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Composing Techniques

Quick questions on Melody writing and motivic development explained: H2 Music

6short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.

What are too many leaps?
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Constant large leaps are unsingable and incoherent; favour stepwise motion and recover from leaps by step.
What is no motivic economy?
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Inventing a new idea every bar yields a patchwork; develop one motif by sequence, inversion, augmentation and diminution.
What is wrong word stress?
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Placing a weak syllable on a strong beat or high note distorts the text; align musical and verbal stress.
What is q1?
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Name three ways a motif can be developed. [2 marks]
What is q2?
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Explain the difference between syllabic and melismatic word-setting. [2 marks]
What is q3?
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Describe two features that give a melody a clear, singable shape. [3 marks]

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