Reading a melody

Read it like a player

The music in context section shows a short melody and asks about it. Before reading the questions, look at the music the way a player would:

1. The clef and the key signature. Which notes are sharp or flat?
2. The time signature. How many beats in a bar?
3. The words and signs. How fast, how loud, and in what style?

Worked example: questions on that melody

• The key: one flat fits F major or D minor. The C sharp (the raised 7th of D minor) and the ending on D say D minor.
• The time: 3/8, three quaver beats in a bar.
• The speed and style: grazioso, gracefully. The dynamic: p, quiet.
• The tenuto: on the G in bar 4, held for its full value.
• The highest note: the A in bar 3. The lowest: the first A.
• An interval: from the D at the start of bar 1 up to the A in bar 3 is a 5th.
• A degree: the C sharp is the 7th degree of D minor (raised).

Tip: if a question names a bar, count the bars from the start, and remember the key signature and any accidentals in that bar.

Questions that come up

• the highest or lowest note, or which bar it is in;
• the number of an interval between two marked notes;
• the degree of a marked note in the key;
• the time signature (if it is missing) or the beats in a bar;
• what a word, dynamic or sign on the music means.