Lesson 1

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.
  

...on to Lesson 5 - STRUCTURING MELODIES

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