Melody: Will I, Rent

The song Will I, from the Broadway musical Rent is a very downplayed and emotional song. Many of the characters in Rent are infected with AIDS, in a time where it was even more of a mystery than it is today. Some of them attend a support group called Life Support. As is said by one of the characters, Angel, "Some people don't have anywhere else to go[.]"

Overall, this song has a generally narrow range. The piece is meant to be very humble and personal, and is not a piece meant to show off voices. Will I is just one melody repeated over and over throughout the group, creating harmonies and a polyphony, but still coming back to the one melody.

As the short melody progresses, the sub phrases get slightly longer, ending with open cadences. The characters here are asking questions and searching for more, and the way the melody is sung shows this.

The tune is generally conjunct, flowing smoothly from one note to the next, going gradually up in pitch the entire time. The most jarring disjunct is when the melody ends and it goes back to the beginning, dropping in pitch.
As such, it is a very singable melody--it was written to be sung.