The different aspects of a melody Some objects present a different aspect depending on the angle from which they are
viewed. An upside-down ice cream cone looks like a triangle seen from the side, but
like a circle seen from the top. The same melody may also be presented in various
aspects, both in the World of Pitch (in itsMode, major or minor, diatonic or chromatic) and in the World of Time (in its Rhythm,
binary, ternary, quinternary ...), which we will see here.
Transformations At Small Levels
Binary and Ternary Meters
Example A well-known example of change of meter is the Mexican song La Cucaracha, originally
conceived in 3/4 time, but which the rest of the world knows in 4/4 time with jazzysyncopations.
We will first examine the different possibilities of binary andternarysubdivision of thesmalllevels and discover the different rhythmical aspects of the same melody.
Footsies Don’t forget the Footsies for all the following musical examples, because understanding them is one thing, but feeling them is the most important thing.
Choice of note values For the sake of consistency (in totally binary rhythm), each Beat (and Off-Beat) ofLevel 0will always consist of the. As we subdivide, each Beat (and Off-Beat) ofLevel -1will consist of the, each Beat (and Off-Beat) ofLevel -2will consist of the, each Beat (and Off-Beat) ofLevel -3will consist of the, each Beat (and Off-Beat) ofLevel -4will consist of the. The bar-lines will always be placed atLevel -1, with bars in 4/4 (or 2/2) time. The bar-lines ofLevel 0will be indicated solid, the others, atLevel -1, dashed.
Let’s run through our list of 7 melodies.
1. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
(a) The shortest notes of this song will be represented ass and bars would normally be expressed in 2/2 time.
(b) With only two notes in a bar (atLevel -1) it is not possible to produce ternary subdivision which requires another level of subdivision (Level -2, with fours per bar). However it is possible to produce ternary subdivision (grouping) usingLevel 0, both withLevel -1, and withLevel +1, which we will see in the following section (TransformationsatLevel 0).
2. Polly, Put The Kettle On
(a) The shortest notes of this song will be represented ass and bars would normally be expressed in 4/4 time.
(b) Discovering its aspect in 3/4 time would mean removing beat 2 from each bar. The logical way to do this without losing any material is to reduce by half all the values of beats 1 and 2 (the first 2 notes of each 4/4 bar becomings instead ofs theat the beginning of Bar 7 becomes a). Each bar in 3/4 time would be at what we callLevel -2-1 (a ternary fusion ofLevel -2andLevel -1). Try this for yourself- the song will take on a Mazurka flavor.
Footsies At the smallest level (ternaryLevel -2-1), the feet startR(ight),L(eft),T(ouch). At the next level (binaryLevel 0), the feet startLas in the original binary aspect.
(c) Discovering its aspect in 6/8 time is not possible at the small levels because we would need subdivision atLevel -3to have the requireds.
3. Red River Valley
(a) The shortest notes of this song will be represented ass and bars would normally be expressed in 4/4 time.
There are several possibilities here.
(b) Since a complete bar is made up of two identical parts of it is very tempting to start by discovering its aspect in 6/8 time byreducing by half all the values of beats 1 and 3(the first and thirds). giving the song a Waltz flavor with a meter quite similar to that ofMexican Hat Dance.
Footsies At the smallest level (ternaryLevel -3-2), the feet startL-T-R. At the next level (binaryLevel -1), the feet startR-L, with 2 notes pickup, as in the original binary aspect.
(c) However, nothing prevents us from discovering its aspect in 3/4 time by reducing by half all the values of beats 1 and 2 (the first and seconds) (as we did forPolly Put The Kettle On). We are back to the Mazurka flavor.
Footsies At the smallest level (binaryLevel -3), the feet startR-L, as in the original aspect. At the next level (ternaryLevel -2-1), the feet startT-R-L. At the next level (binaryLevel 0), the feet startL-R, with 2 notes pickup, as in the original aspect.
(d) It is now possible to find a fourth aspect by maintaining exactly the same note values of the 3/4 aspect (c), but by performing the melody in 6/8 time, with a binaryLevel -1and a ternaryLevel -2-3, producing what are known as “hemioles” (3 in the time of 2). Without changing the note-values, the Mazurka flavor has been replaced by a more
Spanish flavor.
Footsies At the smallest level (ternaryLevel -3-2), the feet startL-T-R. At the next level (binaryLevel -1), the feet startR-L, with 2 notes pick-up, as in the original aspect. Don’t forget to sing the (c) 3/4 version again with a ternary footsie (T-R-L) atLevel -2-1 to really feel the difference.
This gives us 4 different aspects of the same song. We will also find 4 different aspects in 5.Oh Where Is My Little Dog Gone ?
4. Rock-A-Bye, Baby
(a) The shortest notes of this song will be represented ass and bars would normally be expressed in 3/4 time.
Footsies At the smallest level (ternaryLevel -2-1), the feet startR-L-T, as we already know.
There is only one possibility of transformation here. (b) Bringing it to the fundamental, independent binary levels (Level -2andLevel -1) will imply doubling the note values of beat 1 of each bar of 3/4, thewill become a, thewill become a.and the.will become a. It will give the song a March flavor (in 4/4 time, probably 2/2).
