The Parsons Code for Melodic Contours¹⁾

An X is used for the first note. Then each note transition is coded as U (for “up”) if the second note is higher than the first note, R (for “repeat”) if the pitches are equal, and D (for “down”) otherwise. Rhythm is completely ignored, and only the first few measures are shown. Thus, the Parsons Code for #1 - The Sweet Bye And Bye is XUUDDUDDDUUURRURDDDUUDDUDDDUUU .

Initially, the Parsons Codes on this site have been generated via software, and are therefore sometimes found to be inaccurate. Hymns are more easily recognizable than popular tunes. Manual review is under way, but will take significant time. Please Contact Us if you are interested in this project.

The advantage of including the Parsons Code in the information for Cobs is that it's easy to fing via Search²⁾:

• Enter the known portion of a melody, followed by an * (asterisk), like this: XUUDDUDDD* (←try it)
• If you don't know the first notes of a melody, also use a wildcard * (asterisk) at the beginning, like: *UUURRURDD* (←try it)
• It is often difficult to distinguish between repeated and tied notes, so if a search doesn't return the expected result, try omitting or adding insignificant repeated notes. Or try a search for the beginning notes and those following, like: XUUDDUDDD* *URDD* (←try it)
• Don't forget to always add an * to the end of the search criteria!