Aimee, I'm a new subscriber. I'm really glad you added "Air" by Bach. Most beautiful melody I've ever heard. However, you missed on Boz Scaggs dear. His song "We're All Alone" should be his one contribution to this list. There is also a couple Hawaiian songs that should get honorable mention but I'll stop here.
What a gift Aimee. I'm 78 and am am enjoying the ultimate project on my bucket list -- learning to play the piano. I do this just to enjoy myself- not performing for others. I have been looking for more great sheet music to download to my pdf collection. Thanks Aimee.
Look What You’ve Done To Me, I Can’t Make you Love Me, Starry Night, Song For No One, In A Sentimental Mood, What A Wonderful World, Theme From Cinema Paradiso, Somewhere In Time, Stardust, Exist For Love (Aurora), It Makes No Difference, Smile, The Summer Knows, God Only Knows, You And I, Hallelujah, Hideaway
Life On Mars to me is like musical Escher. Always going up and up and tantalising by finding somewhere new to go instead of the expected resolution. Thanks for another great video Aimee
I will have to chime in with "The long and Winding Road." Not just because it's my favorite but the chord changes are very interesting. Listen to the version on "Naked...". This is the way Paul meant for it to be recorded.
@@MBedell-VA On the basis of The Beatles in general and not just Paul, I think "Tell Me Why" has a fantastic melody. Also, "The Long And Winding Road" is such a beautiful song, especially stripped down to the more acoustic side on the Naked version.
Rick Wakeman played piano for David Bowie on Life on Mars. Bowie gave him complete freedom to play whatever and however he wanted on the recording. Going home, he said he thought he'd just played on the best song he'd ever done. When Bowie died, Wakeman performed an arrangement of the song and put it up on RUclips - actuyally, there are numerous performances. Still have the LP from when it came out
Yeah, and like Peter Gabriel, whose music I love, he paid them next to nothing, and granted NO royalties to the people who ACTUALLY made the songs. Ugh.
@Dale Monaghan Yep, i remember Wakeman describing that. He said that the progressions that Bowie had given him were not where he expected the chords to go but that he was particularly impressed how well it worked.
@@Stahlgewitter that was the life of a session musician back then. You went in, you did the session, you got paid for it, that was that. No additional royalities or rights to anything. Thats the way the industry worked. Im not saying it was right, as it led to all manner of lawsuits later down the line, one of the most famous ones being Whiter Shade of Pale, but.... thats the way the industry was.
Very interesting Aimee and also stimulating there are so many great melodies out there floating in space half forgotten but waiting to be re discovered and enjoyed Great work muchas gracias for your knowledge and enthusiam
Fun fact: when Ravel wrote Pavane pour une infante defunte (Pavane for a dead princess), he wasn't thinking of any princess in particular--he said he just thought the words worked.
Cinema Paradiso Love Theme by Ennio Morricone’s son Andrea. Here there and everywhere by The Beatles. Overjoyed by Stevie Wonder. Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni.
My nan used to play Moonlight Serenade on her piano. I was just an 5 year old and I would sit and just listen mesmerised. A lovely memory - which beautiful melodies can certainly bring back.
Wonderful list, Aimee! I would add: Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen Would be impossible to pick one, but something by Morricone. Cinema Paradiso, Gabriel's Oboe, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Ecstasy of Gold. I would also include something from a folk tradition, such as Ireland, Turkey, Bulgaria, India, Japan, or Iran/Persia. I'm no expert on these traditions, but here are a few: The traditional Irish tune, Down By the Sally Gardens. Kalimankou Denkou (traditional from Bulgaria. Check out the version by the Bulgarian National Women's Choir). Or heck, even Amazing Grace. Yeah, many of these melodies lack the sophistication of many of your examples (except the Persian and Indian ones), but they've stood the test of time. Finally, I don't think you can have a comprehensive list of melodies without including something from Brazil. My choice would either by Flora (Gilberto Gil) or Non-Stop To Brazil (Luiz Bonfá).
It is a delight to see so many of one's own "private" favorites pop up on this list. I'm kinda a "greatest hits" opera fan. I, also, was thinking about this for our great melodies conversation. But, actually, this song seems to me more about harmony than melody. Whatever. Love it, love, it love it!
What a lovely video. Thanks Aimee. I really needed that this eve... and I loved hearing a jazz musician choose a Neil Young melody. I'm a fan of both and don't feel they have to be mutually exclusive. His simplicity when he hits has created some quite brilliant beautiful melodies. I'm so there with you on many of those... "Life On Mars" oh yes! I'd like to just throw the theme for Black Orpheus / Manha de Carnaval into the musical ring of beautiful melodies. Always does it for me!
Puccini’s Nessum Dorma always makes me tear-up, whenever I hear it. It is so incredibly moving. And when I sing it, I actually feel the coming of the dawn, and the “Victory” the young suitor is feeling!
If you do a second video, you've got to include a Sting melody. I can think of no more beautiful melody than "Fields of Gold". Even without the lyrics, it'll bring you to tears.
In the middle of a Les Mis production right now as rehearsal pianist / keyboard 1 ... the music is just amazing, glad to see Bring Him Home, so amazing .even on its own, and in the context of the entire show even more powerful
To me the most beautiful melody ever is "God Only Knows" the Beach Boys. Several Beatles songs would also be up there. "Yesterday" would be a good candidate. I was happy you included the Rachmaninov melody. His 2nd Piano Concerto is my favorite piece of music ever written, especially that middle section.
Mozart's Piano Concerto #21, 2nd Movement. I first encountered this masterpiece in the film Elvira Madigan. I also think Bo Widerberg's film is the most beautiful ever shot. The characters, the costumes, and the setting, all support the beauty of tragic love, just as Mozart's melody reaches deep into our collective psyche to find truth through music.
The Beatles, ‘If I Fell,’ is one of the/their best. With the help of your viewers comments Aimee, you could probably do one of these ‘Best Melody’s’ for each month of the year. 🎶🧐 This was nice, edumucational, and enjoyable😊.
Aimee, your playing was exquisite. I love how you emphasize the MELODIES I had forgotten how beautiful is John Williams’ Theme from Schindler’s List. Could almost stop right there. But if I could select two more: Van Heusen’s Here’s That Rainy Day, and McCartney’s Here, There and Everywhere. Both have the surprising chord jump at the very beginning, G major to Bb major.
