Little Bits of Music – Playing Scales 10

A Melody Using the Upper Octave of the C Scale

This series of tips is about scales and how useful they are for the kalimba player.

We used the opening melody of the Bach Minuet in G as an example of how scale segments are used in melodies.

Now that we have had a look at the upper octave of the C Major scale, I take you back to the Minuet melody.

(By the way, the tablature here is for a 17-Note Kalimba in C, but the concept and even the tablature is the same for many other types of kalimbas.)

The second bit of melody is present right here. Look at measures 7 and 8. The melody dips down below the C in the middle of the left side. The melody hits the B in measure 7 and the G in measure 8.

This is totally common. Melodies are rarely restricted to occupying just an octave of the scale, and they often go down to the 5th of the scale (the last note, G, is the 5th of C – a great note to start on, because it points to the 1, the root, the C note. Much more on that much later. For now, I will just leave it by saying that the motion from 5 to 1 – in this case, from G back to C – is the fundamental motion in western music.

If you want to play the full “Minuet in G” song, you can find three different versions of this song, in levels 2, 3, and 4, in the recently released “33 Intermediate Songs for the 17-Note Kalimba in C.”

On the other hand, if you feel you are not yet ready for the Intermediate songs, you may want to check out the “44 Beginner Songs for the 17-Note Kalimba in C.”