Songwriting, practice, and live music
Melodic Interval Profile Calculator
Summarize stepwise motion, leaps, repeated notes, and average interval size.
Enter planning values
Keep units, version, deadlines, capacity, and counting rules attached to the entries.
The songwriting, practice, or live-music result will appear here.
What Melodic Interval Profile measures
Summarize stepwise motion, leaps, repeated notes, and average interval size.
Subtract each MIDI note from the note that follows it, then classify absolute movement as repetition, step, or leap.
The headline output is interval profile. Read it with Melody MIDI notes; removing those labels turns a reproducible calculation into an ambiguous number.
Preparing the entries
Take Melody MIDI notes from the same arrangement or lyric draft. If Melody MIDI notes belongs to a later revision, update the companion entries or save the two versions as separate cases.
Keep the stated units beside Melody MIDI notes and Melody MIDI notes. The Melodic Interval Profile form does not infer a missing unit, convert an unstated counting convention, or know which draft is current.
How to read interval profile
The average interval summarizes contour motion. It does not preserve direction, rhythmic emphasis, tonal function, or the location of a difficult leap.
Compare interval profile with the score, demo, lyric sheet, and tempo map. An arithmetically correct interval profile can still conflict with a confirmed constraint outside the model.
A controlled check
Run the defaults once, note interval profile, and then change only Melody MIDI notes. Before calculating again, predict whether interval profile should rise, fall, or remain unchanged.
Restore the original Melody MIDI notes and confirm that 2.17 semitones average returns. This exposes stale Melodic Interval Profile entries and keeps the example useful when the working plan changes.
Worked example from the starting values
The published example uses Melody MIDI notes = 60 62 64 64 69 67 65. With those entries, the calculator returns 2.17 semitones average: Ordered melodic-motion profile.
Keep the Melodic Interval Profile example as a quick functional check. Replace Melody MIDI notes only after it reproduces, and never copy its answer into a project that uses different units or assumptions.
A mistake to avoid in Melodic Interval Profile
Sorting the notes before entry destroys the melody order and produces a range inventory rather than an interval profile.
Check Melody MIDI notes for copied totals, mixed revisions, hidden allowances, and early rounding. Any of those errors can make interval profile look plausible without being reproducible.
Putting the number to work
Use the counts to compare melodic drafts or locate a passage that feels more angular than the surrounding material.
The Lyric Syllables per Beat Calculator can answer the next nearby question, but carry over only values that describe the same version of the project.
Testing another scenario
Save the first interval profile as a baseline rather than overwriting it. Change one uncertain assumption—such as melody midi notes—and label the alternative clearly.
The difference shows how sensitive interval profile is to melody midi notes. For melody midi notes, that comparison is more informative than adding display precision to an uncertain source value.
Precision and reporting for interval profile
Keep the calculator's underlying precision while interval profile feeds another calculation, but report only digits supported by Melody MIDI notes and the other source entries. Extra decimals cannot repair a rough estimate.
If interval profile must become a whole count, clock time, purchase quantity, or scheduled commitment, apply the practical rounding rule at the final handoff and record which direction was used.
When sharing interval profile, include a plain-language label and the relevant unit or clock basis. A reader should not need to reopen Melodic Interval Profile merely to learn what 2.17 semitones average represented in the saved example.
Limits of the estimate
Musical intent still has to be heard and revised when interpreting interval profile. Melodic Interval Profile represents Melody MIDI notes; it cannot observe the surrounding room, performer, audience, vehicle, equipment, or agreement.
If interval profile touches safety, contracts, electrical work, wireless operation, or local rules, treat it as preparation for the appropriate qualified or responsible person—not as approval.
Keeping a reproducible note
Record Melody MIDI notes, interval profile, the date, and the plan version. Mark whether Melody MIDI notes is estimated, measured, or confirmed.
If a decision based on interval profile changes, keep the earlier case. The Melodic Interval Profile history then shows whether the difference came from the model, a revised input, or a changed objective.
Questions about melodic interval profile
What does Melodic Interval Profile Calculator calculate?
It calculates interval profile from Melody MIDI notes. Subtract each MIDI note from the note that follows it, then classify absolute movement as repetition, step, or leap.
What should I verify before using the interval profile?
Confirm that Melody MIDI notes come from the same plan version and follow the units or counting convention shown on the form.
What is the main limitation of Melodic Interval Profile?
The average interval summarizes contour motion. It does not preserve direction, rhythmic emphasis, tonal function, or the location of a difficult leap.