How to analyze a score

Collect the following data:

1. The title of the score to be analyzed.

2. The year of composition.
3. The name of the composer.
4. Date of birth and death.
5. Instrumentation.
1. If the work is vocal, instrumental or mixed.
2. Types of instruments or voices for which it is written.
6. Texture of the work. Indicates whether the texture is monodic (single line),
polyphonic (several lines)
7. or accompanied melody.
8. Rhythm (beat)
9. Intensity (if it changes or if it is the same throughout the work).
10. Tempo (fast, slow, moderate)
11. musical form
1. Binary. AB
2. Ternary. ABA
3. Rondo. ABACADA
4. Theme and variations. AA'A''
5. Forms based on imitation (canon, fugue...)
6. Complex forms (sonata, concerto...)
12. Melodies.
1. Simple or more elaborate (8 measures as standard)
2. Continuous or discontinuous
3. Repetition or not of the melodies.
13. Harmony (if there are chords).
14. Brief biography of the composer.
15. Style to which it belongs.
16. Other significant works by this same author.

Taking the following steps into account, analyze the following score.
 Musical Tones

This is the conceptual map with the musical scales that give rise to the different tonalities.
In the center of the map are the scales that are taken as a model: C Major (semitones II-IV
and VII-VIII) and A Minor (II-III and V-VI) which have no alterations. These examples will
help you carry out simple melody analysis activities. On the following pages you have to
analyze the melodies and indicate in which key Major or Minor each example is. To do
this, you must analyze the alterations of the score and the degrees of the scale on which
the most emphasis is placed (look especially at the beginnings and

ends of musical fragments). Click on the image to access the online map and see the map
in a larger size

How to perform a melodic analysis

In today's post we will learn how to perform a melodic analysis, we will see
how a melody works according to the harmony of a piece of music and how we
can take advantage of this information.

Knowing the relationship that exists between melody and harmony is one of
the most important tools that any musician can count on, whether one is
dedicated to composition or improvisation, it is necessary to know how melody
affects harmony, in this way This way we can know which scales or musical
resources are suitable for each chord and why.

When we perform a melodic analysis we must understand that a note within a

melody has several possibilities:

1. When the analyzed note belongs to the chord : In this case we must identify what degree it
is, if it is the first, the third or the fifth, this on the guitar would help us determine the
voicing or position to use in case of making a chord melody or a voice leading.
2. When the analyzed note is not part of the chord : In this case it is a chord tension and it
would indicate what type of chord we should use.
3. When the note does not belong to the chord and is a passing note : In this case the note is
not a tension since it works as an intermediate note to connect two notes of the chord.
4. When the note makes an embroidery: In the case of embroidery, the note that does not
belong to the chord makes an ascending or descending movement to return to the chord
note.
Melodic analysis is one of those things that must be done constantly, whether the
melody is carried by an instrument or a voice, understanding its relationship with
harmony helps both in musical creation at the level of composition and in
harmonization and in improvisation.

Examples of a melodic analysis:

Notes that belong to the chord:

We see in this example that the numbers written below each note show us its
relationship with the chord, in this case we only handle notes of the chords: in
the first measure for example, we have that the melody completely draws the
chord since makes the three notes that compose it: F C A = F A C = F major.

The second measure uses the note Bb which is the third of the Gb chord, in the later
measures we have Ab for the chord of AbMaj7, Bb again for the Gm and the note F for the
Fm7. We see in this first example that the melody It is completely linked to harmony since
it only makes notes of the chords, this shows us that when applying chords with tensions
(ninths, elevenths and thirteenths) within the accompaniment we could end up having
some clashes on a melodic level.

Tensions or notes that do not belong to the chord:

We see in the second measure of this example how the note D appears above the C7
chord, being its ninth this chord should be written and played as a C9.

In the third measure we have a trecena or sixth on the FMaj7 chord, this shows us an error
in the figure, the melody proposes a chord with a sixth while the harmony proposes a
chord with a seventh, this would cause a melodic clash, since between the
two notes would create a second, this interval is considered a dissonance, in this case an
F6 chord might work better .

For the Gm7 chord a ninth appears in the melody, this makes it a Gm9.

Passing notes:

We see

In this example, as the notes that do not belong to the chord (2, 4 and 6 connect notes that
are in the chord, we see movements like: 1 2 3 and 7 6 5 where the tensions function as
passing notes.

Passing notes are characterized by connecting chord notes and by having a short duration;
it is common for them to be located on the offbeats or weak beats of the measure.

Embroidery:

We
see in this example how the note “Db” makes an upper embroidery for the note C, tonic of
the C chord and we see how the note D makes a lower embroidery for the E seventh note
of the F7 chord, the embroidery in essence works like A passing note is of short duration
and is usually made on the weak beats of the measure. The difference is that it borders
each note, either ascending or descending.

Doing a melodic analysis helps us know the characteristics of the notes, this is of utmost
importance, it helps us determine the correct chords that we should use when
harmonizing a melody, it also tells us the appropriate scales to improvise each chord.
Knowing how to perform a melodic analysis is very important. With this we can better
understand what is happening in the music we are performing.

To finish a couple of important facts:

The notes that belong to the chords can make up 80% of a melody, in some cases the
percentage can be higher.

