How To Use NEGATIVE MELODY To Write Beautiful Music [Negative Harmony]

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A while ago on YouTube and other social medias there was a lot of interest in a theory called Negative Harmony.

Some people called it a fad, but I welcome any and every interest that musicians may have in learning theory :) Also, I think Negative Harmony is fun to use. What nobody is talking about though (but they should) is Negative Melody.

Wait, there is such a thing as Negative Melody?

Well yes, it turns out that not only Negative Melody exists, but that composers knew about this for a long time before the name 'Negative Harmony' even existed. I mean there are examples of it from J.S. Bach!

It really speaks to the power of an idea when after nearly 3 centuries you keep finding new sounds by applying it...

In practice Negative Melody is simply applying Negative Harmony to a single melodic line rather than a chord progression... but this sounds needlessly complex. Why don't we go and see what Negative Melody is and how it can create beautiful melodies?

Today we see how an absolute master of melody (the composer Sergei Rachmaninoff) uses the Negative Melody trick to write one of his most famous melodies... by lifting it from another great composer and applying Negative Melody:)

Watch the video here... and then do the same to create your melodies!


The video of the Paganini Capriccio with Hula Hoops is from the channel "TwoSetViolin" featuring Hilary Hahn. The guys are funny, and she's an amazing player. You should check them out :-)


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