Melodic Aspects

Abstract

Melody is a central aspect of musical creation. In most popular music, the melody is the only characteristic feature that is retained and memorized by everybody. This is certainly also due to the fact that the human voice is the first of all valid musical instruments, and that melody relates to music for and by human voices. Knowing this dominant role of melody, many instructors stress composing cantabile (in a singing manner) and then also performing as if one were singing—even on instruments (such as the piano) where this approach is somewhat artificial in view of their mechanical construction (the piano being more a percussive than a melodic instrument). Mozart was in fact famous for his “oily flowing” pianistic attack.