I, too, am a big fan of John Williams (in general) and Schindler's List, in particular. A similar movie/TV theme that I am mad for is the main title from Band of Brothers. In Schindler's, I hear an optimistic reflection on endurance and triumph through unspeakable horror; in Brothers I hear the soundtrack to a fantastical dream that interrupted young lives and changed them forever, that would come to define their lives for many of them. On their deaths beds sixty or so years later they would be thinking about their buddies and the war.
Great list, here's a few of my favorites: Radiohead- Fake Plastic Trees, Debussy-Clair de Lune, The Beatles-Yesterday, Neil Young- The Needle And The Damage Done, Richard Wagner-Tristan und Isolde, Prelude, Al Greene or Bee Gees-How Can You Mend A Broken Heart & Pavarotti-Vesti La Giubba.
Your taste is impeccable! (but maybe I say that because it's so much like mine...). A couple other entries: Paul Simon - American Tune, Bookends, Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Neil Young - After the Gold Rush.
Moonlight on snow (by rock band the Verlaines) and once upon a dream (from Disney’s Snow White ) both come to mind. Also song called Spread a little happiness (which sting once sang) by the way, Sting came up with a few like moon over bourbon street, consider me gone and fortress in your heart to name some.
RUclips algorithm keeps listing your stuff. Lol I can't help but click. You are so sweet... Sentimentale, sensible(sensitive), romantique. MERCI vos grand travails. Tu es un ange.. (you're an angel)
Amy, I really enjoyed this video. And when you played as #1 Moonlight Serenade I let out a scream. You are too young to remember that song and so am I but my Mom used to play it all the time and I just love it. It does give me goose bumbs and tears come to my eyes. The harmony in that piece is so wonderful. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And Nessen Dorma at the beginning! Wonderful.
I think one component of any great melody is the harmony shifting underneath certain notes to re-contextualise it from tense to resolved. By no means the only thing but it's something i love
You are my new favourite artist. Such a perfect touch and your voice is beyond perfect. I feel like I have never heard these songs before. And I know almost of them. Bethena has been one of my favourite melodies since I was a boy. Bless you. Oh, and Waltz For Debbie by Bill Evans sung by Johnny Hartman. Untouchable.
I'm surprised not to find at least one composition by John Barry: the theme from Out of Africa, or from You Only Live twice, or Somewhere in Time are just wonderful (actually any of John Barry's compositions) give me the shivers every time I put them on my turntable. They are timeless and ethereal. Thank you I do enjoy your videos a lot.
I'm late finding this. The music that brings me to tears almost every time is John Williams' score for the goodbye scene at the end of E.T. It's beautifully emotional, then ending with the joy of the rainbow behind the ship, makes it my #1 practically perfect piece of music.
Amazing, moving choice -- returning to performance after years of absence due to her severe health condition, Celine Dion chose to sing this Edith Piaf song from the Eiffel Tower at the opening of the 2024 Olympics!
Great video Aimee. I’d have to really think hard to decide my favorite best melodies. Bridge over troubled water comes to mind. You had me at Whiter Shade of Pale. ❤️
I was thinking about the LAYLA CODA and you played it. Wonderful! I have been playing it for about 40 years now . . . on guitar! and I recently added it to a trilogy including two other all time classic melodies and that completely changed the way I played it. All Is Fair In Love is a perfect choice too. Keep doing it.
Watched it all... loved your renditions and comments - and THEN. CAME. NESSUN DORMA! Goose bumps every time! Gotta be the most moving piece of music ever written! Thank you, Amy!
What a beautiful list Aimee. Your musicality definitely lives in your heart ! In the classical realm , F Chopin has so many awesome passages present in his nocturnes , concertos and sonatas that are often not mentioned. Ravel’s Pavanne .. is also one of my favorites 😊. Thank you for this gift of treasures !
'Moonlight Serenade' will always be on my favorite melodies list, too. Also I owe so much to the Glenn Miller Orchestra. I've turned many saxophone and trumpet parts into piano fills and accompanying patterns, especially for stride piano arrangements.
I was so glad to see a Gershwin melody in there. I'm a huge Gershwin fan, have been for decades. His melodies are exquisite, and Porgy and Bess is a masterpiece. From that work I would especially recommend the beautiful duet "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" and the powerful lament "My Man's Gone Now." Both can move you to tears.
Plato described ‘Forms’. He considered these were ‘perfect’ examples of entities e.g. melodies. These Forms frequented an ethereal realm. And, in my humble opinion, your choices were spot on!
Aimee I totally agree with your observation that these songs are already "out there" and waiting to be perceived and written/performed by the artist. I think most or all knowledge is like that actually. To add to the list of songs, two of my favorites are Stevie Wonder's For Your Love, and Ribbon in the Sky which really is amazing. I listen to it and think "Where did THAT come from?" I also love your Falling Snow melody, I thought of it as l listened to this video.
Lovely to see you at the piano. Is it a Yamaha? Yes that fade out on Layla is beautiful , so too A whiter Shade of Pale. I am a 66 year old musician ( 55 years) and I agree Pavarotti it made my father cry. I LOVE your musical ventures. Terry from Downunder.
I love the part in Rach's 2nd, 3d movement. They come back to it three times. I forgot the term for that. Refrain? "Full moon and empty arms" is a song they made from it.
Some good ones here for sure. Some from my list would definitely include: Almost anything from West Side Story (Tonight and Somewhere in particular) - Bernstein Rhapsody in Blue - Gershwin Je Te Veux - Erik Satie Stella By Starlight (From the "The Uninvited") - Victor Young Appalachian Spring - Aaron Copland Opening of Piano Concerto No. 1 - Tchaikovsky It's Been a Long, Long Time - Harry James God Only Knows - Beach Boys This Will Be Our Year - The Zombies Fire and Rain - James Taylor I Got a Name - Jim Croce Maybe I'm Amazed - Paul McCartney Underground - Cody Fry
Have you ever heard "Tonight" played by Stan Kenton & Orchestra? IMHO a great chart! And for Rhapsody in Blue, are you thinking of the 1927 recording made by Gershwin & Whiteman? It certainly has some interesting moments which are not usually played the same in modern performances and recordings. So far as Beach Boys, I'm more partial to Good Vibrations. Some great sounding tunes on your list. And if you like Harry James, have you listened to his Sheffield Lab recordings? Incredible sound!
