10

Set words to a melody - Pitch the Melody

Pitch the melody

Now you have designed the phrases according to the rhythmic setting of the words, you can now pitch the melody notes.

The work you’ve done on chords and especially cadences will pay dividends now, since you can map out your melody  according to an underlying chord progression.

First pick a key(scale) you are comfortable and confident working in. The text may suggest a happy or relaxed  mood - in which case use a major scale - or a downcast or  agitated mood - in which case use a minor scale. If there is a transition in mood between the two lines of the couplet, you could set the first line in the major scale and the second line in its relative minor (or vice versa).    Otherwise avoid changing scale(key )   and the  bear  in mind the specific considerations of writing in the minor scale.

Having chosen your scale, set the opening first two or three beats to the tonic (I) chord with chord notes taken from the tonic chord and passing notes used to link these on syllables falling off the beat.

This will confirm the scale/key of the melody.

If you struggling to “hear” a melody you could work to the following chord structure

Phrase 1 - end with imperfect cadence  -   I - “xx”- V chord progression  

Phrase 2  end with a perfect cadence        “xx” -  V- I chord progression

(where  “xx” is  none, one or two intervening chords according to the phrase length)

I’m going to pitch this melody for soprano in the G major scale.  The first line of the text suggests optimism (“buds” ==> spring time) but the second line is definitely anguished, so I’ll move into the relative minor scale of E minor, ending with a perfect cadence in that scale.  The transitioning VI and II chords  are minor chords and set the tone  for the second line of the couplet, in contrast to the first line of all major chords.

Having set out this chord progression, it’s now relatively simple to pitch the melody,  pitching stressed, important syllables on chord notes as far as possible, and the less stressed syllables as passing notes.