How do I examine and evaluate the use of melody in set pieces of music?

Melody is one of the main compositional elements which you may be asked to examine when comparing and contrasting different pieces of music. Representing much more than just the main tune of the music, we can examine the composer’s use of melody by drawing on a checklist of specific melodic features which may be included. One of the first things to do is to identify any melodic motifs which recur in the music, sometimes reappearing in modified forms such as inversion. Is there one melodic motif which pervades the rest of the music? In these cases where most of the piece’s thematic material is derived from the same motivic units and there is little melodic contrast, the music may be monothematic. Another feature to note is the use of phrasing. In music from the Classical period, in particular, periodic phrasing is expected, with the lengths of phrases tending to be balanced and equal. General melodic shape should also be considered: is the melody conjunct or disjunct, i.e. is it made up of stepwise movement or of larger intervallic leaps? The use of ornamentation is also noteworthy – is the melody embellished with acciaccaturas and trills? Use of chromatic movement should be mentioned, along with the inclusion of non-harmony notes such as échappées and accented passing notes. Finally, use of melodic sequence, ascending or descending, should be pointed out. In order to enhance your answer, evaluating the uses of these features rather than merely describing them demonstrates a greater level of understanding. Do you expect the use of these features in a piece of music from this period and from this composer? Is the composer’s treatment of melody characteristic and typical?