This week’s lecture, Robyn focused on placement and balance of melodic structure, and in particular how variation of this is key to creating a vivid and engaging tune. Melodic phrase length especially is something I’d never particularly isolated as a technique to utilise, but Robyn’s use of I Want You Back by The Jackson 514 as an example in this week’s lecture15 was an excellent example to demonstrate the effect that it can have on a song – the mix of phrase lengths help keep the song from growing stale or predictable (that bassline certainly doesn’t hurt either).
14 The Jackson 5. “I Want You Back”. I Want You Back. By The Corporation. Produced by The Corporation. 7 October 1969.
15 Habel, Robyn. “Melody Part 2”. Lecture presented at the course Song Writing and Performance 1A, University of Adelaide, May 3, 2019.
Jachin's Songwriting and Performance Journal 