Identity

If I'm trying to refer to a work of music you've heard and you're unaware of the work's title, then how do I go about it? Do I give a theoretical account of the work, citing the harmonically rich opening, the rapidly changing textures, and the key change to B-flat major in bar 70? No, not unless we're playing a trivia game. Rather, I provide you with an actual sound from the music. Do I voice a percussive timpani part from the final movement? No, I am much more likely to sing some notes for you. OK, then do I sing the part of the cello line that oscillates back and forth between B-flat and A for 30 seconds? Again, no. I am much more likely to sing something melodic. Further, I would choose what I deem to be the most distinctive and memorable melody from the entire work.

For this reason, while melody might not always be the most interesting aspect of a work of music, I would say it is usually the soul of the work, the aspect you associate with the work's identity. I believe this is a result of how our minds work.

Indeed, what would I do if I had to refer to a work of atonal serialism without being able to use the work's title? If I were to attempt to sing it aloud, it would make for one interesting scene. My only recourse would be to offer up some well-known piece of trivia related to the work. In my mind, then, I have represented the work not using melody or anything else musical but rather using words.

And indeed, what would I do if I had to refer to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony without using the work's title? Why, I would hum Ode to Joy, of course. And what beautiful, evocative music Beethoven makes when he takes that melody and lets us hear it in different contexts, on different instruments.