Rhythm & Melody

This lesson is part of the Rhythm, Meter & Form category.

Objectives

• Students will be familiar with how melody and rhythm interact and influence one another.
• Students will be familiar with the concepts of melodic and agogic accents.

Class Activities

• Discussion and definition of dynamic, melodic and agogic accents
• Analysis of melodies which feature melodic accents and agogic accents, especially vocal lines where these accents can be analyzed alongside poetic meter and grammar
• Discussion of meaning deriving from accent and metrical deviations from a melody’s inherent poetic meter.
• Improvisation of melodies with different types of melodic and agogic accents

Assignments

• Analysis of melodic lines for various implied and written accents
• Writing a melody which features a particular type of accent
• Writing a melody in a musical meter that contrasts with its inherent poetic meter.