The Melodic Minor Scale

Melodic Minor Scale

Before you study this concept you must have a very good aural understanding of the Major Scale and the Harmonic minor scale (this means you should be confident in recognising what those sound like).

Once you have done that, you're ready to tackle the wee weird one, the melodic minor scale.

Is it the same as the Harmonic Minor Scale?

No, not really. It's not the same as the harmonic minor scale, because it lacks the great big Augmented 2nd that falls between the 6th and 7th degrees of the scale.

However, it does have the flattened 3rd degree of the scale, which means the whole thing starts with a minor tonality... stay with me here.

So is it the same as the major scale then?

No, not really. Let's take a wee look at the C minor Melodic scale so I can try to help you understand what happens here.

 Do you see the E flat here? Play this scale at an instrument if you can. It sounds minor because C-D-Eb is the same as the start of the Harmonic Minor...

But then do you notice the rest of the way up it continues just the same as if it was the C major scale?

So it's a wee hybrid. First half sounds dark and minor, and second half sounds bright and major.

Then it gets even more interesting.

On the way back down, the melodic minor scale takes a bit of a wander out of what you'd possibly expect to happen. Instead of just following the same pattern it used on the way up, it changes completely.

Look at the key signature here - it's got 3 flat notes. On the way up (which is what this image depicts), you'll see the Ab and Bb are cancelled out by natural signs. This is to ensure the second half of the ascent sounds bright and major.



But the descent, does not feature these accidentals. It follows the key signature exactly. This means it actually sounds like the relative major for a little while (in this case, Eb major is the relative major) because the two scales share that key signature. The melodic minor, however, continues on and finishes on C, which means the final three notes are still dark and minor in tonality.

Play the following notes on an instrument and listen to it. I've put it here in treble notation and a piano diagram.



How do I remember this?

The simplest method is to remember the following mantra: A melodic minor scale starts minor, turns major, and ends minor again.

Why do I need to know this?

Best answer? It's in your course!

Serialism - Including associated concepts - Advanced Higher

Serialism

Serialism is a musical movement from the 20th Century.

It is a very mathematical approach to composing, and as I explain it here you'll see what I mean.

What does it mean?

Serialism.
Serial.

Look at the word. It is well named, because Serialist music is music built from a "Series" of notes, and developed using a "Series" of techniques.

Mind blown yet?

What does it look like?

Looks a bit weird. Covered in numbers and letters that nobody quite knows what they are.



What does it sound like?

Serial music for a String Quartet

Serial music for a Solo Piano:

Descriptive terminology for the semi-uninitiated:

• Atonal
• Random
• Complex

Can you think of any other words you'd use to describe the sound, style and "feel" of this kind of music?

What's the story behind it? (optional - you don't really need to know this bit)

Wikipedia will point out that Debussy and Strauss and all those early 20th Century composers who liked to free themselves up with interesting scales, harmonies, structures etc "struggled against" what had become the norm... ie Rigid Structures, Scales and Modalities that defined something that we now know as Ordinary sounding music.

So imagine a room full of guys with moustaches in dinner jackets and bow-ties, with their facsimiles under their arms, having written the next big Tone Poem or Impressionist Symphony.

They're moaning about how rigid composition had become - and patting each other on the back saying how they've pushed the limits. They've added notes to chords and changes time signatures about, stretched the rules to be dead rebellious.

Then these younger guys walk in and introduce themselves as Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg. They want a wee look at what's been happening to revolutionise music and they have a wee chat about it.

So what happens is they go nuts. They dabble in something called "Free Atonality" and they just make random noises. It gets a bit of interest, does okay, and then guess what happens.

They apply a rigid structure to it.

Associated Concepts - AKA WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW!

Serialist composition actually is a catch all term for some pretty specific "sciencey" approaches to making a piece of music.

But in SQA land, where you currently need to survive, it really only refers to Twelve-tone Composition.

In this particular process, there is a Tone Row.

