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Lesson 1 |
Focusing Your
Lyrics |
LESSON 4: Writing Melodies that Work
DIFFERENT KINDS OF MELODIES
Let me give you
an analogy that describes the kind of problems we can face as
songwriters: Let's say that I were to compare two different cars, a
small Ford Focus and a big Humvee. There's almost nothing the same
about these two vehicles. And yet, underneath the hood, you'll see that
the basic workings of what a car is are present in both... the steering
mechanism, the fuel injector, the radiator, the pistons, the spark
plugs, and so on.
But if we compare two different songs, not only is the actual look of
the song different, but often the entire inner structure of the song
can be different. Sometimes, there's barely anything the same about two
different songs, yet both can sell a million.
And still we keep asking ourselves this same question: What makes a
good song? In the world of fine arts, beauty is that aspect of life for
which we constantly search. And curiously, finding ultimate beauty just
makes us want to search all the more for it! In important ways, we are
never satisfied with creating beauty; we want to keep recreating it.
SO WHICH MELODIES ARE THE BEST?
In truth, the
best melodies are ones that click with all other aspects of a song. It
is impossible to answer the question, actually. And just as with
writing lyrics, it's a good thing that it's impossible to answer,
because as soon as we think we have created a beautiful melody, we want
to create another one!
And sometimes what we're after is not a beautiful melody, but rather a
melody that works.
Lyric and melody go hand in hand. Page 126 of "The Essential Secrets of
Songwriting" says, "The shape of a melody must be planned with vocal
range, harmony and text in mind." You can come up with what you think
of as a killer melody, but unless it is enhancing other aspects of your
song, it's all for nothing.
Keep in mind that some of the world's biggest hits are songs that have
completely unremarkable melodies. Tom Petty's Free Falling uses only
three different notes, but was hugely successful. Those three notes
have an almost hypnotic effect, and the constancy and reiteration of
those notes gives an air of endurance and dependability that goes hand
in hand with the lyric. It also makes it very easy to remember.
All melodies are not created equal. Some are verse melodies, others are
chorus or bridge tunes. And how you write one will help to make a
listener keep listening, or could turn them off completely. You need to
structure your melodies. Structure is what helps us discern the
beginning from the end.
And about boredom... it's a curious thing, but having elements in your
melodies repeating endlessly gives the same result as writing a melody
where nothing repeats... boredom. Good melodies are a balance between
repeating elements and new elements; enough new elements that can keep
the listener intrigued, but with enough repeating elements so that the
listener doesn't feel lost.
ACTIVITIES for UNDERSTANDING MELODIES
Try the following melody exercises.
These won't result in songs... they're meant more as ways of getting
you to look at melody writing in a fresh, creative way.
1. COMPARE MELODIES - LOOKING AT YOUR OWN MUSIC
Take a song that you've written, and compare the melodies of the verse
and chorus. The activities below will be addressed in more detail in
Lesson 5. But it's good to get familiar with your own music; answer the
following questions:
- Try to determine the lowest and highest notes of the verse.
Now determine the lowest and highest notes of the chorus. Compare the
two. In general, a verse should be pitched lower than a chorus.
- Is your verse melody the same, or almost the same, as your
chorus melody? If so, the lyrics and instrumental accompaniment need to
intensify for the chorus.
- Melody notes that leap upward usually indicate an emotional
intensification. Find the place in your verse and in your chorus that
feature the biggest upward leap. The lyrics at that moment should
reflect an intensifying of emotion.
Check out the
songwriting articles at The Essential Secrets of Songwriting website.
Click here. |
©2009 Pantomime Music Publications
P.O.Box 31177 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Contact Us: info@pantomimemusic.com | Contact Gary Ewer: gary@pantomimemusic.com
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