"They exist in the ether", yess!! I've been saying this for 10 years and I'm an amateur. A great melody has something totally self-sufficient about it, and when someone grabs it, it's an act of revelation.
Thanks Aimee, loved the video! To everyone who likes Ravel's Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte: Art Farmer played a beautiful version on the Big Blues album with Jim Hall (Pavane for a Dead Princess).
No list could capture all of the beautiful melodies that have been written, but this is an excellent effort. My list would include: Sentimental Mood (Ellington), Stardust (Carmichael), Ave Maria (Schubert), Danny Boy, Over the Rainbow (Arlen). My favorite Beach Boy melody is Don't Worry Baby (though I have to admit that it's not their greatest harmonic achievement). For Stevie Wonder, I love You and I (along with about 30 other melodies he has written). And there are about a dozen melodies from Beethoven's VI that would make my list.
Beethoven often laboured over his melodies as his many surviving sketchbooks show. Yet the melodic opening of his Symphony No. 2 in D Major's slow movement is gorgeous. A melodic idea may indeed come spontaneously -- but an extended melody like Beethoven's, or Morricone's in "Cinema Paridiso," requires both inspiration and compositional genious.
I would certainly welcome a 2nd edition of great melodies if you fancy it. You inspired me to create a playlist based on your selections adding Bridge Over Troubled Water, After The Goldrush with more to find which is a blast to curate. Thank you for sharing your insights and talents.
"Old Man River" stopped me in my tracks as a 5 year old...Stevie's "Too Shy To Say"..."Carmen" by Bizet is thick with melodies. So many but never enough...beautiful topic Aimee
Here's a few of my picks in no particular order. Norwegian Wood, You Must Believe in Spring, Theme from Love Story, Bach's Sicilano and Jesu, Man of Joy's Desiring, Scarborough Fair, Danny Boy, Golden Slumbers, Bridge Over Troubled Water, An American Tune.
Time has told me (by Nick Drake). No Return (the kinks), Waterloo sunset (more obvious choice also the kinks of course ) Marshall Crenshaw has several great melodies: the spell is broken, alone in a room, somewhere down the line, someone told me, Sunday blues, live and learn,) Eileen Jewel: Santa Fe , REM south central rain, fall on me, perfect Circle, Find the river, Billy Joel my life, and so it goes, surprises, through the long night (harkening back to Beatles I know but doing it without misstep usually), crowded house- whispers and moans, how will you go, don’t dream it’s over, not the girl you think you are, Elvis Costello - favorite hour, god give me strength, Freedy Johnston- western sky, you get me lost, the farthest lights, pretend it’s summer, Richard and Linda Thompson: wall of death, walking on a wire, the great Valero , strange affair, withered and died, dimming of the day. Teddy Thompson: don’t know what I was thinking, Marty Robins: El Paso, sound garden: black hole sun, Joni Mitchell: clouds, Simon & Garfunkel: Bridge over Troubled Water. Etc. etc. but my main point- please do not forget the rock and/or pop artists: to my mind they far beat out classical, jazz or any instrumental music, though I know this is just a personal preference of mine and not anything factual.
Great collection of great lyrical melodies. A few others I though of: Chopin’s Nocturne in Eb (the one we all played in piano lessons); The Swan by Saint-Saens; Meditation from Thais by Massanet; Blame It On My Youth by Oscar Levant; Skylark by Hoagy Charmichael . . . I noticed something about a lot of my own melodies recently; a lot of them start with three notes rising stepwise. Then I began to notice how many tunes and phrases begin this way. It’s everywhere!
I just watched this for the second time. I watched it last 5 months ago. I'm not familiar with many of these melodies. Pretty all my musical exposure for 70 years has been "pop" music and many of those you selected were somewhat outside of the pop genre, I'd say. Any way, I very much enjoyed this.
I'm glad too. You're not the only one! In fact I left the theater only knowing it was by Neil Young and wanted to get the sheet music, but no one I talked to knew the name of the song, and I forgot about it until now!
Thank you for playing back these songs. Very beautiful version of them. I tried to find the piano version of some of the songs and I couldn't find them in Spotify. Your version is very very good. Why don't you record them and treat them in the studio and release them as an album in Spotify. I'm sure many of your followers love to listen to them. Also if you end up making a recommendation list for some of these artists, I am curious which other songs you like from Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, etc. If you end up making a Spotify playlist for them, I would love to listen to them as well. Thanks again.
Stars - From Les Mis The Impossible Dream - From Man of La Mancha In Dreams - Roy Orbison Joanna - From Sweeny Todd Somewhere - From West Side Story Bend Down the Branches - Tom Waits Go the Distance - From Disney's Hercules New York Minute - Don Henley Time of No Reply - Nick Drake Eternal Flame - The Bangles House of the Rising Sun Lush Life - Billy Strayhorn Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell End of the World - Skeeter Davis No One's Gonna Love You - Band of Horses/Cee Lo Green The heart asks pleasure first - Michael Nyman Walking in the Air - From The Snowman Close to You - The Carpenters Climb Every Mountain - From Sound of Music Santa Fe - From RENT Don't Give Up - Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush In a Sentimental Mood - Duke Ellington Here, There and Everywhere - Paul McCartney Under Pressure - Queen & Bowie Wave - Antonio Carlos Jobim The Lonely Shepherd - George Zamphir Anne - John Frusciante A Rose For Emily - The Zombies All In One Day - Ultravox The Destruction of Laputa - From Castle in the Sky Gabriel's Oboe - From The Mission Sonny's Dream - Ron Hynes Lump Sum - Bon Iver Father and Son - Cat Stevens Waltz #2 - Shostakovich Waltz #2 - Elliott Smith Waltz for Zizi - From Cowboy Bebop Elizabeth - The Airborne Toxic Event Romeo & Juliet - Dire Straits Landslide - Fleetwood Mac Ripples - Genesis Dialogue Pt 1 & 2 - Chicago Age of Aquarius - From Hair Always on My Mind - Woody Nelson Right Where I Belong - Richard Marx Don't Speak - No Doubt O Siem - Susan Aglukark Don't Forget Me - Harry Nilsson You Raise Me Up - Josh Groban Dust in the Wind - Kansas Changes - Stars Bring Me Down - Lenka California Dreamin' - The Mamas and The Papas Kiss From a Rose - Seal Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead Don't Know Why - Norah Jones Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel Sirens - Pearl Jam What are the Chances? - Duran Duran Brian Wilson - Barenaked Ladies Angels - Robbie Williams Killing Me Softly With His Song - Roberta Flack Fields of Gold - Sting As Tears Go By - The Rolling Stones More than this - Roxy Music Wonderful Woman - The Smiths Bye Bye Badman - The Stone Roses
Since this list mentioned As Tears Go By -- certainly a lovely tune -- I must mention Buffy Sainte-Marie's Until It's Time for You to Go. For some strange reason those two tunes are linked in my mind. Off topic, but I can't resist also nodding to Buffy's wonderful line in that song, "This love of mine, had no beginning, it has no end; I was an oak, now I'm a willow, now I can bend."