Concept 1: Tone Row

The tone row is a set of 12 tones across the chromatic spectrum (basically, 12 completely different notes - there only are 12 if you think about it!)

It's the basis of the piece.

The composer starts by picking a Tone Row.

The top line of this "P1" is a Tone Row. Ignore all other letters, symbols etc.

If you were to play it - it'd sound atonal.

Next Concept: Retrograde

Retrograde means doing something backwards. If you retrace your steps, you're going in retrograde. If you rewind a video, it goes retrograde. If you play from right to left on the Prime Tone Row, you've played it Retrograde. (R8)

Next Concept: Inversion

Inverting something means making it turn upside down. If you do a handstand, you are performing an inversion.

If you play the Tone Row upside down, you're doing an "Inversion" of it (I3)

Next Concept: Retrograde Inversion

Hey... have you worked it out? It means to play the Tone Row both Upside Down (Inverted) and Backwards (Retrograde).

Easy. Here's one that I completely stole from wikipedia because it makes it so much easier than doing it myself. (IR8)

Suppose the prime form of the row is as follows:

Then the retrograde is the prime form in reverse order:

The inversion is the prime form with the intervals inverted (so that a rising minor third becomes a falling minor third, or equivalently, a rising major sixth):

And the retrograde inversion is the inverted row in retrograde:

Okay? So that's how many concepts

CONCEPTS HAUL: SERIALISM

Big one: Serialism

Associated acts:

1. Tone Row
2. Retrograde
3. Inversion
4. Retrograde Inversion
5. Atonal

These are what you need to remember.

Here - this is a great webpage that gives an example of serialist music that has been analysed to point out each incarnation of the Tone Row.

And for your own listening fun... a playlist.

Piano Trio - Advanced Higher

Piano Trio

Really simple.

There's 3 instruments in this. (hence: trio)
One is a piano. (hence: piano trio).

The other two are a violin and a cello.

Unless it's a pure crazy risky rebellious piano trio.
That might be a viola instead of a cello.

Here's a late Classical Piano Trio: (written by Beethoven)

These were used a wee bit more regularly in the Romantic era because of the boom in piano writing that happened in the late Classical era.

Here's a wee later Romantic one for you, just to get a feel for the timbre of a piano trio but to hear a difference in style. It's by Tchaikovsky, so it's got good emotional writing and melodic hook bits that you'll enjoy.

Chorale - Advanced Higher

Chorale - a word that sounds French but means something German.

Chorale, which is pronounced Kor - aaaal, is a hymn song... sung in German.

It's choral which means a choir sings it

It's homophonic which means the parts all move together

and it's German.

Do you need much more?

Motet - Advanced Higher

Motet

A motet is a Latin piece of sacred choral music from the Renaissance period.

Its language will be Latin as it is from the Catholic tradition, but it will not be the words of the Mass.

To understand what the motet's place is in relation to the Mass, you need to understand truly what the Mass is.

The Mass is the daily "words" of the Catholic church. It never changes, and it follows a strict format because the words are carefully selected to take the congregation through 5 important areas of worship:

1. Introductory rites - where the congregation is welcomed by the priest, they pray for forgiveness for their sins (Kyrie Eleison) and then praise and thank God for everything (Gloria)
2. Liturgy of the Word - where there is a reading from the old testament, the new testament and a Gospel passage followed by a homily or sermon from the priest which reflects on the Gospel passage from that day's readings. The congregation then stands and professes their faith (Credo in unum Deum)
3. Liturgy of the Eucharist - Prayers are said over the bread and wine that becomes the body and blood of Christ, and the priest invites the congregation to join in those prayers to become fully prepared to receive communion (Sanctus, Sanctus Sanctus, followed by Benedictus).
4. Communion rite -  Just before the congregation receives communion they recite Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world... (Agnus Dei)
5. Conclusion and Dismissal - After communion is received by all in the church, the priest tells the congregation to go in peace.

