Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Building Knowledge
• Part 2 of 3: Building the Foundation
• Part 3 of 3: Shine
• Tips

Melodies are composed of a sequence of notes. A melody is a part of a piece of music that we can sing, the main sound that stands out from the main background. No matter what song you write, you will need a melody. With a basic knowledge of music and a few exercises and techniques, you will find that writing a melody is easier than you might think.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Building Knowledge

1. 1 Read some of the music theory. If you want to write well melodies, it's important to know at least the basics of how music is written before you try to create something of your own. Of course, this is not necessary. However, the more you understand music, the easier it will be to understand the explanations of musical concepts.
   • We will use musical terms in this article because it is difficult to convey these ideas without them. Some can be explained, but others are too difficult to explain briefly. If you don't understand what beat, beat, and timing are, you should still read about it first.
2. 2 Choose your song shape. The form of the song is a kind of gender division, but for the music. All music usually follows some form that determines which parts and elements are appropriate and when it is time to change them. You are probably most used to this concept in popular music with lead and chorus ideas. Here, you don't have to follow these forms, but it can help you define a roadmap to work with when composing a melody.
   • The most common form of the song is called AABA. This means that there are two "chorus", "chorus", and then another "chorus". In other words, a section that sounds somehow, followed by another that sounds the same, then something else, and finally, back to the topic of the first section.
   • However, there are many different forms, so consider which is best for you. You can consider AAAA, ABCD, AABACA, etc. Or, of course, you can do something completely different.
3. 3 Explore song genres. Some genres of music have a certain style and if you want it to sound exactly the way it is, then you will have to record your melody in a certain way. Read in advance about the genre of music you're trying to compose, see if there are any unique features of that genre in terms of structure, key, or progressions.
   • For example, chord progressions for blues and jazz correspond to specific shapes. Jazz uses certain chords heavily, so you need to look for jazz chords before writing songs in this genre.
4. 4 Think about a musician. Regardless of who is performing the piece of music you are writing, they will need a break at some point. The fingers will need rest and the singers will need to catch their breath. You need to figure out how to break the song and add breaks like this. Try to space them evenly at intervals and make them frequent enough for the song to be sung.
5. 5 Parse your favorite songs. The first thing you can do to get your melody recording skills is to start by taking apart some of your favorite songs. Collect a range of songs with great melodies Usually when we listen to music we get immersed in it, right? But you need to make a roadmap out of it ... focus!
   • Write down how the notes change.How are they built? How does the tone make you feel? How does the melody work with the lyrics? What good is a melody? What's not working or what could be better? You can transfer these lessons to your own tunes.

Part 2 of 3: Building the Foundation

1. 1 Try not to start with the lyrics. If, of course, you are the best lyricist, you may be inclined to start with poetry. However, this is fraught and not recommended, especially if your musical education is very limited. When you start out with lyrics, you have to base your melody on the natural rhythm of the words, and this can be very difficult, especially for a beginner. However, if you want, you can still start with the lyrics.
2. 2 Play! This may sound kind of silly, but many of the best tunes come from someone who just played random notes on the piano. If you have a tool you can mess around with, try this. Just play around doing variations or just jumping around until you find something that sounds good.
   • If you don't have an instrument, you can sing or use the instrument on the Internet. You can find many free pianos on websites and apps available for your mobile device.
3. 3 Convert a simple idea. You can take a really simple idea for a melody, just a sequence of three or four notes, and transform that seed of idea into a whole melody. For example, take a small group of notes that you found by playing according to the previous step. Think about how you think the melody should develop.
   • People who are naturally musical often come up with small pieces of music, as an artist takes an idea for drawing. If this sounds like you, keep a digital voice recorder or laptop nearby (if you know any kind of music recording).
4. 4 Start with chords. If you are used to making chords, you can also find a melody by playing chords. This is typical for people who play the piano or guitar, as these instruments rely heavily on chords. Do the same as we talked about in Step 1, but with chords, until you find something that sounds good to you.
   • You can find websites that play chords for you if you don't have an instrument or don't know a lot of chords.
   • Try to work with chords and find ways to make them more complex. You will find that since you can only extract one sound at a time, you will have a melody even before you hear it. Don't worry about the lyrics, professional musicians almost always write the melody first and hum the nonsense instead of the words.
5. 5 Borrow from an existing ringtone. Stealing someone's song is a bad idea, but like taking a seedling to grow your own garden, you can take the tiniest sliver from another song and transform it into something completely different. If you take only a sequence of about four notes and make enough changes, then your music becomes completely original. Just remember that you are transforming it into something completely different.
   • A good piece should borrow from various genres of music. Say that you want to record a folk song, for example. Try to borrow from rap. Want to record a country song? Borrow from the classics.
6. 6 Build on motive. A motive is a series of notes that form a musical "idea". Many songs take a tune and then repeat this set of notes with slight variations to create a melody. If you are struggling to come up with a melody, this is a great help, as you can start with the given set of notes.
   • One of the best examples of this is the Allegro from Beethoven's Symphony # 5. He just took the main tune and repeated it many times and created one of the greatest pieces of music of all time.

Part 3 of 3: Shine

1. 1 Make a bass line. For the melody you wrote, you need to come up with a bass part so that it sounds good together.Yes, you might not have bass in your piece (you might have written for a trumpet quartet). However, the bass line is more than just bass. The bass line refers to any background portion for the bottom of the instrument. The bass line provides a kind of backbone to the piece of music.
   • The bass line can be simple or complex, it can be fast or it can be slow. In some genres of music, the bass line follows certain patterns, as in the blues, where it is almost always on the scale of quarter notes. The only thing that matters is that it matches and supports the melody you wrote.
2. 2 Add chords if you don't already have them. If you didn't start with chords, you can add a few now. The chords will make your song sound fuller and more complex, although you can do without them or use only very simple chords if you want more melancholy by exposing the sound.
   • Start by establishing what tone your melody is written in. Certain chords sound better with some tones than others. For example, if your song starts with a C (before), then a C (before) chord would be appropriate to start.
   • When to change chords will really depend on your song, but try to determine when to change sounds or melody. Usually, chord changes occur at the first beat, at the beginning of a measure. You can also use chord change to introduce another chord. For example, in a 4/4 song, you might have one chord on the first beat and then another on the 4th beat before introducing the next chord on the next measure.
3. 3 Experiment with other sections of the song. The melody will make up a significant part of the song, but many songs also have sections that separate from the melody or use a second melody. It could be a chorus or a loss, or even something else altogether. Moving away from the melody can add a bit of surprise or drama to your song, so if you're looking for that feeling, do away from the melody.
4. 4 Try to play for other people. Play your melody for other people and listen to their opinions. You don't have to take all of their ideas, but they can see (or rather hear) what you don't see. If several people give the same feedback, it might make sense to make changes or additions to your tune.

Tips

• Read about spacing, what a phrase is, and what a topic is.
• Hear tunes from other composers. Pick a loved one and try to understand what makes her so good.