# Melody (TV series)

Melody is a British preschool mixed-media music television series created by Luke Howard, and produced by Wish Films and LAAH Entertainment for the BBC. Designed with disabled children in mind, it features a little girl with a visual impairment as the main character. Melody is also available on BBC iPlayer for over a year.
Melody was developed with help from the RNIB Pears Centre in Coventry, which supports children with sight problems and additional needs. While helping to create the programme, the Pears Centre conducted research into animation and soundtracks that are easier for blind and partially sighted people to follow.

## Premise

Melody introduces pre-school children to classical music through the main character's imagined stories, and specially created animations that are more enjoyable for visually impaired viewers.
In each episode Melody undertakes an everyday activity with her mother. The fun she has, or the frustrations or difficulties she experiences, prompts her to want to listen to a piece of music. Her mother suggests a piece and gives Melody some headphones and an MP3 player to listen to it. Through animation, we are taken on an adventure through Melody's imagination as she listens to the music.

## Cast and characters

| Name | Cast | About |
| Melody | Angharad Rhodes | A girl with an incredible imagination, who is partially sighted. Melody is played by 10-year-old partially sighted actress Angharad Rhodes, who was cast after being spotted at UCAN ("Unique Creative Arts Network"), a specialist theatre company in Cardiff for children with vision problems. |
| Mum | Laura Bacon | Melody's mother, who plays with her and presents her with music to listen to. |
| Fudge | Himself | Fudge is Melody's soft toy - a bright orange, and white, cat. |

## Production

The animation for the show was produced by six different studios:
* King Bee Animation
* Keyframe Studios
* Finger Industries
* Tentacle Media
* Sea Monster
* Factory Transmedia
The characters were designed by art director Keith Robinson who also oversaw the overall look of the series. He also designed the logo and branding for the show. Lizzie Dyson designed the backgrounds.
One of the show's producers, Will Brenton, explains that Melody's sight difficulties are never mentioned directly. "We often see her using her white cane, or placing her hand on top of her mum's whilst they cut something," he says. "It is never about what Melody can't do or needs help with, but always about what she can do and the methods she uses to do as much as most children."

## Broadcast

The first series of 20 programmes was broadcast on CBeebies, in the United Kingdom, in December 2013 and January 2014, with a two-week break after the tenth programme. These episodes are also audio-described; an additional vocal narrative track fills gaps in the dialogue with helpful information for those who can't see what's happening on screen.
A second series of 20 programmes started being broadcast in March 2015.

