Writing a melody.

[Gillman]

Don't be scared to play the same note twice or more in a row. Sounds daft, but it's one of the best bits of advice I've ever received.

+1

[triwel]

Thank you so much for all the tips, I'm gonna definitely try them out.

[Functional]

Here's a couple of tips.

There is no recipe for making great melodies. You can watch all the sites with titles like "how to make a good melody" (been there, done that), but there is no real shortcut.

First of all, you should find a time in your day, when you're most comfortable making music and begin there. Find out when you're at your most creative state.

Forcing yourself hours and hours to make a melody, won't get you anywhere.

You should listen a lot of others work for some referrence point (and I'd reckon, through varied genres, from classical music to anywhere really).

And here's something that quite often works for me.

A lot of my ideas are actually based on pure experimenting. I'm playing around with sound design, then suddenly I get something that hits my ears amazingly. Now I start playing around with the notes and suddenly, I have a base for a new track. Base in the sense of an idea that brings me more ideas.

But just remember, you can read as many books as you'd like, read as many sites as you'd like, but throwing out better melodies won't happen still just like that.

But, if you have an audio recorder of some sort, keep it around with you and humm a melody into it, if you sometime get one stuck in your head. Bring it later in home to your computer or instrument, whatever you're playing.

[Monib]

Do you have a motivation or a goal for the melody? Should it be driving? Repetitive is fine, but what kind of repitition? Chordal? Rhythmic? I think you need to think about what kind of movement you are trying to create. Uplifting? Once you have a general idea, then you can think about the patterns.

Like for example, if you want to make a melody that seems like its slowing down, you'll want to make your first motif faster then the second motif. (first motif could be three notes of 16th, and the the second could be a simple 8th note) And if you want it to seem uplifting you can add steps or skips at where the motifs start, that way you can narrow down on the function of the melody.

Then you have to work out the timbre to support a the melody and get proper spacial effects. So many variables .

Hope that makes sense, a lot of experimentation is needed.

[izonin]

good melody

Melodies are just like forum posts. You press a few keys, et voilà!

[Tricky-Loops]

If you really want to learn (from the start) how to write interesting melodies, I'd recommend you a very good book:

"Music Composition for DUMMIES" by Scott Jarrett and Holly Day

There is so much information about composing and writing melodies that you can use some tips even after some years of experience...

And you don't need a university degree to read it...

[ksandvik]

Me thinks the most interesting melodies crawl out from interesting chord progressions -- listen to Stevie Wonder using jazz chords and the beautiful melodies just jump out from such chord sequences, even with half-steps that are usually evil concerning melody lines.

Me thinks the biggest difference between songwriters in the sixties and today is that the ancient songwriters knew chords inside out.

[Monib]

If you really want to learn (from the start) how to write interesting melodies, I'd recommend you a very good book:

"Music Composition for DUMMIES" by Scott Jarrett and Holly Day

There is so much information about composing and writing melodies that you can use some tips even after some years of experience...

And you don't need a university degree to read it...

The Idiots Guide to Music Composition is very helpful as well.

[chardin]

some incredible advice

Wow! Thank you UncleAge for your excellent post. I never thought about using my cellphone as an impromptu recording device. And turning the recording into an assignment is just brilliant. Thanks again.

[NKF]

Me thinks the most interesting melodies crawl out from interesting chord progressions -- listen to Stevie Wonder using jazz chords and the beautiful melodies just jump out from such chord sequences, even with half-steps that are usually evil concerning melody lines.

Me thinks the biggest difference between songwriters in the sixties and today is that the ancient songwriters knew chords inside out.

and they knew that chords were just melodies on top of each other. Chords are the result of counterpoint. Weaving voices or melody. The idea of chords as a unit is really modern. Like in the last century modern.

[tapper mike]

While Stevie wonder did write around the chord progression he also in later years developed a method of replacing chords to support melodic movement.

He'd lay down the progression, play the melody then rewrite some of the chords to accommodate the melody in a different manner he wouldn't rewrite the entire thing only a measure or two here and there.

[Trakstar]

I guess Id have to agree with learning to play a midi keyboard or instrument to some degree as others have said. Reason being I used to look at the screen and will melodies to appear and nothing would come, took the whole meaning and fun out of the drive I had to compose and make great music like all what I had listened to and been inspired by. Back in 1999 way out west descibed most of the trance being produced at that time was rubbish because nobody could play the keyboard. At the time I didnt make nothing of it, but the words stuck in my mind. Anyway, I bought a keyboard and Learned to play what I could for the last few years. At first it was monophonic repetitive bass lines and no ideas of chords but thats the point. Experience does come at the cost of learning, but when you have learned the results are worth the work. You see, which ever instrument you learn and play, the way you play it will also affect whatever melodies you compose and write. From dull and lifeless bass lines, to full on powerful lead solos as you start to get some groove and soul through playing more and more. I am no piano player, but now I can at least play the keys how I want and its not about thinking what to write but hitting record and playing what i feel from the inside..be it deep long chords with reverb and echoes that have a sadness, or a high powered synth arpeggio playing the keys naturally and enjoying the result. In retrospect, I am glad I learned to play the keyboard to some extent because it certainly had an impact on my musical attempts. Reading stuff like this reminds me of the years I spent sat putting notes in to the piano roll being looped over two bars and listening to see If anything sounded any good. I would look at demo songs such as the orion demo wellensrauch by torsten fassbender or whatever his name was and examine the midi files. I couldnt for the life in me understand how he wrote the arpeggio for it so i started trying to copy the patterns on their own in random sequences on any notes because I didnt understand them either. It was a complete disaster obviously. ..