AboutGabriel Expertise I am able to volunteer my expertise in music composition, music theory, and songwriting. NOTE: I am *not* able to offer expertise in singing; AllExperts.com still hasn't separated "singing" from this category (it does not belong here). I answer a variety of questions. I have multiple music degrees and years of experience in the field.
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Question I have just completeld grade 5 theory (with Loncon College of Music) and i decided that i want to continue on to do grade 6 theory. This may sound like a stupid question but how do you invert a melody? i know that if the theme say goes up by a major third you go down by a major third in the iversion. But i can never tell what the first note of the inversion should be. Can you offer any help?
it would be much appreciated
Answer Hello,
It's the same note.
There is no change in the first pitch within an inverted melody. All of the other pitches do change, yet the first pitch does not.
If you are transposing the melody then, along with the rest of the pitches, the first pitch will also change.
When considering the pitch-specific aspects of a melody, it can basically be played in:
When considering the time-specific aspects of a melody, it can basically be played in:
1. Its original form.
2. Diminution.
3. Augmentation.
Both aspects can be combined for additional melodic variations. There are more possibilities in how you can alter a melody, these are only a few of the more common techniques used.
Two highly contrasting styles of music offer excellent insight on these techniques. Music of the Baroque period - as with J.S. Bach's fugues, inventions, or any of many other pieces - serves as a nice demonstration emphasizing a very clear tonality or sequences of tonalities. Music of the 20th Century - as with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique (serialism) - serves as a nice demonstration emphasizing an apparent or definite atonality.
As far as your inverted melody goes, if you are only inverting the melody, you start with the same pitch as the original melody.
