle melodic piano music) (gentle melodic piano music) The first one starts with the ground bass on its own in a monophonic texture.

The second adds a melody line to create a homophonic texture, and the third develops the melody with some or all having triad notes.

Passing notes and rhythmic ideas can be used to further develop musical ideas, including adding passing notes to the melody, developing the rhythm of the melody or ground bass by composing a consistent rhythmic pattern or using the tresillo or habanera from the previous lesson.

If the ground bass starts on its own as a single line of music, what is the texture? Is it A, monophonic, B, polyphonic, or C, homophonic? The answer is A, monophonic.

What is the term for two musical lines moving at the same time? Is it polyphonic, homophonic, or monophonic? The answer is B, homophonic.

Time for some practice.

I want you to develop your ground bass pattern into a complete piece.

The success criteria for this are to change the texture, rhythm, or melody on each iteration of the pattern.

Build the ground bass each time so the texture gets thicker or busier, and eventually returns to just the ground bass pattern to finish.

Start with a monophonic texture, I.

e.

just the ground bass.

Add a single melody line using one of the notes of the triad.

Build a homophonic texture by playing both the third and fifth of the chord in the melody.

And develop your melody ideas by using passing notes.

Finally, develop your ground bass pattern by using different rhythms. There's lots to think about there.

So do pause the video and take your time, and enjoy this task.

Why is your ground bass composition successful? Did the ground bass remain throughout the composition? And did you add triadic harmony? In what other ways did you develop your melodic ideas? For example, did you add passing notes? In what ways did you develop your ground bass? Did you change the rhythm or use the tresillo or habanera rhythm? Does the piece start and finish with a monophonic texture? In other words, starting and finishing with the ground bass.

Well done for working through this lesson with me.

Let's just do a quick summary as always.

The key points from this lesson are as follows, triadic harmony can be used to build a melody with one triad note in the bass note and the melody taking one or two of the other triad notes.

Melodies are often higher in the scoring, so we can play them up the octave.

Remember, we moved from just playing with our left hand and bringing in our right hand, so we could move that up the octave on the keyboard.

We can develop the structure of a piece by adding in and taking out parts, starting with a monophonic texture and building to a homophonic texture.

And finally, we can add passing notes for interest and to create a smooth melodic shape.

I hope you've enjoyed this lesson and I'll see you next time.

Goodbye.