A melody is a series of single notes that our ears hear as one musical line – the part you sing or whistle. Each note has a pitch: how high or low it sounds. To write melodies down and talk about them, musicians use the staff, clefs, scales and singing systems such as solfa (do re mi) and the Indian sargam (Sa Re Ga).
The staff and clefs
The staff (or stave) has five lines and four spaces. The higher a note sits on the staff, the higher it sounds. A clef at the start fixes which line is which note:
- The treble clef (G clef) curls around the second line from the bottom, which is G above middle C. It is used for higher instruments and voices – recorder, flute, violin, tenor pan, soprano voice.
- The bass clef (F clef) has two dots around the fourth line, which is F below middle C. It is used for lower instruments – bass guitar, cello, bass pans, the left hand of the piano.
Memory aids for the treble clef: the lines from the bottom are E G B D F (“Every Good Boy Deserves Fruit”) and the spaces spell F A C E. In the bass clef, the lines are G B D F A (“Good Boys Deserve Fruit Always”) and the spaces are A C E G (“All Cows Eat Grass”).
Scales, keys and the tonic
A scale is a set of notes arranged in order of pitch. The first and most important note is the tonic (the “home” note); a melody usually feels finished when it returns to the tonic. The tonic gives its name to the key: a song in G major uses the G major scale and feels at home on G.
A major scale follows the pattern of tones (T, whole steps) and semitones (S, half steps): T T S T T T S. Starting on C gives C D E F G A B C – all white notes on the piano. Starting on G needs one sharp (F♯) to keep the pattern; D major needs two (F♯, C♯); F major needs one flat (B♭); B♭ major needs two (B♭, E♭). These five keys are the ones listed for Forms 1 and 2.
A minor scale has a lowered third note, which gives it a darker or sadder colour. The natural minor pattern is T S T T S T T; the harmonic minor raises the seventh note to give a strong pull back to the tonic.
An arpeggio is a chord played one note at a time. A major arpeggio uses the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the scale and then the top tonic – in solfa, d–m–s–d′. Practise these with their scales, and choose “Arpeggio” in the Try it box below to hear them:
| Key | Arpeggio (going up) |
| C major | C – E – G – C |
| G major | G – B – D – G |
| D major | D – F♯ – A – D |
| F major | F – A – C – F |
| B♭ major | B♭ – D – F – B♭ |
Accidentals
- A sharp (♯) raises a note by a semitone.
- A flat (♭) lowers a note by a semitone.
- A natural (♮) cancels a sharp or flat.
Sharps or flats written at the start of every line form the key signature; those written next to individual notes are accidentals and last until the end of the bar.
Solfa and sargam
Tonic solfa gives each degree of the major scale a syllable: do re mi fa so la ti do. Because “do” is always the tonic, solfa works in any key. The Indian classical system uses sargam: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa. Sargam is used in Trinidad and Tobago by singers and musicians in the East Indian classical and chutney traditions, so the curriculum includes it alongside solfa.
Melodic shape: steps, leaps and range
- Conjunct motion – the melody moves by step to the next note (like “Mary Had a Little Lamb”).
- Disjunct motion – the melody leaps over notes (like the start of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”).
- Range – the distance between the lowest and highest notes. Folk songs often have a narrow range so everyone can sing them.
- Sequence – a short melodic pattern repeated at a higher or lower pitch.
Other scales you will meet
- The pentatonic scale has five notes (C D E G A). It is used in folk music all over the world, including the Caribbean.
- The blues scale adds “blue notes” (a flattened 3rd, 5th and 7th) – see the jazz and blues post.
- The chromatic scale uses all twelve semitones.
- The whole-tone scale uses only whole tones; Debussy loved its dreamy sound (see the 20th-century post).
Try it: scale and melody player
Choose a key and a scale, and choose letter names, solfa or sargam labels. Compare major with minor in the same key, then try the pentatonic and blues scales, and the two short tunes that move by step and by leap.
TRY ITScale and melody player
Choose a key and a scale. The boxes show the note names (or solfa/sargam for major scales). Compare major and minor, then try the pentatonic and blues scales, and the “steps” and “leaps” tunes.
Press Play to listen. Nothing plays until you press the button. Start with your volume low.
Solfa and sargam labels are shown for major scales and arpeggios only.
Activity: compose a four-bar melody
- Use only the C major pentatonic scale (C D E G A).
- Write four bars in 4/4, mostly moving by step, with one leap.
- End on C (the tonic). Play it on recorder, keyboard or pan, or sing it in solfa.
- Add dynamics to each phrase (for example mp for the first and f for the second) and at least one hairpin (crescendo or diminuendo). Then perform your melody with the expression.
Quick check
1. Which note sits on the second line of the treble clef?
Show answer
G (the treble clef is also called the G clef).
2. What is the pattern of tones and semitones in a major scale?
Show answer
T T S T T T S.
3. Which key has one sharp, and what is it?
Show answer
G major; the sharp is F♯.
4. What is the tonic?
Show answer
The first and “home” note of a scale or key; melodies usually end on it.
5. Give the sargam syllables for a major scale.
Show answer
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa.
Previous: Tempo, Dynamics and Articulation: The Italian Terms Every Music Student Needs
Syllabus link: T&T Lower Secondary (NCSE) Visual and Performing Arts curriculum – Music, Forms 1–3: Melody 3.1.26–3.1.34 (staff, clefs, C and G major, solfa, accidentals), 3.2.20–3.2.28 (D, F and B♭ major, arpeggios, Sargam, melodies in verse–chorus and strophic songs) and 3.3.18–3.3.26 (melodies in binary and ternary form, the tonic). CSEC® Music syllabus (CXC 31/G/SYLL 17), Section 1: Listening and Appraising – Music History and Theory: Appendix I – pitch, melody, scales and keys; Content 4(a)(i) – bent “blue” notes, and 4(d)(v) – pentatonic, diatonic and raga-based melodies in Caribbean folk music.
Attributions to media used in this post:
Treble Clef Notes.JPG – Adam Arredondo – Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Major and minor scales enhanced.png – Hyacinth (Sibelius 5 engraving; enhanced version) – CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Updates
2026/10/04
– Added the major arpeggios of C, G, D, F and B♭ (with solfa), and an Arpeggio option in the scale player.
– Added activity step 4: add dynamics and a hairpin to your melody.
© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.