So in order to do all of this properly the faithful and the priest follow a strict "script". The script, in the Renaissance era, was always in Latin. These days, it's exactly the same format, but it's in English, or German, or Spanish, depending where you are in the world.

Motets aren't in the Mass.

But they are still Latin!

So think of a church - busy place. Dancing classes, clubs, nurseries, after school care... but also several prayer groups, choir rehearsals, "mums" groups and "scripture" groups and "singles nights", sometimes.

These groups will often meet and pray together, given their common faith. Prayers were also prescribed as penance after a confession was made - just to make everything alright with God again.

Families were encouraged to pray together in the house. Folk said prayers over sick people, dying people, newborns, healthy people... much the same way as holy people do now.

Prayers and churches - they go hand in hand.

In a Catholic church in the Renaissance period, the prayers all happened in Latin. The addition of music made it interesting and more fun to join in with for the guys who were along for the socialising.

Common prayers that still get spoken in Latin and you might have heard (Catholic or not!) are:

Ave Maria

Salve Regina

Veni Sancte Spiritus

So how do you tell them apart?

By knowing the words of the Mass, and NOT HEARING THEM.

You don't need a degree in Latin to study Advanced Higher music. But you are expected to know what the words of the Mass are, and be able to hear them in an excerpt of the Mass. So, by that same logic, you should be able to hear LATIN WORDS, that AREN'T THE WORDS OF THE MASS.

Guess what that all adds up to?

Bingo, a motet.

Summary

A motet is essentially the Catholic equivalent to an Anthem.

Motets are in Latin

Soprano Alto Tenor Bass

NOT A MASS

Unaccompanied

Polyphonic

Here's one that featured in 50 Shades of Grey.

Anthem - Advanced Higher

Anthem

A sacred piece of choral music, born in the Renaissance era.

Remember the Mass? in Latin? (and Greek)

Go back and revise it if you've forgotten.
A Mass was the Catholic liturgy. Anthem comes from the Protestant liturgy.

Anthem Definition:

A piece of choral religious music that was used in the Protestant church during the Renaissance period.

It is sung in English

It may be accompanied, but it is usually a cappella.

What's this got to do with the reformation?

Everything.
The reformation (ie when the Christian church went from being one Catholic church to the Catholic church plus several offshoots called "Protestants") in England (where this particular concept comes from) involved several changes being made to worship methods.

One rather important reformation (change) was that the Latin liturgy that had been celebrated in the Mass was not of any use to people who didn't speak Latin. So the services were to be carried out in the vernacular language of the parish (English).

It follows then, that if the musical worship had been sung in Latin, it would now be sung in English.

There are overlaps - in the mass there are specific Latin words like Credo in unum Deum, Gloria in excelsis deo... etc, because the words are set specific texts.

In anthems, there aren't words that are set in the same way, but there will be cameo appearances of things like "Hosanna" - words for which there is no English translation. Although Hosanna isn't a Latin term per se, it was a traditional word of praise used from biblical times, so it's got a shot in both the Mass (if you're interested, read the text of the Sanctus) and in several Anthems.

There will also be a fair share of holy themed words, given its purpose in life.

Common themes are "teacher" "father" "heaven" "glory" "rejoice" and all those golden nuggets of Christian worship patter.

Here you go:

Ayre - Advanced Higher

Ayre

This is the Renaissance word for "Song".

Remember, a song needs a singer, or it's not a song.

So question 1: what will you definitely hear?

That's right, a voice. That voice belongs to the singer.

Don't be offended, just don't be daft. Songs are only songs when someone sings them, otherwise they're just tunes. You would be surprised the amount of people who get as far as advanced higher and still refer to instrumental music as "songs".

Identifying an Ayre.

Take the features of Renaissance music and consider what a solo song from that period would be like.

It is likely to be

• modal
• accompanied by Renaissance instruments (eg lute)

Like this one.