I need to mention "Til There Was You" from My Fair Lady. I agree that Stevie Wonder has written some of the most beautiful melodies, along with Holland/Dozier/Holland and Smokey Robinson for Motown.
Texas girl at the funeral of her father by Randy Newman, words and melody are both poetry. Gabriel's oboe, Ennio Morricone for the movie The Mission. The melody hurts, there is pain, longing and comfort. To me, it puts Morricone besides Erbarme Dich, Bach. Music that heals.
The thing that I love about what could be considered the greatest melodies ever written is that they aren't their true beautiful selves when sung or played as a single melodic line. The harmony and other context that they're played in takes them from a good idea to something indescribable. "Nessun Dorma" is only an impressive vocal display until you add in the orchestra and it's suddenly out of the realm of a song/aria and into the realm of universal human understanding.
Watch the companion video for free on nebula (and without ads) now! nebula.tv/videos/aimeenoltemusic-what-makes-their-melodies-great/
ruclips.net/video/OPhkZW_jwc0/видео.html
Aimee, I'm a new subscriber. I'm really glad you added "Air" by Bach. Most beautiful melody I've ever heard. However, you missed on Boz Scaggs dear. His song "We're All Alone" should be his one contribution to this list. There is also a couple Hawaiian songs that should get honorable mention but I'll stop here.
bit confused in the nebular video at 10:29. Says first chord of the chorus in LifeOnMars is Gbmaj, but surely it's a Bbmajor?
You are definitely right about that. Good catch. My mistake.
@@AimeeNolte Well it's nice to know you are mortal:) Hoping you come to London/U.K. and gig one day soon.
What a gift Aimee. I'm 78 and am am enjoying the ultimate project on my bucket list -- learning to play the piano. I do this just to enjoy myself- not performing for others. I have been looking for more great sheet music to download to my pdf collection. Thanks Aimee.
Have fun on your journey. It’s very worth it and many don’t find it in all their lives. Good luck 😁
I'm 70 and with you brother. For the joy of it, not for "performance" or "competition".
I hope you enjoy it very much!
Keep it up I'm 71 and started when I was 45 and was the wisest Choice I've ever made in my life
Good luck, sounds really fun.
Look What You’ve Done To Me, I Can’t Make you Love Me, Starry Night, Song For No One, In A Sentimental Mood, What A Wonderful World, Theme From Cinema Paradiso, Somewhere In Time, Stardust, Exist For Love (Aurora), It Makes No Difference, Smile, The Summer Knows, God Only Knows, You And I, Hallelujah, Hideaway
"Air on the G String" always gives me chills. Bach was a freaking rock star.
I love the one that goes, dadadaaa dadadada daa daaaaaa
Bach wrote the book. We are all just making fanfic.
Life On Mars to me is like musical Escher. Always going up and up and tantalising by finding somewhere new to go instead of the expected resolution.
Thanks for another great video Aimee
Plus the piano comes back at the end, when all the rough work has been... or so we think :)
Wonderful metaphor.
Amy you are a blessing. Thank you for your sensitivity and thoughtfulness and sharing your music.
"Here, There and Everywhere" by Paul McCartney was a great one.
You, sir, know what you're talking about. Here, There and Everywhere has an amazing chord progression and I'm glad you said something!
First one that came to my mind. Paul is a master of melody. A couple of others: I Will, For No One. Actually, too many to list.
@@johnrosemeyer -- Paul once said that "I Will" was his best melody.
I will have to chime in with "The long and Winding Road." Not just because it's my favorite but the chord changes are very interesting. Listen to the version on "Naked...". This is the way Paul meant for it to be recorded.
@@MBedell-VA On the basis of The Beatles in general and not just Paul, I think "Tell Me Why" has a fantastic melody. Also, "The Long And Winding Road" is such a beautiful song, especially stripped down to the more acoustic side on the Naked version.
Some nice selections in there. I'd add Erik Satie's Gymnopedia No 1. It's absolutely gorgeous.
Contemplative existêncial sadness and resignance.
Rick Wakeman played piano for David Bowie on Life on Mars. Bowie gave him complete freedom to play whatever and however he wanted on the recording. Going home, he said he thought he'd just played on the best song he'd ever done. When Bowie died, Wakeman performed an arrangement of the song and put it up on RUclips - actuyally, there are numerous performances. Still have the LP from when it came out
Thanks for this background story.
Yeah, and like Peter Gabriel, whose music I love, he paid them next to nothing, and granted NO royalties to the people who ACTUALLY made the songs.
Ugh.
did not know that but it makes sense Wakeman, along with Emerson, both grand masters of the prog era
@Dale Monaghan Yep, i remember Wakeman describing that. He said that the progressions that Bowie had given him were not where he expected the chords to go but that he was particularly impressed how well it worked.
@@Stahlgewitter that was the life of a session musician back then. You went in, you did the session, you got paid for it, that was that. No additional royalities or rights to anything. Thats the way the industry worked. Im not saying it was right, as it led to all manner of lawsuits later down the line, one of the most famous ones being Whiter Shade of Pale, but.... thats the way the industry was.
