The Writer’s Corner

Hi gang, welcome back!

Continuing on with the concept of melodic shape introduced in my last post,
imagine the shape of a circle. Note the smooth edges. To create a
smooth sounding melody, I’ll call it a Circle shape, we need to use a minimum of leaps. The
majority of intervals used in a Circle shape are half and whole steps. It
is possible to mix in an interval larger than a half or whole step to this
type of melodic idea, particularly at the end of the phrase, but the
overriding idea must be small intervals. This next example illustrates a
Circle shape.

The above example is made up primarily of half and whole step intervals. The
only exception is at the very end of the phrase. Dramatically speaking
(emotionally), this type of shape “tells the story,” which is why it is
used in the verse section of so many popular songs.
The application of this shape is all around us. It is easy to sing due to
the stepwise motion. Think of a popular song, or a church hymnal. The
verses usually have a preponderance of stepwise motion - again, to
make it easier for people to sing. Here are a few great songs that have
a Circle shape for a verse (or sometimes a chorus/bridge) section of
the song:

Cole Porter’s “Night and Day” (“A” section)
Gustav Holst “Venus,” from The Planets
Warren/Gordon “There Will Never Be Another You”
Christmas Carols such as ”Deck The Halls” or “The Little Drummer
Boy”
Kenny Edmonds “Breathe Again” (“B” section)
Wayne Shorter “Footprints”
Antonio Carlos Jobim “How Insensitive”
Rogers/Hart “My Funny Valentine” (”A” section)

In my next post, we’ll explore one more melodic shape. In the meantime, observe the verse sections to songs you like to listen to - regardless of style. Do they follow an overall feeling of a Circle shape? A verse section is not ALWAYS a circle shape, but very often it is. Until next time,

All the best ~ Jerry