## Series 1

| # | Title | Composer | Piece | Original UK air date |
| 1 | "Let's Race" | Sergei Prokofiev | Romeo and Juliet, Dance of the Knights | 2 December 2013 (2013-12-02) |
| Melody imagines two dinosaurs having a race. One is fast and the other is slow. |||||
| 2 | "Muddy Melody" | Aaron Copland | Fanfare for the Common Man | 3 December 2013 (2013-12-03) |
| Melody imagines she is a jungle explorer who has found a baby elephant playing in the mud. |||||
| 3 | "Red Riding Hood" | Camille Saint-Saëns | Danse Macabre | 4 December 2013 (2013-12-04) |
| Melody imagines the story of Little Red Riding Hood when she hears some dramatic music. |||||
| 4 | "Fast Little Train" | Sergei Prokofiev | Finale: Molto vivace, fourth movement, from Symphony No. 1 | 5 December 2013 (2013-12-05) |
| Melody imagines a story about a little train who wants to make his journey go faster. |||||
| 5 | "Promises" | Ralph Vaughan Williams | Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis | 6 December 2013 (2013-12-06) |
| Melody imagines a princess in a castle who breaks her promise to a frog. |||||
| 6 | "The Lost Bee" | Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | Flight of the Bumblebee from Act 3, The Tale of Tsar Saltan | 9 December 2013 (2013-12-09) |
| Melody listens to Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov and goes on a bee adventure. |||||
| 7 | "Melody and the Snowman" | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier, from The Nutcracker | 10 December 2013 (2013-12-10) |
| Melody imagines a story of a lonely snowman and a little girl. |||||
| 8 | "Best Friends" | Gustav Holst | Jupiter, from The Planets | 11 December 2013 (2013-12-11) |
| Melody listens to Jupiter by Holst and imagines the story of friends who are separated. |||||
| 9 | "The Elves and the Shoemaker" | John Adams | Short Ride in a Fast Machine | 12 December 2013 (2013-12-12) |
| Melody listens to Short Ride In a Fast Machine composed by John Adams. |||||
| 10 | "Butterfly Ball" | Luigi Boccherini | Minuet, third movement from String Quintet in E | 13 December 2013 (2013-12-13) |
| Melody imagines that she and Fudge are playing chase through a field of flowers. |||||
| 11 | "Ugly Duckling" | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Scène: Moderato, Lake in the Moonlight, the opening to Act II of Swan Lake | 30 December 2013 (2013-12-30) |
| Melody hears some music from Swan Lake and imagines the story of the ugly duckling. |||||
| 12 | "Coat of Leaves" | Antonio Vivaldi | Allegro, third movement, from The Four Seasons, Concerto No. 3 in F major (Autumn) | 31 December 2013 (2013-12-31) |
| Melody listens to The Four Seasons - Autumn by Vivaldi, and imagines the seasons changing. |||||
| 13 | "Flying High" | Ralph Vaughan Williams | The Lark Ascending | 1 January 2014 (2014-01-01) |
| Melody listens to The Lark Ascending and imagines a world of birds flying high. |||||
| 14 | "Selfish Shellfish" | Camille Saint-Saëns | Aquarium, from Le carnaval des animaux (Carnival of the Animals) | 2 January 2014 (2014-01-02) |
| Melody listens to watery music and imagines a story about a selfish shellfish. |||||
| 15 | "Tiptoe Troll" | Edvard Grieg | In the Hall of the Mountain King, from Peer Gynt, Suite No.1 | 3 January 2014 (2014-01-03) |
| Melody imagines a story about trolls stealing treasure – including the king's crown. |||||
| 16 | "Unlikely Partners" | Edward Elgar | Adagio, first movement, from Cello Concerto in E minor | 6 January 2014 (2014-01-06) |
| Melody imagines a story a dancing hippo and mouse. |||||
| 17 | "A Royal Stink" | George Frideric Handel | Ouverture, first movement, from Music for the Royal Fireworks Suite | 7 January 2014 (2014-01-07) |
| Melody asks for royal music, and Mum finds Music for the Royal Fireworks, by Handel. |||||
| 18 | "When the Cat's Away" | Johann Strauss the Younger | Annen Polka | 8 January 2014 (2014-01-08) |
| Melody accidentally leaves Fudge at Grandma's house. |||||
| 19 | "Boat Ballet" | Erik Satie | Gymnopédie: 1. Lent et douloureux | 9 January 2014 (2014-01-09) |
| Melody imagines a beautiful boat ballet with dancing swans when she goes to the park. |||||
| 20 | "The White Whale" | Edward Elgar | Nimrod, from Enigma Variations | 10 January 2014 (2014-01-10) |
| Melody listens to Nimrod by Edward Elgar and imagines some graceful dancing whales. |||||

## Series 2

| # | Title | Composer | Piece | Original UK air date |
| 1 | "Owl" | Beethoven | Moonlight Sonata | |
| 2 | "Gingerbread Man" | Mikis Theodorakis | Zorba's Dance | |
| 3 | "The Fox and the Chicken" | Dmitri Shostakovich | Jazz Suite No.1 III.Foxtrot | |
| 4 | "Wooden Horse" | Jacques Offenbach | Infernal Galop | |
| 5 | "Emperor's New Clothes" | George Frideric Handel | The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba | |
| 6 | "Friendly Shadows" | Benjamin Britten | Simple Symphony - Movement II. - Playful Pizzicato | |
| 7 | "Clever Magpie" | Gioachino Rossini | The Thieving Magpie Overture | |
| 8 | "Princess and the Pea" | Dmitri Shostakovich | Tahiti Trot | |
| 9 | "Balloon Ride" | Johann Sebastian Bach | Air on the G String | |
| 10 | "Imagination" | Camille Saint-Saëns | The Carnival of the Animals - Le cygne (The Swan) | |
| 11 | "Noisy Elephant" | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major | |
| 12 | "Firebird" | Igor Stravinsky | The Firebird | |
| 13 | "Up the Hill" | Modest Mussorgsky | Night on Bald Mountain | |
| 14 | "Storm" | Benjamin Britten | 'Storm' Interlude from 'Peter Grimes | |
| 15 | "Rocket Trip" | Gustav Holst | THe Planets - Mars, the Bringer of War | |
| 16 | "Who's at the Door" | Ludwig van Beethoven | Symphony No. 5 | |
| 17 | "Music Box" | Claude Debussy | Clair de Lune | |
| 18 | "Little Blue Butterfly" | George Gershwin | Rhapsody in Blue | |
| 19 | "New Bell" | John Philip Sousa | The Liberty Bell March | |
| 20 | "Tallest Towers" | Johann Sebastian Bach | Toccata and Fugue in D Minor | |

## Reception

Reaction from the partially sighted community has been "very exciting" according to Brenton. "They can really connect with an aspirational, capable character overcoming the same or similar obstacles."
On the CBeebies Grownups blog, one parent writes: "I find it difficult to find TV programmes for my visually impaired son that are easily accessible. I love the idea of having a young girl starring that is visually impaired, these sort of programmes are great in helping children that have additional needs feel less isolated."