We’ll add a melody to a snappet which has a simple groove in G Mixolydian, with  chords, bass, drums, and an empty track named “melody” that holds an empty part. We’ll use this part for the melody. We’ll create a six-note motif made of two ascending intervals of a third, and one descending interval of a third.  When an interval is played ascending, the lower pitched note is played first.  When descending, the higher pitched note is played first.

We’ll create the motif by making selections from notes of the G Mixolydian scale, and repeatedly transfer the selections, followed by translating the selections to their next scale notes, to fill the melody part. The next image shows the scale that you will create below, with the notes of the motif selected.  The selections are labelled 3,4. and 5 on the fifth string, and 6 and b7 on the fourth string.  They all appear as dim, solid colours compared to the unselected notes, which only have coloured rims.

The motif.

Here is an example motif that uses three ascending intervals of a third, either a major 3rd or minor 3rd depending which scale notes are involved.

3, 5               4,6                  5,b7

The notes 3 and 5 form an interval of a minor 3rd, as do the notes 5 and b7.   The notes 4 and 6 form an interval of a major 3rd.

This is a sequence of thirds starting at successive scale notes 3, 4, and 5.  However, we are going to change the last interval into a descending third, by reversing the 5 and b7.

We will be using this as the motif.

3, 5               4,6                  b7,5

So, the motif is made of three successive thirds, two ascending, one descending

Let’s make the motif.  Click on the eye-ear icon to load in the snappet.  You may need to drag the top horizontal edge of Rhythm-X to make the melody track fully visible as it is at the bottom.

1. Make sure the anchor is on 3rd fret on the 6th string.  (the note G).  Enter the Toolkit and select Scale > Mixolydian
2. Here’s the motif.  Select (right-click) these labelled notes in the following order  3, 5               4,6                  b7,5.

Now let’s add it into our melody part

1. Click “Refine part”.  Click “Pattern”
2. Click on the 3rd onset on the “Melody” part.  The six note motif transfers into the part starting at the 3rd onset.

Now lets activate scale pattern translation.  In this example, we will translate, or shift, the motif by a “second”. This means that each note in the motif will be moved to its next scale note, whereas translating by a “third” would move each note to the next but one scale note.

1. Make sure the mouse is in the same window as the “guitar” and not in Rhythm-X
2. Type the number “2” to activate scale pattern translation.  A message appears.

Now lets make the shifts.

1. Type Shift+Up arrow three times.  Each time the motif all shifts by a second, and transfers.
2. Type Shift+Down arrow.  The motif all shifts by a second, and transfers.

Now we are going to leave a gap in the melody part, so we have to turn off the pattern command

1. Click “Pattern” to deactivate

Let’s use a different interval, a fourth, to shift with.  This will move each note to the the scale note that is three away from it.

1. Make sure yhe mouse is in the same window as the “guitar” and not in Rhythm-X
2. Type 4.  Scale pattern translation will shift the current pattern (motif) up a 4th.
3. Type Shift+Up arrow to apply the shift

Finally, let’s transfer this.

1. Click Pattern to activate.
2. Leave a gap: click three onsets to the right of the last used onset in the melody part.  The motif transfers.
3. Listen to your work.

If you want, experiment using the “Join” commands in Refine part,  to join some of the notes in the melody together. When you join two onsets, one of the onsets consumes the duration of the other.  This will add more rhythmic interest.

This time, we’ll use the D minor pentatonic and create a practice regime that moves a 5-note motif up the scale, and a different 5-note motif back down the scale.

When it comes to 6- and 5-note scales, the number we type indicates which relative scale note the first note of the motif (and hence all the others) will shift to.  “2” means the next scale note above it.  “3” means the next but one scale note above it, and so on.  This remains consistent with the number typed for 7 note scales.  But with a 7-note scale, it’s also the case that the number represents the generic interval.  For example, 2 represents a a second, which could be a major or minor second, and this is always the next scale note from the current one.

The minor pentatonic has 5 scale degrees, located at intervals of 1, b3, 4, 5, and b7 from the scale tonic.  To shift any of its scale degrees to the next one after it, we type 2.  So the first scale degree moves to the second scale degree, the second scale degree to the third, the third to the fourth, the fourth to the fifth, and the fifth to first scale degree in the next octave.

The motif for going up the scale.

up four scale notes in a row, then back by two scale notes.

e.g.  degrees 1  2  3  4        back two to 2

The motif for going down the scale.

This is the reverse of the above.   Down four scale notes in a row, then up by two scale notes

e.g.  degrees 4 3 2 1           up two to 3

We’ll reuse the same snappet as above. As an added bonus, the result will sound great with that G Mixolydian groove.

Click on the eye-ear icon to load in the snappet.  You may need to drag the top horizontal edge of Rhythm-X to make the melody track fully visible as it is at the bottom.

1. Move the anchor to the 5th fret on the 5th string, which is the note D.  Enter the Toolkit and select Scale > Minor Pentatonic
2. Here’s the motif.  Select (right-click) these labelled notes in the following order:  5th string: 1, b3,     4th string: 4,5      5th string:   b3.

Now let’s add it into our melody part

1. Click “Refine part”.  Click “Pattern”
2. Click on the 3rd onset on the “Melody” part.  The five note motif transfers into the part starting at the 3rd onset.

Now lets activate scale pattern translation.  In this example, we will translate, or shift, the motif by two scale notes

1. Make sure the mouse is in the same window as the “guitar” and not in Rhythm-X
2. Type the number “3” to activate scale pattern translation ().  The first note will move to the third note in the pattern, and so on. A message appears.

Now lets make the shifts.

1. Type Shift+Up arrow three times.  Each time the motif all shifts to the next string, and transfers.

Now we are going to come back down the scale with a different pattern.

1. Turn off the Pattern command by clicking “pattern”.
2. Type Shift+u  to unselect all pitches on the guitar
3. Select (right click) the following labelled notes: 2nd string: b3     3rd string: 1, b7    4th string: 5    3rd string: 1

Activate the pattern command again.

1. Click Pattern to activate
2. Click on the next onset after the end of the melody so far.  The new motif transfers.

Finally, let’s transfer this towards the bass strings a few times

1. Type Shift+Down arrow twice.  Each time, the pattern moves down one set of strings.
2. Type Shift+Down arrow again.  But the pattern can’t move downwards otherwise it wouild fall off the bass string.  So the same pattern is transferred.  However, there is only enough room for the first three notes.

1. Listen to your work.

If you want, experiment using the “Join” commands in Refine part,  to join some of the notes in the melody together. When you join two onsets, one of the onsets consumes the duration of the other.  This will add more rhythmic interest.

The pattern command is activated by clicking the “Pattern” button.  Then you click on some onset of some rhythm part you’ve already created.  This part can include rests, which are skipped over as selections are transferred.  This click identifies the first onset to receive selections.  Any current selections transfer immediately (in the order they were made in, including repeated selections) starting at this onset (assuming it isn’t a rest.  If it is a rest, then the first non-rest is looked for).  Any previous content in these non-rest onsets are replaced.

After this initial activation, selections are transferred one at at time (scale pattern translation inactive), or a whole pattern (scale pattern translation active), with no further clicks required on the rhythm part.  If the end of the part is reached, any further selections will have no effect.

The pattern command behaviour depends whether scale pattern translation (see below) is active. When active, each time you translate the pattern, by using the Shift+an arrow key, the resulting pattern is imprinted in one go into a rhythm part.  When inactive, each time you make a selection, it is immediately imprinted into the rhythm part.  Either way, Rhythm-X remembers where the next free onset is in the part.

You may want to leave a gap in the rhythm part.  If so, click “Pattern” to deactivate the command.  Make any changes to the current selections (maybe unselecting all of them).  The click on “Pattern” to activate again.  Then click where you want to continue from.