Awesome Ways On How To Write A Melody

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Awesome Ways On How To Write A Melody

We’re often asked: How do I create catchy melodies that people will really like?

Honestly, I wish the answer was as simple as saying “here’s exactly what you need to do and done…” but unfortunately it’s not that simple.

Melodies are often times, hard to write.  You may feel that the melodies you come up with sound horrible or they sound like something that has been created before.

If you’re looking for a way to improve, look no further.  This article was written just for you!

(Note:  This is not an article on theory but having basic knowledge in music theory will definitely make it easier to follow).

Below are some suggestions for helping you create melodies that are catchy and memorable.

Melody

First of all, lets start with the term Melody and its definition. Melody is defined by a sequence of single notes that is musically satisfying. Melodies are very special in that they are distinguishable and are easy to sing or hum along to.  Melodies are not just a random combination of notes strung together.  They’re actually a well thought out sequence of notes with varying pitches one after another in an organized way.

Characteristics of a melody

We know that a melody is the result of various notes being played at different pitches/tones.  Not only does the chain of pitches and tones make a melody memorable or catchy, there are also a few elements that you should consider when writing you the melody.

• Shape
• Range
• Melodic Intervals
• Structure
• Scales

Shape

A memorable melody follows a particular shape. This shape will outline whether your melody will descend, ascend, incline or decline.  In all honesty, there are no set formulas.  You do not have to have a melody that rises and then falls and you do not have to have a certain number of leaps and drops.

But you should also have in mind that different shapes will stimulate different emotional reactions from your listeners.  A melody that ascends will sound uplifting and joyful rather than a melody that descends.  It’s really all preference and what you’re going for.  So, test out various shapes and run with what makes you feel good!

Range

In music, the range is referred to as the distance between the lowest to the highest note of the melody.  Consider how large or how small of a range you want your melody to occupy.  Some melodies will occupy up to 2 octaves or more while others occupy a very small range like an octave or half.  But you should always keep in mind that a broad range will make a melody slightly more difficult to remember.  Where a constricted range will have limited variations in pitch and will not sound as remarkable.

Melodic Intervals

An interval is a difference in the pitch between two notes.  A melodic interval happens when two notes are played in sequence.  Why are intervals important?  Intervals provide the basic framework for mostly everything in music.  Having basic knowledge in intervals will help you tremendously when working out your melodies.  Not only will intervals help with your melodies but you’ll also be able to identify scales and the quality of chords i.e. whether a chord is major, minor, diminished or etc…

Structure

Very much like song structure, your melodies should have structure too.  Pick a song, any song you like and follow along with the structure.  You’ll see that the song is divided into sections, an intro, verse, (Pre-Chorus), Chorus, Bridge, Hook, and an outro.  Now listen to the melody lines within that song.  In most cases, you’ll notice there is an “A” section, a “B” section and sometimes a “C” section in the melody.  When you divide your melodies into sections you’re creating movement and keeping the track flowing.

Scales

A scale is a collection of notes that are grouped together and span an octave.  There are several scales to with, Major, Minor, Chromatic, Pentatonic and more… by learning different scales you’ll be able to learn chords mush easier as chords develop from scales.  Not only do chords sprout from scales but melodies and harmonies also derive from scales.

Approach to Creating

You can start by playing random notes until something sticks but I suggest starting with a bit of structure. This way you’ll be able to create an outline of which tone you want to set for your song much faster and easier.

Sound Selection

Feel free to write your melody before or after your sound selection phase, this is completely up to you.  I actually like to choose a sound beforehand as I know that having a good sound will inspire and influence my writing decisions.

Create a Rhythm

Now that you have your sound lets build a rhythm.  You did find some good drums right?  If not, no biggie you can use your metronome for the time being.  Speaking of drums…

Theproducerkit.com and Soundoracle.net have some amazing quality samples that is definitely worth taking a look at.

Back to the subject at hand…  Your melody is a rhythmic succession of notes not just a sequence of notes chained together.

Choose a scale

As mentioned above, a scale contains a collection of notes and these scales are octave repeating. From these scales you can create chord progressions, melodies and harmonies.  Starting with a scale will save you from wasting time hitting random keys and plotting each note by ear.  I decided to run with the C Natural Minor scale which consists of C, D, D#, F, G, G# and A#.

Here’s a list of 10 tips derived by studying the best song melodies across most musical genres. If your melodies aren’t quite making it for you, check the list, and see what you might do to improve them:

1. You should try to use mainly stepwise motion. Stepwise motion means moving from one note to an adjacent one without skipping a note. Stepwise motion ensures that the melody is more easily singable.
2. Use occasional leaps. A melody that is all stepwise with no leaps can lack vitality. A leap, particularly an upward one on especially emotive words, will inject energy and feeling into your melody.
3. Keep a melody within an octave-and-a-half. Melodies that are too expansive are more difficult to sing. A listener will connect to your song if they can sing along with it.
4. Incorporate a climactic moment in your song’s melody. Somewhere, usually in the chorus, there suppose to be a spot where the melody hits a high note, and then descends from it. That high note becomes the climactic moment, the spot everyone waits for.
5. Allow chorus melodies to be generally higher in pitch than verse melodies. The higher chorus melody allows for greater song energy, which suppose to happen in a chorus.
6. The tonic (key) note must appear more often in the chorus melody than in verse melody. Musical phrases in the chorus must move toward the tonic note, especially near the end of the chorus.
7. Allow the rhythm of your melody to match the natural rhythm of the words. Forcing lyrics into unnatural spots in your melody sounds awkward.
8. The notes of a verse must usually be shorter and more rhythmically active than the notes of a chorus. The longer chorus notes allow for a greater emotional build.
9. Repeated melodic phrases help memorability. Melodies that don’t use repetition are harder to remember. Repetition is an important feature of most successful songs. Once you’ve written the first phrase of your melody, the best thing is often to simply repeat it.
10. Use repeated notes, especially with a lyric that expresses determination or strong opinions. Repeated notes will strengthen a lyric’s message.

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