More about singing! Picture this: you're sitting on a plane, and a melody pops into your head. You want to remember this melody, but you have no instrument on which to pluck out the pitches. Your piano, unfortunately, exceeded the size limitations for carry-on luggage. What do you do? How do you keep from forgetting the melody? If you know your intervals, then you can write melodies anywhere, spilling those lovely songs directly from your brain to the cocktail napkin. Pandora music analyst and songwriter Melody Parker joins host Kevin Seal to sing intervals for you, and they give you a cheat sheet of well-known songs that use those intervals. (10 mins.)
On the next page, see a list of the intervals, with handy song references to help you remember those spans. We've also drawn on a photo of a piano keyboard, to show you how far these intervals range from a C.
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MUSICAL TERMS INCLUDED IN THIS PODCAST
| Pitch |
Melodic interval |
Minor second (m2) |
Perfect fifth (P5) |
| Interval |
Harmonic interval |
Major second (M2) |
Minor sixth (m6) |
| Step |
Half-step |
Minor third (m3) |
Major sixth (M6) |
| Leap |
Whole step |
Major third (M3) |
Minor seventh (m7) |
| Chart |
Scale steps |
Perfect fourth (P4) |
Major seventh (M7) |
| Melody |
Chromatic step |
Tritone or augmented fourth (A4) |
Octave |
|
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Here is Melody recording her vocal parts for this episode, using her accordion pitches for reference. In the follow-up episode, "Melodic Construction," you will hear her perform on accordion. |
Each interval example is represented with CAPITAL LETTERS on those syllables, and each example features that interval in an ascending motion unless otherwise noted.
THE MINOR SECOND (m2)
|
by Dinah Washington
"GLOOM AND misery everywhere, STOR-MY weather." |
|
by John Williams
(That recurring bass motif.) |
|
by Diana Krall (descending m2)
"GEE IT'S nice TO SEE you looking swell, baby" |
|
A minor second interval: C to Db. |
THE MAJOR SECOND (M2)
|
by Kermit Ruffins With The Rebirth Brass Band
"Hap-PY BIRTH-day to you, hap-PY BIRTH-day to you." |
|
by Ella Fitzgerald
"IN MY SOL-itude." |
|
by Max Romeo (descending M2)
"THREE BLIND MICE, SEE HOW they RUN." |
|
A major second interval: C to D. |
THE MINOR THIRD (m3)
|
by Diane Schuur
"It don't MEAN A thing, IF IT ain't got that swing." |
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by Shirley Bassey
"TO RIGHT the unwritea-BLE WRONG." |
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by Nina Simone
"I COM-MIT-ted crime, Lord, of needing, the crime OF BE-ing hungry and poor." |
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by the Vandals
"SO LONG, FARE-WELL, auf wiedersehen, good night; I HATE TO GO and leave this pretty sight." |
|
by Deep Purple
(The first two notes of the riff.) |
|
by Sammy Davis and Count Basie (descending m3)
"WHEN SHE walks she's LIKE A samba that SWINGS SO cool and SWAYS SO gentle." |
|
A minor third interval: C to Eb. |
THE MAJOR THIRD (M3)
|
by Fats Domino
"OH WHEN the saints GO MARCH-ing in, OH WHEN the saints go marching in." |
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by Peter, Paul & Mary
"SOME-ONE'S singing, Lord, Kumbaya." |
|
by Mitch Miller
"Doe, a DEER, A FE-MALE DEER... Ray, a drop of golden sun." |
|
by Oscar Brand
"FROM THE halls of Montezuma ... WE HAVE fought in every clime and place..." |
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A major third interval: C to E. |
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Here is Melody recording her vocal parts for this episode, using her accordion pitches for reference. In the follow-up episode, "Melodic Construction," you will hear her perform on accordion. |
THE PERFECT FOURTH (P4)
Tiny changes in a drummer's playing can create dramatic shifts in a song's feel. Pandora dance music analyst and session drummer Jeff Anthony gets into his trick bag to show some of the little variations he throws in to boost a song's energy going into the chorus. He also breaks down the difference between the two-handed Britpop hi-hat style and the looser, one-handed Yankee hi-hat style. The audio on the outro, by the way, is from a session Jeff played on -- an album for singer-songwriter Stephen Ashbrook. (8 mins.)
