2. Writing a song… where to start?
Composing music, especially music with
lyrics, is not easy but it is important to
consider the following aspects before you
get started…
Style – what genre of music do I want to
compose in? This will lend great weight in
choosing instrumentation, tempo, feel etc.
Influences – are you aiming to emulate a
particular songwriter / artists / singer
Mood – emotion is a strong factor on
developing songs (anger / love / hate)
3. Creating and Writing Melodies
A few things to consider when writing a
melody:
Memorability is key to creating an effective
melody – it needs short phrases, repeated and
developed to maintain interest
Rhythm is very important – look at the number
of syllables in relation to the rhythm of the notes
– don’t try to cram phrases in and consider the
diction of the words to enable them to be
heard
Melodic movement needs to be interesting. Its
very easy to fall into the trap of step
movements so look at using combinations of
step movements, jumps as well as arpeggio
movements within chords
4. A few other things to consider:
Popular melodic notes are 3rds / 6ths / 7ths – these
are good starting points and often sound much
more harmonious
Root and 5th notes tend to sound far less interesting
and often very predictable
Experiment with:
non-harmony notes (notes outside of the harmony)
passing notes (non-harmony notes sandwiched
between two harmony notes)
suspended harmony (replacing 3rds with 2nds or 4ths
– this will need to be replicated in the harmony)
Chromatic / Blue notes can surprise the listener!
5. Melodic development…
Repetition – repeated phrases with subtle development
and changes can aid the memorability of a melody line
Imitation – a exact repetition of a phrase in a different
voice or at a different pitch / octave
Patterns and Shapes – repeated use of a specific interval,
melodic shape or arpeggio can be effective
Melodic decoration:
Appogiatura – a non-harmony note leaning on the harmony note,
it takes typically half the value and becomes the strong beat
Acciaccatura – a grace note / crushed note that pre-empts
(played quickly before) the strong beat
Mordent – plays the main note, either the note above or below,
then the note again very quickly
Turn – plays the note above, the main note, note below and back
to the main note very quickly
