Denise Schmandt-Besserat, “How Writing Came About”, 1992 was the topic of an earlier blog post.
Here I present: Arthur C. Edwards, “Practical Lessons in Melody-Writing”, 1963, PART THREE (3).
INTRODUCTION.
In music, a cantus firmus (“fixed melody“) is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition. The cantus firmus (C.F.) is first line BELOW. The polyphony includes three (3) other lines: A, B & C ABOVE the cantus firmus (C.F. ).
The cantus firmus (C.F.) consists of regularly eight (8) whole notes shown BELOW. The eight (8) bars of a music “period”, are equivalent to a lyric “sentence”.
COMMENTS.
The songwriter using a music scale (listed ABOVE) matches melody-to-lyrics. ATOP is an EXAMPLE of a music period. The double-period is Stevie Wonder, “Ribbon in the Sky”. Counting from the zero (0) bar at the beginning we see sixteen (16) bars of melody. The melody is a repetition of the eight (8) bar music period. Stevie Wonder, “Ribbon in the Sky”, lyrics are available from online web search. Arthur C. Edwards, “Practical Lessons in Melody-Writing”, 1963 gives learners the “terminology” used by musicians.
