Creating a melody by combining pitches and rhythms
The following group of pitches as they stand do not constitute an interesting melody. They represent a group of pitches played to a specific rhythm, but the music is not going to grab the listeners’ attention.
Pitches without rhythm:
The following line is much more interesting rhythmically, but it only has one pitch.
Rhythm with only one pitch:
When the above pitches and rhythms are combined, the resulting music produces a melody that is much more likely to grab the listeners’ attention. It is not likely to win a Grammy, but it is much catchier than the example at the top of the page.
Pitches and rhythm combined = Melody:
Back to the Melody table of contents
Learn about tonality and scales