Very interesting Aimee and also stimulating there are so many great melodies out there floating in space half forgotten but waiting to be re discovered and enjoyed Great work muchas gracias for your knowledge and enthusiam
Fun fact: when Ravel wrote Pavane pour une infante defunte (Pavane for a dead princess), he wasn't thinking of any princess in particular--he said he just thought the words worked.
Nessun dorma and Witchita Lineman. Thanks gifted lady and your presentations. Your favorites Aimee were such a joy.
Went in with no expectations and came out with the greatest G String joke I’ve ever heard haha well played. Wonderful compilation thank you.
Thx man😂
Cinema Paradiso Love Theme by Ennio Morricone’s son Andrea. Here there and everywhere by The Beatles. Overjoyed by Stevie Wonder. Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni.
My nan used to play Moonlight Serenade on her piano. I was just an 5 year old and I would sit and just listen mesmerised. A lovely memory - which beautiful melodies can certainly bring back.
Wonderful list, Aimee! I would add:
Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen
Would be impossible to pick one, but something by Morricone. Cinema Paradiso, Gabriel's Oboe, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Ecstasy of Gold.
I would also include something from a folk tradition, such as Ireland, Turkey, Bulgaria, India, Japan, or Iran/Persia. I'm no expert on these traditions, but here are a few: The traditional Irish tune, Down By the Sally Gardens. Kalimankou Denkou (traditional from Bulgaria. Check out the version by the Bulgarian National Women's Choir). Or heck, even Amazing Grace. Yeah, many of these melodies lack the sophistication of many of your examples (except the Persian and Indian ones), but they've stood the test of time.
Finally, I don't think you can have a comprehensive list of melodies without including something from Brazil. My choice would either by Flora (Gilberto Gil) or Non-Stop To Brazil (Luiz Bonfá).
Yes, Greensleeves is as pretty a melody as any ever written.
Yes yes ,
Keith jarret. Can bring me to quivering tears
Flora is something very special !!!
Morricone, definitely!
Once Upon a Time in the West is a gorgeous piece of music.
Love your list. The melody that goes straight to my heart is: the Flower Duet of Lakme.
It is a delight to see so many of one's own "private" favorites pop up on this list. I'm kinda a "greatest hits" opera fan. I, also, was thinking about this for our great melodies conversation. But, actually, this song seems to me more about harmony than melody. Whatever. Love it, love, it love it!
The Ravel excerpt was sublime. There's a certain soulful, modern quality to the progression. I wanted to hear more! Thanks...
What a lovely video. Thanks Aimee. I really needed that this eve... and I loved hearing a jazz musician choose a Neil Young melody. I'm a fan of both and don't feel they have to be mutually exclusive. His simplicity when he hits has created some quite brilliant beautiful melodies. I'm so there with you on many of those... "Life On Mars" oh yes! I'd like to just throw the theme for Black Orpheus / Manha de Carnaval into the musical ring of beautiful melodies. Always does it for me!
For me Aimee, there are no words. I am so moved. Thank you for this truly heartwarming video.
Puccini’s Nessum Dorma always makes me tear-up, whenever I hear it. It is so incredibly moving. And when I sing it, I actually feel the coming of the dawn, and the “Victory” the young suitor is feeling!
The opening of Nessum Dorma gives me chills!!
If you do a second video, you've got to include a Sting melody. I can think of no more beautiful melody than "Fields of Gold". Even without the lyrics, it'll bring you to tears.
Just listened to that song. Absolutely beautiful!
In the middle of a Les Mis production right now as rehearsal pianist / keyboard 1 ... the music is just amazing, glad to see Bring Him Home, so amazing .even on its own, and in the context of the entire show even more powerful
To me the most beautiful melody ever is "God Only Knows" the Beach Boys. Several Beatles songs would also be up there. "Yesterday" would be a good candidate.
I was happy you included the Rachmaninov melody. His 2nd Piano Concerto is my favorite piece of music ever written, especially that middle section.
Interesting that the person who wrote "Yesterday" said that "God Only Knows" is his all time favorite song.
Beautiful choices.
Mozart's Piano Concerto #21, 2nd Movement. I first encountered this masterpiece in the film Elvira Madigan. I also think Bo Widerberg's film is the most beautiful ever shot. The characters, the costumes, and the setting, all support the beauty of tragic love, just as Mozart's melody reaches deep into our collective psyche to find truth through music.
The joke of Air on a G String was pretty funny. Thank you for the laughter.
You're a natural!
Thanks for turning me on to some tracks I didn't know.
The Beatles, ‘If I Fell,’ is one of the/their best.
With the help of your viewers comments Aimee, you could probably do one of these ‘Best Melody’s’ for each month of the year. 🎶🧐 This was nice, edumucational, and enjoyable😊.
Hmmm. I'll challenge your selection with "The long and winding road". It's almost impossible to pick a Beatles song.
@@MBedell-VA I challenge yours with "I've just seen a face,"
@@ThAtCommENTeR23 a day in the life
@@kristoamadeus4441 honestly every song
Aimee, your playing was exquisite. I love how you emphasize the MELODIES
I had forgotten how beautiful is John Williams’ Theme from Schindler’s List. Could almost stop right there.
But if I could select two more: Van Heusen’s Here’s That Rainy Day, and McCartney’s Here, There and Everywhere. Both have the surprising chord jump at the very beginning, G major to Bb major.
I agree with those two
I, too, am a big fan of John Williams (in general) and Schindler's List, in particular. A similar movie/TV theme that I am mad for is the main title from Band of Brothers. In Schindler's, I hear an optimistic reflection on endurance and triumph through unspeakable horror; in Brothers I hear the soundtrack to a fantastical dream that interrupted young lives and changed them forever, that would come to define their lives for many of them. On their deaths beds sixty or so years later they would be thinking about their buddies and the war.
Thank you so much Aimee. Your playing is absolutely awesome.🤗
Great list, here's a few of my favorites: Radiohead- Fake Plastic Trees, Debussy-Clair de Lune, The Beatles-Yesterday, Neil Young- The Needle And The Damage Done, Richard Wagner-Tristan und Isolde, Prelude, Al Greene or Bee Gees-How Can You Mend A Broken Heart & Pavarotti-Vesti La Giubba.