Footsies Try beating the 2 smallest binary levels (Level -2andLevel -1) at the same time with the feet startingR-T-L-T, which we already saw. Don’t forget to sing the (a) 3/4 version again with a ternary footsie (R-L-T) atLevel -2-1 to really feel the difference, and notice that the left footThas been removed.
(c) Since there are nos inLevel -3, the 6/8 aspect is not applicable in the small levels.
5. Oh Where Is My Little Dog Gone?
(a) The shortest notes of this song will be represented ass and bars would normally be expressed in 6/8 time.
Footsies At the smallest level (ternaryLevel -3-2), the feet startT-R-L. At the next level (binaryLevel -1), the feet startR-Lwith 1 note pickup. as we alreadyknow.
Like song 3.Red River Valley, there are several possibilities here. (b) The first is to bring it from its original 6/8 meter to the fundamental 4/4 meter by doubling the note values of the first and fourths of each bar. We evidently have the March flavor.
Footsies Try beating the 2 smallest binary levels (Level -3andLevel -2) at the same time with the feet startingT-R-T-L, which we alreadysaw. Don’t forget to sing the (a) 3/4 version again with a ternary footsie (T-R-L) atLevel -3-2 to really feel the difference, and notice that the left footThas been removed. At the next level (Level -1), the feet startR-Lwith 1 note pickup, as in (a).
(c) Then we can discover its aspect in 3/4 time by reducing by half all the values of beats 1 and 2 (the first and seconds) We have the Mazurka flavor.
Footsies At the smallest level (binaryLevel -3), the feet startL-R. (There are not enoughs notes to warrantLevel -4) At the next level (ternaryLevel -2-1), the feet start ,R-L-Twith 1 note pickup. At the next level (binaryLevel 0), the feet startL-Rwith 1 note pickup as in the original aspect.
(d) Now we can maintain exactly the same note values of the 3/4 aspect, but perform the melody in 6/8 time, with a binary footsie (R-L) atLevel -1, with the Spanish hemioles.
Footsies At the smallest level (ternaryLevel -3-2), the feet startT-R-L. At the next level (binaryLevel -1), the feet startR-Lwith 1 note pickup. Don’t forget to sing the (c) 3/4 version again with a ternary footsie (R-L-T) atLevel -2-1 to really feel the difference. (Don’t forget the 1-note pickup)
This melody was also used as an example in the4 Strong Modes. With 4 aspects of modes and 4 aspects of meter, we could have 16 aspects by crossing the modes and the meters.
6. Happy Birthday
(a) The shortest notes of this song will be represented ass and bars would normally be expressed in 3/4 time.
Footsies At the smallest level (binaryLevel -3), the feet startR-L. At the next level (ternaryLevel -2-1), the feet startT-R-L. At the next level (binaryLevel 0), the feet startL-Rwith 2 notes pickup as we alreadyknow.
There is only one possibility of transformation here. (b) Bringing it from its original 3/4 meter to the fundamental 4/4 meter by doubling the note values of beat 1 of each bar of 3/4. We evidently have the March flavor.
Footsies At the smallest level (binaryLevel -3), the feet startR-Las in the original aspect. Try beating the 2 next binary levels (Level -2andLevel -1) at the same time with the feet startingT-R-T-L.
(c) We cannot produce the 6/8 meter aspect in the small levels because we do not have a sufficient number ofs.
7. Down In The Valley
(a) The shortest notes of this song will be represented ass and bars would normally be expressed in 9/16 time.
Footsies At the smallest level (ternaryLevel -4-3), the feet startR-L-T. At the next level (ternaryLevel -2-1), the feet startT-R-L. as we alreadyknow.
There is only one possibility here. (b) Bringing it from its original 9/16 meter to the fundamental 4/4 meter by transforming - each group of 3s on the third beat of each bar into 1and 2s, - each.on the first beat of each bar into a, - each.on the second beat of each bar into a. We evidently have the March flavor.
Footsies All the levels being binary, the footsies are quite simple here.
(c) We cannot produce the 6/8 meter aspect because we do not have a sufficient number ofs.
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Those browsing might wish to see theexercisesfor this section and/or see what happens to ternary rythms atlarger levels(-1 0, 0+1, +1+2)
Quinternary Meters
The 5/8 bar (2+3) is considerably more sophisticated than the 3/4 or 6/8 bars because 3 levels are fused together intoLevel -3-2-1 rather than 2 levels as in the previous cases - Level -2-1for the 3/4 bars, and Level -3-2for the 6/8 bars, and very little music is written directly in this meter. However, it is quite simple to transform music from 6/8 to 5/8 by removing the secondfrom each 6/8 bar. Here again, we would have the choice of removing whatever we find on this
second or "squeezing" the material of the first 2s down to half-size. Let's see a few examples -
3. Red River Valley (5/8)
If we take the 6/8 version ofRed River Valley and remove the secondfrom each 6/8 bar we get the Red River Limp 2 clip with relatively little loss if we remove the contents of the second so as not to interrupt the flow ofs with the appearance ofs.
5. Where, Oh Where, Is My Little Dog Gone ? (5/8)
If we take the original 6/8 version ofWhere, Oh Where, Is My Little Dog Gone ? and remove the secondof each bar we get a 5/8 version of the song with relatively little loss if we remove the contents of the second.
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