Your mission is to make a melody that goes with your rhythm, bass, and chords. A melody is simply a sequence of pitches, one after the other, but also can be powerful. As you learned, a “catchy” melody can stay in your head for hours/days, and melodies can connect us, for instance when sung by a stadium full of people. To get started, we’ll recreate one of the most famous melodies of all time, “Ode to Joy” (written in 1824, by Ludwig von Beethoven), and we’ll notice what makes a melody work - the pitches, the “shape,” steps, and leaps. Then you’ll change it into something new. To complete this activity, you will create your own melody - maybe just a sequence of pitches that you’ve made, or perhaps an earworm, or even a future stadium anthem.
Step 1: Re-create - First, you’ll explore, play, and then record the melody to “Ode to Joy” in your lanes. For extra fun, you get to choose a melody instrument that matches your band’s aesthetic.
Step 2: Remix - Create any variation on this melody to make it your own. You can change the length, pitch, or timing of the notes in the piano roll. Change the instrument sound, or use a microphone to record your voice or another instrument.
Step 3: Create - Create an original 4-bar melody of your own. You may keep the material from the variation, or create something completely different.
Exemplary (5)
Proficient (4): 4 of 5 complete
Progressing (3): 3 of 5 complete
Emerging (2): At least 1 complete
Beginning (1): 0 complete
Video: Ode to Joy on Hundreds of Ukuleles!, by Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, YouTube.com, April 2020
Video: Ode to Joy – Singalong Concert, by Young Euro Concert, YouTube.com, August 2019
Video: Soundtrap Effects Tutorials #1 w/ Minecraft Music, ODO Music, YouTube.com, August 2016
Video: The Grid and Quantizing in Soundtrap, by Music EdTech, YouTube.com, March 2020