Your taste is impeccable! (but maybe I say that because it's so much like mine...). A couple other entries: Paul Simon - American Tune, Bookends, Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Neil Young - After the Gold Rush.
Oh I do love those Simon tunes 💙
American tune is beautiful....it sounds like it was borrowed from Bach's St Matthew passion
Yes.
American Tune
Over the Rainbow A must
Moonlight on snow (by rock band the Verlaines) and once upon a dream (from Disney’s Snow White ) both come to mind. Also song called Spread a little happiness (which sting once sang) by the way, Sting came up with a few like moon over bourbon street, consider me gone and fortress in your heart to name some.
RUclips algorithm keeps listing your stuff.
Lol
I can't help but click.
You are so sweet...
Sentimentale, sensible(sensitive), romantique.
MERCI vos grand travails.
Tu es un ange.. (you're an angel)
Thanks so much for singing and playing, "I love You Porgy". Just gorgeous!
Amy, I really enjoyed this video. And when you played as #1 Moonlight Serenade I let out a scream. You are too young to remember that song and so am I but my Mom used to play it all the time and I just love it. It does give me goose bumbs and tears come to my eyes. The harmony in that piece is so wonderful. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And Nessen Dorma at the beginning! Wonderful.
Me too! I love that song and so many others from Glenn Miller.
I think one component of any great melody is the harmony shifting underneath certain notes to re-contextualise it from tense to resolved. By no means the only thing but it's something i love
You are my new favourite artist. Such a perfect touch and your voice is beyond perfect. I feel like I have never heard these songs before. And I know almost of them. Bethena has been one of my favourite melodies since I was a boy. Bless you. Oh, and Waltz For Debbie by Bill Evans sung by Johnny Hartman. Untouchable.
Clair de Lune is one of my favorites.
First one that sprang to my mind also, that and Gymnopedia. Yesterday, Bridge over Troubled Water, Forbidden Colours, Blackbird etc.
Which Clair de Lune? Name composer!
@@leslieackerman4189 Debussy.
Yes, definitely Debussy, and he's got plenty of other beautiful music as well. I'd give 2nd place to "She's Leaving Home" by the Beatles.
Exquisite beauty.
I'm surprised not to find at least one composition by John Barry: the theme from Out of Africa, or from You Only Live twice, or Somewhere in Time are just wonderful (actually any of John Barry's compositions) give me the shivers every time I put them on my turntable. They are timeless and ethereal. Thank you I do enjoy your videos a lot.
John Barry’s Melodie’s are some of the most beautiful I’ve every heard.
I'm late finding this. The music that brings me to tears almost every time is John Williams' score for the goodbye scene at the end of E.T. It's beautifully emotional, then ending with the joy of the rainbow behind the ship, makes it my #1 practically perfect piece of music.
Never a dull video Aimee! Here’s one that would make my list: “Hymne a L’Amour” ❤️
Amazing, moving choice -- returning to performance after years of absence due to her severe health condition, Celine Dion chose to sing this Edith Piaf song from the Eiffel Tower at the opening of the 2024 Olympics!
Great video Aimee. I’d have to really think hard to decide my favorite best melodies. Bridge over troubled water comes to mind.
You had me at Whiter Shade of Pale. ❤️
I was thinking about the LAYLA CODA and you played it. Wonderful! I have been playing it for about 40 years now . . . on guitar! and I recently added it to a trilogy including two other all time classic melodies and that completely changed the way I played it. All Is Fair In Love is a perfect choice too. Keep doing it.
From Eric Clapton, until today, I have shivers hearing Wonderful Tonight.
So simple, so beautiful
Watched it all... loved your renditions and comments - and THEN. CAME. NESSUN DORMA! Goose bumps every time! Gotta be the most moving piece of music ever written! Thank you, Amy!
That Rach 2nd Symphony / 3rd movement still totally blows my mind every time I hear it. It's the sound of realising you've fallen in love.
What a beautiful list Aimee. Your musicality definitely lives in your heart ! In the classical realm , F Chopin has so many awesome passages present in his nocturnes , concertos and sonatas that are often not mentioned. Ravel’s Pavanne .. is also one of my favorites 😊. Thank you for this gift of treasures !
Maybe not so well known but check out “Don’t Dream It’s Over”, “Into Temptation” and “Charlie” by Crowded House.
Your singing is so soulful and beautiful (besides the beauty of the melodies, of course)
On Golden Pond: Main Theme by Dave Grusin. The Mission by Ennio Morricone - the main theme is woven throughout the soundtrack and it's gorgeous.
“All the Things You Are” has always been one of my favorites
Not simply the melody - but what makes something like "Moonlight Serenade" appealing is the chording and rhythm that go with it.
Loved this video and the great choices. The one that stood out for me since early childhood mid 70s is "When you wish upon a star".
'Moonlight Serenade' will always be on my favorite melodies list, too. Also I owe so much to the Glenn Miller Orchestra. I've turned many saxophone and trumpet parts into piano fills and accompanying patterns, especially for stride piano arrangements.
Moonlight Serenade
Moonlight Sonata
Moonglow
😩 I get so mixed up!
But what a beautiful confusion.
Beautiful voice, loved listening to this
Jeez Aimee…I wasn’t planning on crying today.
“Bring Him Home” wrecked me.
Excellent video.
I was so glad to see a Gershwin melody in there. I'm a huge Gershwin fan, have been for decades. His melodies are exquisite, and Porgy and Bess is a masterpiece. From that work I would especially recommend the beautiful duet "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" and the powerful lament "My Man's Gone Now." Both can move you to tears.
That Bowie next to Neil Young hit home. Bill Evans has a few for me on the Jazz side and Central Park West by Coltrane
Ooooh, good call on the Coltrane. Hiromi's "Spiral" is another one.
Wonderful selections. I get a little choked up when I hear Billy Joel's "And So It Goes".
I wish this video never ended.
Plato described ‘Forms’. He considered these were ‘perfect’ examples of entities e.g. melodies. These Forms frequented an ethereal realm. And, in my humble opinion, your choices were spot on!
Aimee I totally agree with your observation that these songs are already "out there" and waiting to be perceived and written/performed by the artist. I think most or all knowledge is like that actually.
