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The Elements of Harmony > Single-note (basic)

The Art of Melody

Single notes, arranged in sequence, create melody. This can be considered the horizontal
aspect of music (versus the vertical aspect which generates harmony). Melodies are
memorable by virtue of the rhythmic placement of the notes, and the size of their interval
leaps.

J. S. Bach was a master of melody, so we can understand some important points by analyzing
one of his compositions. Listen to his 4 part Cantata BMV48. Listen (MIDI). The top voice
(the Soprano) stands out as the most distinguishable melody. But the composition contains
3 more "inner" melodies.

Now listen to the individual parts, which have been volume edited for clarity. Follow the score,
in which the parts are color coded.

Listen to: Soprano ► Contralto ► Tenor ► Bass ►

BWV48 : Cantata "Ich elender Mensch, wer wird mich erlösen"

Notice that in bars 4 - 5 and bars 7 - 8, the Tenor voice rises above the Contralto voice. Why
would Bach do this, instead of simply keeping the voices in their own relative positions? The
cross-over in bar 4 is to avoid consecutive fifths between Soprano and Tenor. Similarly, he may
have wished to avoid the hidden octave between Soprano and Tenor on the 3rd beat of bar 7.
The cross-over in bar 8 was probably to break the progression of three parallel thirds (between
Contralto and Tenor), excessive parallelism being undesirable in species counterpoint.

Listen to the example below, in which the Tenor and Contralto parts have been swapped in the
places where they previously crossed over. Apart from the harmonic errors this generates, the
two melodies become flatter, proceed more by parallel motion, and are possibly more monotonous.
Judge for yourself!

Listen to: Contralto ► Tenor ►

Once the leading melody (Soprano) has been determined together with the Figured Bass, there are
usually very few melodic options for the remaining two inner voices, due to the necessity to avoid
consecutive and hidden fifths and octaves, as well as the need for inner notes to be part of the
prevailing chord. In other words, the two inner melodies fall into place by merely applying the rules.

Consequently, to formulate interesting melodies in a 4-part composition, we should be preoccupied
with just two variables: the Soprano line and the Figured Bass. The In-depth section of this topic
examines the interaction of these two variables, taking Bach's BMV40 (movement 6) Cantata as a
working example.