Principles to Remember

Whether you are listening, singing, or composing, these ideas will sharpen your ear:

• Repetition creates recognition — the brain usually needs to hear an idea more than once to latch onto it
• Variation prevents boredom — great melodies repeat but change something each time
• Small intervals are singable — large leaps are dramatic but harder to remember
• Tension comes from leaving the key — resolution comes from returning home
• Cultural scales shape melody — Western music leans on seven-note scales, while other traditions use very different sets of pitches