To add to the list of songs, two of my favorites are Stevie Wonder's For Your Love, and Ribbon in the Sky which really is amazing. I listen to it and think "Where did THAT come from?"
I also love your Falling Snow melody, I thought of it as l listened to this video.
Lovely to see you at the piano. Is it a Yamaha? Yes that fade out on Layla is beautiful , so too A whiter Shade of Pale. I am a 66 year old musician ( 55 years) and I agree Pavarotti it made my father cry. I LOVE your musical ventures. Terry from Downunder.
I would have to put Rachmoninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini up there with Nessum Dorma. Both of those melodies reduce me to tears every time.
"Waiting for the End" is an absolute gem from a criminally underrated album; I love to see it gain some appreciation.
Didn't expect to see that Linkin Park not only made it on your list but also with a song that's not as well known, amazing!
I love the part in Rach's 2nd, 3d movement. They come back to it three times. I forgot the term for that. Refrain? "Full moon and empty arms" is a song they made from it.
I am so glad that there is a nice mix of classical in this list. One absolutely beautiful piece is 2nd movement of Beethoven's Pathetique sonata
I’m learning a lot from your channel and enjoying it, thank you ❤
wow what a wonderful video Aimee.............such a gift
Some good ones here for sure. Some from my list would definitely include:
Almost anything from West Side Story (Tonight and Somewhere in particular) - Bernstein
Rhapsody in Blue - Gershwin
Je Te Veux - Erik Satie
Stella By Starlight (From the "The Uninvited") - Victor Young
Appalachian Spring - Aaron Copland
Opening of Piano Concerto No. 1 - Tchaikovsky
It's Been a Long, Long Time - Harry James
God Only Knows - Beach Boys
This Will Be Our Year - The Zombies
Fire and Rain - James Taylor
I Got a Name - Jim Croce
Maybe I'm Amazed - Paul McCartney
Underground - Cody Fry
Have you ever heard "Tonight" played by Stan Kenton & Orchestra? IMHO a great chart! And for Rhapsody in Blue, are you thinking of the 1927 recording made by Gershwin & Whiteman? It certainly has some interesting moments which are not usually played the same in modern performances and recordings. So far as Beach Boys, I'm more partial to Good Vibrations. Some great sounding tunes on your list. And if you like Harry James, have you listened to his Sheffield Lab recordings? Incredible sound!
"They exist in the ether", yess!! I've been saying this for 10 years and I'm an amateur. A great melody has something totally self-sufficient about it, and when someone grabs it, it's an act of revelation.
Keith Jarret's Koln Concert gets me, She's Leaving Home, Georgia, Summertime.
Title Subtitle by Ravel is definitely an underrated piece, thanks for sharing :D
Just kidding Aimee, great video as always!
Working on cutting that out. The editor in RUclips can take hours before it processes the mistakes I need to fix. So dang frustrating. Thank you. :)
I think your list must be pretty accurate as I cried during the entire video!
Kudos to the wonderfully talented Amy for playing and singing these magical me!odies. 😉😉
Thanks Aimee, loved the video! To everyone who likes Ravel's Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte: Art Farmer played a beautiful version on the Big Blues album with Jim Hall (Pavane for a Dead Princess).
I could listen to you all day, Thank you!!
No list could capture all of the beautiful melodies that have been written, but this is an excellent effort. My list would include: Sentimental Mood (Ellington), Stardust (Carmichael), Ave Maria (Schubert), Danny Boy, Over the Rainbow (Arlen). My favorite Beach Boy melody is Don't Worry Baby (though I have to admit that it's not their greatest harmonic achievement). For Stevie Wonder, I love You and I (along with about 30 other melodies he has written).
And there are about a dozen melodies from Beethoven's VI that would make my list.
you, sir, have good taste lol
Beethoven often laboured over his melodies as his many surviving sketchbooks show. Yet the melodic opening of his Symphony No. 2 in D Major's slow movement is gorgeous. A melodic idea may indeed come spontaneously -- but an extended melody like Beethoven's, or Morricone's in "Cinema Paridiso," requires both inspiration and compositional genious.
I would certainly welcome a 2nd edition of great melodies if you fancy it. You inspired me to create a playlist based on your selections adding Bridge Over Troubled Water, After The Goldrush with more to find which is a blast to curate. Thank you for sharing your insights and talents.
"Old Man River" stopped me in my tracks as a 5 year old...Stevie's "Too Shy To Say"..."Carmen" by Bizet is thick with melodies. So many but never enough...beautiful topic Aimee
Here's a few of my picks in no particular order. Norwegian Wood, You Must Believe in Spring, Theme from Love Story, Bach's Sicilano and Jesu, Man of Joy's Desiring, Scarborough Fair, Danny Boy, Golden Slumbers, Bridge Over Troubled Water, An American Tune.
I love your list!
@@gaylealleluia8392 thanks :)
Great job, Aimee. I guess you know this wonderful Judee Sill song called The Kiss. One of the most beautiful melody ever written for me.
Personal pick, Love theme from Cinema Paradiso. Thanks Aimee!
Time has told me (by Nick Drake). No Return (the kinks), Waterloo sunset (more obvious choice also the kinks of course ) Marshall Crenshaw has several great melodies: the spell is broken, alone in a room, somewhere down the line, someone told me, Sunday blues, live and learn,) Eileen Jewel: Santa Fe , REM south central rain, fall on me, perfect Circle, Find the river, Billy Joel my life, and so it goes, surprises, through the long night (harkening back to Beatles I know but doing it without misstep usually), crowded house- whispers and moans, how will you go, don’t dream it’s over, not the girl you think you are, Elvis Costello - favorite hour, god give me strength, Freedy Johnston- western sky, you get me lost, the farthest lights, pretend it’s summer, Richard and Linda Thompson: wall of death, walking on a wire, the great Valero , strange affair, withered and died, dimming of the day. Teddy Thompson: don’t know what I was thinking, Marty Robins: El Paso, sound garden: black hole sun, Joni Mitchell: clouds, Simon & Garfunkel: Bridge over Troubled Water. Etc. etc. but my main point- please do not forget the rock and/or pop artists: to my mind they far beat out classical, jazz or any instrumental music, though I know this is just a personal preference of mine and not anything factual.
