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By Jamie Leger
There is no "six step system" for how to write
a melody...
Songwriting, or writing songs and creating melody - is about doing two main
things.
Telling a story to your listeners in a way that creates an emotional experience,
and crafting the chords, groove, and melody to deliver and effectively enhance
that message.
Melody, in every genre of music, is the bedrock, and
probably the single most important factor in what people would call a "great song." Whether
it's a timeless classic, or a mind numbing "flavor of the month" pop-hit,
MELODY is what makes a song MEMORABLE.
Being MEMORABLE and having an impact on the listener through some profound
transcendental connection, is the key to writing a great song.
The following are 5 well-worn and time-tested tips for how to write a melody
that sings, and rises above the noise of hackneyed and mediocre.
Melody Tip #1) - Sketch Out Template ideas with Dummy Syllables
Sometimes you'll get lucky and the right melody will effortlessly come to
you already attached to the right lyrical phrase... For the other times, you're
going to have to work for it a little more.
Dummy syllables such as la, or da, or na, etc. can be very helpful in sketching
out your melodies.
Exercise: Choose a rhythm pattern or drum loop that you like, record a simple
chord progression to that groove using either piano or guitar, and then sketch
out an interesting and inspiring melody using dummy syllables. Play with different
rhythms and timing on different beats, as well as tone and sequence.
Melody Tip #2) - Study Popular Melodies, and Write a New Song with that Melody.
Learning popular melodies and melodies that your ears really enjoy, is a fantastic
way to analyze the patterns and understand the simplistic beauty of a really
great melody. By doing this enough, you will also sort of embed a natural intuition
for good melody after a while.
Exercise: Go and select your favorite hit song or favorite songs melody. Break
it down, note by note. Then go and lie on your back, or sit in quiet meditation.
Visualize the eight notes and as your mind auto-play's that melody, imagine
each of the corresponding notes in the scale are lighting up. Do this for 5-10
minutes. Then ask yourself the following questions.
Can you see the pattern? Why does it work so well? Is it simple or complex?
Next, go and take that melody and write your own song with it. Create a new
chord progression, groove, and lyric around that melody.
*Remember, you can't actually use this song for anything other than a learning
exercise because you are using a copyrighted melody, but it is still a good
exercise that will help you get better.
Melody Tip #3) - Remember, Repetition is the Key to Catchy
People remember through repetition. People remember through repetition. People
remember through, REPETITION.
Get it? That's why almost all great melodies are fairly simple and extremely
repetitive.
Take Miley Cyrus' "The Climb" for example. It's the same 6 notes
at the start of EVERY line of the chorus, leading up the payoff line, "It's
the CLI-MB."
Now I'm not saying that Miley Cyrus defines the gold standard for high quality
music, or master melody craftsman. But I can assure you there were some HEAVY
hitters in on crafting that song and melody. Anyway, it's a great melody.
Exercise: For your next song, focus on repetition for the first couple phrases,
then maybe a slight variance in phrase, and then a payoff phrase. Implement
this into either your verse, or chorus, or both.
Melody Tip #4) - Plunk out Interesting Melodies Using Single Piano/Guitar
Notes
When you think about your favorite or most MEMORABLE melodies, you can-almost
without exception easily hum or whistle the melody and most people who were
familiar with the song could name it back to you.
There is something to be said about that. A great melody should be able to
be played on any instrument and still be the main focal point that the listener
pays attention to.
Melody Tip #5) - Make it FEEL Good, and Make it SING-able For NON-Singers
This is one of the biggest factors for writing a memorable melody. Your melody
should be infectious. It should be repeating automatically in your listeners
head, hopefully throughout the rest of the day.
If it's too technical, or complex, or using notes most people cannot hit,
then you'll significantly lose the potential for that catchiness that makes
people feel good and enjoy singing along with it themselves.
Exercise: Go and ask your friends to sing the melody and ask for their feedback
in regards to being memorable and catchy, as well as easily singable.
The good news is that if you have followed the advice from the previous tips,
you should have most of your work already taken care for this one as well.
So there you have it. Five fantastic tips for writing a better melody! Now,
don't forget the most important part of this whole thing, and put this into
use while it's still fresh. Get up and go DO the exercises, and until next
time,
Be Brilliant,
Jamie Leger is a Singer Songwriter by night and Internet Business Coach for
Experts (Authors/speakers/coaches/consultants) and Music Entrepreneurs (Songwriters/artists/bands/producers)
by day. He helps people turn their knowledge and experience into content and
turn their content into cash by building an audience and a profitable brand-
through private training and step by step instruction. He has been making music
in his home recording studio and writing content for hundreds of industry magazines
and various online publications since 2004. Please enjoy his free guide to
the Home Studio.
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