Project 2: Creating a Melody for a Selected Text

Students may enter this project with little understanding of prosody or melodic phrasing. It is common for novices to create simplistic, stepwise melodies rather than complex contours, so they will need help to express their artistic intentions, encouraging them to revise initial attempts with leaps, rests and held notes. However, early novice experiments with accompaniment chords can result in strange progressions and unplanned dissonances. The teacher may need to withhold criticism while students listen to their results to allow them the chance to reflect on more and less successful moments, guiding rather than steering students (Childs, 2007).

Figure 31.9. Experimenting with imitation in versе

Students should begin this composing project by collecting personally meaningful texts. It is a good idea for the teacher to create a folder for students to place texts they like, a library for students to choose from. Texts can be found anywhere for a project that will not be performed or recorded for the public but, if the teacher plans to perform any resulting composition, they will need to seek licensure for any text that is not in public domain.

Analyze the Prosody and Interpret the Meaning of the Text.Once students decide upon the texts, they should spend some time thinking and journaling about the overall meaning of the text and then how meaning is fashioned
by the meaning, sound qualities, and inflection of the words. They should mark places where they sense movement or stasis and where the text suggests musical form. Students should then share their texts in pairs or small groups to discuss their interpretations and uncover more ideas through peer reflections. Sharing in a non-judgmental environment will help students to expand upon their knowledge of their own and other’s values, beliefs, and ideas, helping them to develop self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship skills.

In this example, a poem called by Theodosia Garrison and called “The Burden” (Public Domain Poetry), I added bold to words and phrases that appeared to me to have greater emotional weight. Words that suggest stasis are underlined.

The burden that I bear would be no less
Should I cry out against it; though I fill
The weary day with sound of my distress,
It were my burden still.

The burden that I bear may be no more
For all I bear it silently and stay
Sometimes to laugh and listen at a door
Where joy keeps holiday.

I ask no more save only this may be—
On life’s long road, where many comrades fare,
One shall not guess, though he keep step with me,
The burden that I bear.

This poem expresses a hope to carry our own troubles without troubling our comrades, even while thinking about times when we might be tempted otherwise. Thinking of the holistic qualities, the first verse feels sluggish and heavy, the second showing forward momentum but slowing on the last line. The third section feels gentler and lighter, but with steady forward momentum. The emotional journey might be to start with sorrow and move to a sense of peace.

Students should next add scansion to their texts to think about word rhythms. The example below might convey the heaviness of this burden rather than the person who is carrying it.

Students should experiment, one section at a time, how to write and/or speak the scansion with rhythm. Students should record and share different interpretations, learning how rhythm can bring out different meanings in the text. Transcribing the rhythm may be a challenge for novice composers so the teacher may have them record themselves speaking in rhythm or employ the record function of a notation program to assist students. As with all creative activity, this first chosen rhythm should be considered a draft (Figure 31.10)

Figure 31.10. “The Burden,” first phrase rhythm idea

Use Inflection to Create a Melodic Line.Spoken inflection should serve as an initial map for a melodic line, in which words with heightened meaning or emotion tend to inflect upward with a held pitch or use larger upward or downward leaps. Students should practice inflecting the text in different ways and record their experimentations to find one interpretation that conveys the meaning they intend. Once a student has decided upon a spoken inflection, they should experiment with translating the contour into a pitched melodic line, considering vocal placement and range. For example, in Figure 31.11 the word “bear” and “cry” rising in pitch to the head voice of a treble singer lightens the sound quality while expressing emotion. Andre Thomas (2007) suggested that the composer should not be impatient with the text but, rather, allow the melody to evolve with that exploration and revision process.

Figure 31.11. “The Burden,” first transcription

The record function of a notation program will help students to move quickly through the process of transcribing their melodies. The teacher can either provide a key signature at the start of a melody-composing project, or the teacher can set a notation program to the key to C major and 4\4 time for students to record, then help each student to adjust the key and time signature as altered pitches and word rhythms suggest.

Determine the Accompanying Chords.There are many ways to make chords available for student exploration, from keyboards and chord instruments to recorded individual chords from online programs like the Chrome Music Lab Arpeggios, or loops in online DAWs. Students should begin by identifying the major and minor chords (by letter name) in the key of their melody, then identify possible chords for the first note of each measure by looking at the pitch on the first beat. They should try singing each measure with possible chords to determine the best fit for their intention, notating the block chord under the melody. Next, students should review the rest of the notes in each measure to determine whether chords should be changed for rhythmic effect, to stress important words, or to provide a sense of movement in the line.

In Figure 31.12, for example, the i-V in the first measure worked but the words “no less” felt like they needed emotional weight. I placed chords in contrary motion, III-iv-1, under those words. The third measure suggested a iv-I plagal cadence for an “amen” spiritual reference. After exploring the chords, I found that the original 4\4time did not fit the word stresses as well as 5\4 time. Further, changing the last note of the phrase from a middle C to a repeated G helped to de-emphasize that unimportant syllable.

Figure 31.12. “The Burden,” revised melody with chord accompaniment

Students should record themselves and/or classmates singing and playing accompaniment chords and use the recording to reflect on more and less successful moments. They can also consider their composition processes and difficulties in class discussions, so everyone can hear each other and brainstorm possible solutions.

References: ACDA. (2020). Arts education is essential. Accessed https://acda.org/wp-content/uploads/ 2020/06/Arts_Education_Is_Essential-unified-statement.pdf

Brooks, L. M. (1993). Harmony in space: A perspective on the work of Rudolf Laban. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 27(2), 29-41. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3333410

Chase, S. (2020). A quick guide to species counterpoint. Accessed https://hellomusictheory.

Clausen, R. (2007). Rene Clausen. In T. Wine (Ed.), Composers on composing for choir (pp. 2538). GIA Publications, Inc.

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). (n.d.) SEL is . . . Accessed https://casel.org/what-is-sel/

Dingle, G. A., Brander, C., Ballantyne, J., & Baker, F. A. (2012). “To be heard”: The social and mental health benefits of choir singing for disadvantaged adults. Psychology of Music, 41(4), 405-421. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735611430081