Thank you so much for Ravel, Rachmaninov, Layla and Puccini. You allow us to discover new music and remember those long cherished.
Great collection of great lyrical melodies. A few others I though of: Chopin’s Nocturne in Eb (the one we all played in piano lessons); The Swan by Saint-Saens; Meditation from Thais by Massanet; Blame It On My Youth by Oscar Levant; Skylark by Hoagy Charmichael . . . I noticed something about a lot of my own melodies recently; a lot of them start with three notes rising stepwise. Then I began to notice how many tunes and phrases begin this way. It’s everywhere!
Oscar Levant wrote Blame It on My Youth? Really?
@@valeriekuhn3746 He did!
@@valeriekuhn3746 yes his one and only standard
A couple years back, I got to re-listen to Life On Mars with fresh ears… what a brilliant piece of writing!
I just watched this for the second time. I watched it last 5 months ago. I'm not familiar with many of these melodies. Pretty all my musical exposure for 70 years has been "pop" music and many of those you selected were somewhat outside of the pop genre, I'd say. Any way, I very much enjoyed this.
I'm so glad you mentioned Philadelphia by Neil Young - I thought I was the only one who loved this!
I'm glad too. You're not the only one! In fact I left the theater only knowing it was by Neil Young and wanted to get the sheet music, but no one I talked to knew the name of the song, and I forgot about it until now!
Thank you for playing back these songs. Very beautiful version of them. I tried to find the piano version of some of the songs and I couldn't find them in Spotify. Your version is very very good. Why don't you record them and treat them in the studio and release them as an album in Spotify. I'm sure many of your followers love to listen to them. Also if you end up making a recommendation list for some of these artists, I am curious which other songs you like from Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, etc. If you end up making a Spotify playlist for them, I would love to listen to them as well. Thanks again.
Stars - From Les Mis
The Impossible Dream - From Man of La Mancha
In Dreams - Roy Orbison
Joanna - From Sweeny Todd
Somewhere - From West Side Story
Bend Down the Branches - Tom Waits
Go the Distance - From Disney's Hercules
New York Minute - Don Henley
Time of No Reply - Nick Drake
Eternal Flame - The Bangles
House of the Rising Sun
Lush Life - Billy Strayhorn
Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell
End of the World - Skeeter Davis
No One's Gonna Love You - Band of Horses/Cee Lo Green
The heart asks pleasure first - Michael Nyman
Walking in the Air - From The Snowman
Close to You - The Carpenters
Climb Every Mountain - From Sound of Music
Santa Fe - From RENT
Don't Give Up - Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush
In a Sentimental Mood - Duke Ellington
Here, There and Everywhere - Paul McCartney
Under Pressure - Queen & Bowie
Wave - Antonio Carlos Jobim
The Lonely Shepherd - George Zamphir
Anne - John Frusciante
A Rose For Emily - The Zombies
All In One Day - Ultravox
The Destruction of Laputa - From Castle in the Sky
Gabriel's Oboe - From The Mission
Sonny's Dream - Ron Hynes
Lump Sum - Bon Iver
Father and Son - Cat Stevens
Waltz #2 - Shostakovich
Waltz #2 - Elliott Smith
Waltz for Zizi - From Cowboy Bebop
Elizabeth - The Airborne Toxic Event
Romeo & Juliet - Dire Straits
Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
Ripples - Genesis
Dialogue Pt 1 & 2 - Chicago
Age of Aquarius - From Hair
Always on My Mind - Woody Nelson
Right Where I Belong - Richard Marx
Don't Speak - No Doubt
O Siem - Susan Aglukark
Don't Forget Me - Harry Nilsson
You Raise Me Up - Josh Groban
Dust in the Wind - Kansas
Changes - Stars
Bring Me Down - Lenka
California Dreamin' - The Mamas and The Papas
Kiss From a Rose - Seal
Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead
Don't Know Why - Norah Jones
Mrs. Robinson - Simon & Garfunkel
Sirens - Pearl Jam
What are the Chances? - Duran Duran
Brian Wilson - Barenaked Ladies
Angels - Robbie Williams
Killing Me Softly With His Song - Roberta Flack
Fields of Gold - Sting
As Tears Go By - The Rolling Stones
More than this - Roxy Music
Wonderful Woman - The Smiths
Bye Bye Badman - The Stone Roses
So many of yours were close front runners for me. Grate list.
Since this list mentioned As Tears Go By -- certainly a lovely tune -- I must mention Buffy Sainte-Marie's Until It's Time for You to Go. For some strange reason those two tunes are linked in my mind. Off topic, but I can't resist also nodding to Buffy's wonderful line in that song, "This love of mine, had no beginning, it has no end; I was an oak, now I'm a willow, now I can bend."
Such an eclectic and enjoyable selection of melodies Aimee - a great listen! Thankyou 🎶🙂
I need to mention "Til There Was You" from My Fair Lady. I agree that Stevie Wonder has written some of the most beautiful melodies, along with Holland/Dozier/Holland and Smokey Robinson for Motown.
"Til there Was You" is from The Music Man. But you're right, it's a lovely melody.
One of my favorite songs lately is one of HDH's " unsung" pieces of brilliance.. You're Gonna Need Me, sung by Dionne Warwick .
Texas girl at the funeral of her father by Randy Newman, words and melody are both poetry.
Gabriel's oboe, Ennio Morricone for the movie The Mission.
The melody hurts, there is pain, longing and comfort.
To me, it puts Morricone besides Erbarme Dich, Bach.
Music that heals.
Bowie was a master at making melodies that was accessible and complex at the same time. Try Lady Grinning Soul👍
Philadelphia.. you went there and I cried.. ouch. Thanks for the gentle pain. It's right up my alley
The thing that I love about what could be considered the greatest melodies ever written is that they aren't their true beautiful selves when sung or played as a single melodic line.
The harmony and other context that they're played in takes them from a good idea to something indescribable. "Nessun Dorma" is only an impressive vocal display until you add in the orchestra and it's suddenly out of the realm of a song/aria and into the realm of universal human understanding.
All this to say that I'm glad you approached these the way you did.
So beautiful. Thanks, Aimee.
Beautiful Aimee…like your album!! 🥰
Thank you so much!