Page 64 - Year 10 Knowledge Organiser

BTEC Music: 1 of 9

Melody

The melody of a piece is usually the tune. Often, it’s the part that the singer sings, but melodies can be played on most instruments. A melody is different from chords because a
melody is a sequence of notes played one after the other, whereas chords are several notes stacked together at the same time.

1 Listen to the Song

• Start by listening to the song. Pay close attention to the vocal melody, as well as any instrumental melodies that may be present..

2 Identify any Melodies in the Song

•Work out which part of the song contains the main melody. This is usually the vocal line, but it can also be a line played by guitar, keyboard, or another instrument.
•Listen for the main melody line throughout the whole song. It can be useful to separate the song into sections at this point (so you might analyse the verse melody,
then later analyse the chorus melody).
•Listen for any other melodies. Sometimes a piece of music can have more than one melody playing at at time. Sometimes you can find melodies contained in
instrumental riffs or in solos. These are all worth talking about as they are a great opportunity to show your understanding and get a higher mark.

3 Analyse Pitch and Range

•Work out the pitch of the melody: Overall, is it higher or lower pitched than the instruments around it?
•Identify the range of the melody. This is the distance between the lowest and highest pitches.

4 Examine Rhythmic Elements

• Analyse the rhythm of the melody, including note durations, syncopation, and rhythmic patterns.
• Identify any rhythmic motifs or repeating rhythmic figures that contribute to the character of the melody. A lot of the time these will be the same as rhythms
found in other parts of the song (For instance, the singer might sing something in time with what the guitarist is playing).