Traveling along the yellow brick road
Three ways notes can move in a melody
Here’s a story you might know.
Dorothy and her three friends, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion, walk and skip and sing their way along the Yellow Brick Road to Emerald City. They’re off to see the Wizard of Oz to ask him for something they each need, like a heart, brains, some courage, and help getting back home to Kansas (I’ll leave you to sort out who wants what).
As in all good stories, there’s adventure and adversity, singing and dancing, ruby slippers, a broomstick, more than one wicked witch hellbent on causing trouble, and a wizard who turns out to be fake.
In the end, Dorothy and her three friends find out they have all that they need already, and Dorothy is soon back home in Kansas (lucky, because there’s no place like home, right?)
What’s all this got to do with music?
In Musical maps and finding your way I introduced the idea of a melody being like a path on a map, and in How to read and hear the ups and downs of a melody as if it were a map I encouraged you to think about how notes in a melody can move up and down, and to try it for yourself.
Just as Dorothy has her three companions, there are three main ways notes in a melody can move as it travels along its own Yellow Brick Road.
Theory and practice: how notes can step, leap, and repeat
And now it’s your turn to listen and picture how notes are stepping, leaping, and repeating, and then try it out for yourself.
Remember: even if you’re already familiar with music theory and comfortable with playing or singing, it’s worth thinking about how notes move and how focusing on this movement can influence the way you play or sing them. Music is always going to be much more about how you sing or play and the momentum of the melody, rather than knowing the names of the notes.
And finally…
Here’s something a little jazzy for you to try. It’s the same accompaniment but this time played by a jazz band. So put on those dark sunglasses, click your fingers, and have at it.
To get you started, I sing at the beginning using all three ways notes move. You can try steps and leaps or simply sing one note over the whole thing. It’s all good and there’s no right or wrong way. You’ll also find that the more you do it the more confident you’ll feel and the more ideas you’ll have.
Let me know how you get on!
With special thanks to: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L.Frank, Baum, and originally published in 1900.
Baum, L. F. (2010). The wonderful wizard of oz. Oxford University Press.