Adding triadic melody to ground bass

Key learning points

1. Triadic harmony can be used to build a melody by using one or two of the triad notes and the other in the bass.
2. Melodies are often higher in the scoring so we can play them up the octave.
3. We can develop the structure of a piece by adding in and taking out parts.
4. One way to do this is to start with a monophonic texture and build to a homophonic texture.
5. Adding passing notes to a melody adds interest and creates a smooth melodic shape.

Keywords

• Harmony - the notes or chords that accompany the melody of a piece of music

• Octave - an interval of eight notes, eg. C to the next C is an octave

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

• Monophonic - a texture that consists of a single line of music

• Homophonic - a texture that consists of two or more musical lines moving at the same time (with the same rhythm)

Common misconception