# Music Theory Series: Compound Melody



## Romantic Geek (Dec 25, 2009)

Good Tuesday Talk Classical Forums!

Most know that I am a music theorist by trade. I just found out recently that I'll be heading to Indiana University for my PhD in Music Theory. Now, it is easy to portray theorists, as myself, as über geeks, which is partially true. But for me, music theory helped me think about music (especially classical music) in a far different manner.

Before seriously studying theory, I had a hard time listening to classical music. I liked all of the "easy listening" classical pieces, but larger works or "stranger" works were not as enticing. Music theory helped me learn to listen better. Granted, not everyone will benefit from music theory training in the incredible way I did, but I think it is important for everyone-from the classical music addict, to the performer, to those eager to learn more!

Thus, I am hoping to start a series about music theory topics that are helpful for everyone. I hope everyone learns something-or at the very least thinks differently about how music works.

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Today's topic is *compound melody*. For many, I think this is something that we already intuit when we listen to music, but at the same time, it can really change how we actively listen and perform works. I am going to use Bach's Cello Suite in G Major, since it is a very clear example of how compound melodies work. I'll use the Menuet II from this piece.





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While there is just a single line instrument playing (the cello in this instance) there are really multiple melodies happening at the same time-thus the name, compound melody. In this particular work, there are 3 or 4 different melodies that occur at the same time (depending on where you are).

Let's walk through the compound melody in the first 8 measures of this work. I think it is clear to see how this single line is comprised of three different melodies based on the wide range of the notes in each measure. For instance, our initial note Bb is decorated by a lower neighbor note A before it returns to Bb. Then, there is a large skip from Bb to D. D is decorated by an upper neighbor Eb before it skips down to a G.

Given the key of this work, G minor, the opening harmony comprises of three voices spelling a G minor chord-G, D, Bb. (N.B. The key signature is the "Dorian" key signature used often in Baroque given the frequency of having to add a natural sign to the sixth note of the scale). It is clear in the next measure that the low G moves down by step to F, the D stays at a D, and the Bb moves down by step to A. Thus, the opening eight measures can be simplified to this:









So there are three "melodies" that are actually moving.

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*So why is something like this important?*

For the performer, this is immensely helpful. First, if you know which notes are actually part of the individual melodies, it helps them really bring out the appropriate harmony needed. However, most importantly for performers, it helps them connect the individual lines together. Anyone with a good music teacher would already know this; however, in certain cases, the melodies are harder to determine. It takes some thought in order to produce a good performance, especially in Baroque works like this.

For the listener, it helps anchor your ear towards the longer melody. In some cases, I think this really helps with Baroque compositions which feature compound melodies very frequently. In many ways, this is how I came to really respect Bach and love to listen to his music. Otherwise, I just get lost in the "notey-ness" of the passages.

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Have a question about this topic? Feel free to comment on the article.


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