The notes that do not belong to the chord appear less but are very important since they
give variety to the music, it is essential to learn to handle them correctly in terms of their
resolutions and harmonizations.
 MUSICAL ANALYSIS

MUSICAL ELEMENTS

When I analyze any type of music, there are several elements that I must always take
into account, regardless of the origin of the music I listen to.

These elements help us to be organized in musical analysis, as well as to be objective,

since they are not subjective elements but absolutely technical.

The elements that I must analyze in any type of music are:

- Rhythm. Rhythm is the ordering of sound in time. In the West, since the 17th
century, we have used the compass to order musical discourse into equal units
of accentuation. Measures can be binary, ternary or quaternary. There is also
“unmeasured” music, that is, music that apparently has no rhythm. This music
is called “unmeasured”, but it is very rare in our tradition.
In addition, musicians can try to mark the beat or, on the contrary, try to make it go
unnoticed. It is important to verify which of the two options is chosen by the
musicians.

The speed with which music is played is also important. We call this speed Tempo.
The tempo goes from Adagio to Presto (from very slow to very fast). It is necessary to
observe the pulse to know if the tempo is fast or slow. But be careful! The presence of
many notes is not always indicative of a lot of speed.

- Melody. Melody has been considered the soul of music for centuries. When analyzing
music according to its melody, I have to observe:

- The melodic profile: Refers to the “drawing” that describes the melody.
Depending on its profile, a melody can be: balanced, descending or ascending. In
addition, you must observe whether it moves in jumps or in joint degrees. Reflective,
intimate, singable music... usually moves by joint degrees , while the most “crazy”
music usually moves by jump .

- The melodic field. It is the distance between the lowest and highest sound of a
melody. Of course, I can't know exactly what these notes are just by listening to the
music, but I can get an idea of whether or not they are very far apart. I simply classify
the scope as “broad” or “narrow.”

- Harmony. Harmony is the art of combining sounds that sound simultaneously.

Western harmony is based on units of three sounds called triad chords . These chords
can be major or minor, and they determine the “color” of a musical composition.
Depending on the harmony, a tonal piece of music can be major or minor.
Compositions in Major mode are traditionally considered brighter, happier, etc. On the
contrary, the minor mode is chosen for ballads, sad, reflective music, etc. There are
also other types of harmonies that go beyond the traditional Western pattern. For
example, in jazz, chords are greatly expanded and become four, five or more notes.
The same thing happens in Latin music, flamenco and many other musics from
around the world, which use special modes and their own combinations of sounds.

The musical Texture emerges from the combination of these three elements.
Texture is the way in which the different sound planes that make up a musical work
are combined. There are four basic textures: accompanied melody, homophony,
counterpoint and monody.

Monody is the presence of a single melodic line. In the accompanied melody, a melody
appears supported by a group of chords, arpeggios and other harmonic elements. It is
the most used in popular music. Counterpoint is the “queen” texture, the most
complex in the world of composition. It unites different melodic lines in a single
musical discourse, which coexist and move freely forming a coherent whole. In
homophony , the chords move as a block, all the notes at once. In vocal-choral music
it is a very common texture, because it allows the text to be understood perfectly.
There is also often talk of light and heavy textures, depending on the amount of
sounds that are coexisting at any given moment.

In addition to these elements, in a musical audition we must also look at the

instrumentation, form, style, genre and context of the music we are listening to.

- Form: Form is the structure of a musical composition. The musical structure

depends on the ordering of the musical discourse in time; That is, musical form is the
way music is placed in time. There are standard forms and newly created forms.
Within them, there are also simple shapes and complex shapes. Complex shapes are
those formed by the juxtaposition of several simple shapes. Some basic forms are:
Ternary form ABA, Binary form AB, Song form (Chorus-Copla-Chorus-Copla, etc.),
Strophic form (vocal sections in which the text changes but not the music), etc. Within
the complex forms, some of the best known are: Sonata, Symphony, Suite, opera, etc.

- Instrumentation: Music can be vocal or instrumental. If it is vocal, it can also be

accompanied or a cappella . Within each of these types of music, we must distinguish,
as far as possible, the formation that interprets what we hear (a symphony orchestra,
a jazz combo, a pop quintet, a rock quartet, etc.)

- Style: Style is what allows us to distinguish the music of one creator or performer
from that of another. There are several general blocks of musical styles: Cultured
Music or Classical Music; Urban Popular Music; Folk or Traditional Music. Within each
of these great styles, there are countless ramifications that we cannot list now, but
that must be observed carefully. Observing the elements that we have summarized
before can give us clues about the style of the auditions that we have to analyze.

- Genre: There are many interpretations about what musical genre is. We are going to
distinguish between instrumental music, vocal music (accompanied or a cappella),
stage music and religious music. They are genres that often overlap, but in general
this division works well.

TO DO A GOOD MUSICAL ANALYSIS, I HAVE TO:

- LISTEN VERY CAREFULLY TO THE MUSIC BEFORE WRITE ANYTHING .

- FOLLOW A METHOD.
- MAKE AN ASSESSMENT OF THE OBJECTIVE ELEMENTS AND THEN THE SUBJECTIVE
ELEMENTS. One also has to be able to channel what one hears to know what the
composer wants to tell us, what he wants to express. Music, in addition to
being something difficult, is above all a way to express feelings!