(7) You Raise Me Up - Analysis of Melody & Vocal Characteristics

The melody of the song is largely diatonic.


1. Use of melisma

There is the use of melisma in this song, whereby the vocalist sings 2 or more consecutive pitches to a given syllable of the lyrics.



One example would be the melisma on the syllable “tains” in the word "mountains”. Josh Groban sings the notes G, F and Eb for this syllable in bar 22.


Another example would be the melisma on the word “raise”. He sings the notes F and Eb for this word in bar 22, the notes G and F for the same word in bar 38, and notes Ab and Gb in bar 47.



Yet another example would be the melisma on the syllable “y’ in the word "stormy”. He sings the notes Ab and Bb for this syllable in bar 23, the notes Bb and C for the same word in bar 39, and the notes C and Db in bar 48.


2. Vocal Characteristics

According to the score, this song is in a higher tessitura for soprano. However, the vocalist Josh Groban sings it within his tenor range.