On the table of melodic figures, the Bounce appears as a 3-note figure; but in “Danny Boy” it has four notes. In all 3 note figures except the 3 Note Scale and the Auxiliary, the figure’s first three notes form its torso, to which we may add 4th note.

Part II of the eBook gives instructions for setting up a framework for counterpoint, then shows how to embellish that framework to create interesting textures, harmonic tension and release, nuanced cadences, and imitative counterpoint. So why is a workbook necessary?

So glad you asked!

The workbook breaks things down even further than the eBook, starting with basic drills before jumping into broader applications. In addition, the exercises will challenge you to use each skill in a variety of ways—ways you probably wouldn’t think up on your own.

126 exercises; 6 analysis projects; 7 composition projects; scores for 8 inventions and 5 fugues; 185 pages

It’s easy to read the eBooks and feel that you understand everything. Maybe so, but probably not. As wise old Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me, and I forget. Show me, and I remember. Involve me, and I learn.”

That’s why I urge you to pick up the workbook! It’s full of exercises, analyses, and projects that will make you try out the skills and apply the concepts. It’s the best way to get involved.

I designed everything in the workbook to make you master mechanics and stretch your imagination. An answer key in the back of the workbook lets you know right away whether you’re on the right track. Besides solutions, there is commentary that explains any “tricky” spots in the exercises.

105 exercises; 8 analysis projects; 8 composition projects; 131 pages

This volume draws on your expertise in solo melody to help you compose professional-sounding counterpoint (two melodies played at the same time) – an essential skill for any composer.

Six chapters cover “counterpoint basic training,” but in a new way. Traditional methods for writing counterpoint are based on intervals. But tonal counterpoint is not based on intervals, it’s based on harmony. Figuring Out Melody is the first method to show how to use chord tones to write counterpoint.

The rest of the book breaks down several of the most sophisticated compositional forms into step-by-step instructions.

In the end, your counterpoint skills will transform all the music you compose: piano music, chamber music, choral music, pop songs, art songs, film scores, EDM, video gaming, and sound design!

This volume covers the basic principles of melodic figuration in a straightforward, practical way.

In Chapter One, you’ll learn a simple way to sketch and revise a melody. You’ll never be stuck for a melodic idea again. You’ll learn how to control melody’s harmonic and metric properties. You’ll learn formulas for making melody sound predictable (straightforward) and indirect. And you’ll discover strategies for balancing the two.

And that’s just in the first three chapters! (12 more to go in this volume)

You’ll also learn how to use “tendency tones” to add expression to your melodies; how to make one melody sound like two people are playing; the trick to working with arpeggio figures; dozens of ways to vary and develop your tunes; a new, foolproof way to modulate, and more!

The violin theme you just heard is the musical depiction of Scheherazade, an alluring, clever, woman who was a masterful storyteller. “Bedtime stories took on a new meaning for Scheherazade. Her husband, the Sultan, had the nasty habit of marrying a woman at night and killing her in the morning. So Scheherazade thought up a plan. Every night she would tell him a story and leave it hanging. 1001 captivating stories later, he decided to keep her.” [from “’Scheherazade,’ 1001 Arabian Nights Retold in a Symphony”] Scheherazade’s story begins with a hypnotic sustained tone, eventually descending predictably and gradually before a sudden dash skyward, starting the whole sequence again, and again, always ending on the same note, which never quite feels like an ending.

[1] The straight line. There are three ways that a melody can move in one direction.

 

[2] The wavy line. A wavy line changes direction several times within a tight registral space. In each of the examples above, the span from the highest to the lowest notes is a 4th.

 

 

[3] Big swoops. By “swoop,” I mean a large up and down motion.

 

[4] Little loops. A melody makes little loops when it reuses a few adjacent notes in close succession

 

[5] Holding still. Many lines that hold still contrast a sustained tone with some sort of motion before or after.

 

[6] On and off. Once you get the hang of “perforating” a melody, you’ll won’t believe how many melodies use this technique.

 

[7] Traveling patterns. A more common name for “traveling patterns” is a “sequence,” though many sequences are made of longer patterns (over 3 notes).

 

[8] Floor to ceiling. The gap between the high and low registers can be smaller or larger than the octave gap shown here.

 

 

Notice that there are three 3-Note Scale figures (3NS) in this excerpt (four, if we include the “torso”—the first three notes—of the Return figure). They each have a different rhythm. This emphasizes the idea that the same figure can produce unlimited gestures, depending on the rhythmic values, number of repeated notes, metric placement, etc.

Each of the 24 Universal Melodic Figures can appear in many different versions. For example, here are just a few ways we might encounter the 3-Note Scale.

To keep the table simple, the figures are written as prototypes—something much like the root position of a triad. Each figure on the table starts on the root of C major harmony, without rhythmic variation or repeated notes, with small rather than large leaps, and in ascending order (with one exception).

Each exercise has “ghost notes” that indicate the rhythm for the 3-Note Scales you’ll compose. For example, this:

becomes this:

Begin each exercise with a 3-Note Scale that spans the Root & 3rd or the 3rd & 5th of the home chord of the key. After the first figure, feel free to start your 3-Note Scale on any note you wish. Use your ear. If a 3-Note Scale sounds harsh or wonky, replace it with one that sounds better. Precise (intentional) harmonic treatment is not necessary to make these exercises sound great.

• Your 3-Note Scales can ascend or descend.

• You can connect to the next 3-Note Scale by step or leap (though some exercises request a specific connection).

• Keep working on each exercise until it sounds good enough to play for a fellow musician.

For a printable pdf of all the exercises click here.

For image files (for use on a tablet) click here.

For MIDI files (for use in a DAW or notation program) click here.

Here are three factors that combine to make the music reinforce the meaning of the words in the bridge of “Hard Days Night.”

1) Routine. Both 4-bar phrases use the same pair of 3-Note Scales (G-F#-E; E-F#-G) to set up the final note. The first time through, the phrase ends on F#, the inner note the 3-Note Scale. The F# feels comfortable and secure. But then the second phrase breaks this routine by landing on a foreign note.

2) Register. The note A is the highest in the melody, which as a general rule, flags it as a goal. But it feels it feels audaciously high here because it breaks the boundary set TWICE by G: once as the “ceiling” of the opening gesture of the phrase, and again as the top note in the up & down pair of 3-Note Scales.

3) Rhythm. Hear the overt delay before the word “tight.”

I wouldn’t be a genuine Beatles nerd if I didn’t pull up the song “Piggies” at this point. The main figure in “Piggies” is not the 3-Note Scale, but the Roll. The Roll is a 4-note figure built on 3-Note Scale chassis. The 4th note returns to (or restates) the first note.

“Piggies,” by George Harrison

To me, moving (transposing) each Roll figure down a step doesn’t create the same “confined space” effect that the up & down 3-Note Scale pairs do. I can’t yet put my finger on exactly why. How about you? What do you think?

If you are unclear about what a melodic figure is, I introduce them in other videos and blogs. In particular, you may wish to begin with these: