Bergonzi’s Thesaurus of Intervallic Melodies
An experience shell for practicing Bergonzi-style intervallic lines with interval selection, direction control, and score rendering.
Choose a starting tone, select an interval pattern, place it in a key and register, and generate intervallic lines for improvisation practice.
Choose the interval cell
- Set the starting tone, key, octave, and interval sequence.
- Generate a short line and listen for its contour before adding more intervals.
- Transpose or export the line only after it sits clearly over the chosen key.
What is an intervallic melody?
An intervallic melody is built from clear leaps rather than only stepwise scale motion. Practicing these jumps makes the line sound less scalar and helps the ear recognize contour, register and tension.
Practicing cells in the spirit of Bergonzi
Bergonzi-style interval work treats a small cell as material for improvisation: rotate it, change its direction, sing it, then move it through harmony until the shape becomes vocabulary.
Rotations, permutations and directions
A rotation keeps the selected intervals in order but starts from another point. A permutation changes the order itself. Direction controls whether each jump rises, falls, alternates, or mirrors the previous motion.
How to practice the generated lines
Choose a compact interval cell, slow the tempo, play one line, sing the contour, then alter one direction arrow. Over harmony, aim important beats at chord tones and let wider jumps create color between them.
Guided practice flow
- Choose 2 or 3 intervals.
- Generate rotations.
- Play one line slowly.
- Sing the interval contour.
- Change one direction arrow.
- Compare the sound.
- Export the best line to MIDI.
From interval cells to a singable line
Set the starting tone
Intervals are the reusable idea: changing the starting tone or key moves the same contour without losing its identity.
Choose direction and interval pattern
Listen for the direction and size of each leap, then test the generated line against the selected key rather than reading it as an abstract number sequence.
Sing the line before moving it through the key
- Set the starting tone, key, octave, and interval sequence.
- Generate a short line and listen for its contour before adding more intervals.
- Transpose or export the line only after it sits clearly over the chosen key.