Book · Music
Beginner to Composer in 14 Days · Digital edition
Ch-ch-ch-check Out My Melody
Day 13
Creating your melody
This is the moment you’ve been waiting for. It’s finally time to create the melody for your composition. You already have the rhythm. All that’s left to do is settle upon the right notes.
Building blocks of melodies
There are two important things to bear in mind when creating a melody. Firstly, just know that any note within the key has the potential to work in your melody. Chord tones always sound good, but other notes can work too. Experiment with all of the notes of your key over every chord. Focus on the chord tones to anchor your melody, then pepper in other notes around them.
The second thing to consider is that your melody will flow better if it moves mostly in small steps, as opposed to jumping large distances across the keys - large intervals as we call them in music. Don’t get me wrong, a few large intervals can sound great, but for the most part try to create a melody that steps rather than hops. A good way to test if you’re on the right track is to hum your melody. If it’s too difficult to hum it’s probably because your melody jumps around too much.
The final thing to say here, is that while theoretical principles are super useful, don’t be afraid to use your ear. If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re a music lover who’s listened to hundreds - if not thousands - of records over the years, which is as vital a part of your musical education as reading any book. If you hear a melody in your head that you think might sound nice, try it out, even if it means changing your rhythmic phrase, often compositions begin one way, and then transform as they progress. Or you might find that it already adheres pretty closely to the principles above.
- Have fun creating your melody for both your A and B sections. Don’t worry about getting it perfect right from the off. Many hit tunes started life as happy accidents.
Time to choose: If you’re unsure how to choose your melody notes you can simply choose at random from the notes that belong to your chord, writing them on your worksheet above the rhythmic values.
- Add ties to your melody if you wish.
When you’ve settled on the notes of your melody, add them to your worksheet. Play through your composition in the ABA structure. Is it interesting? Does it flow? Make any adjustments that are needed. Ta-da! Your melody is set.
- Play your melody (RH only).
- Play your melody along with the LH chords, make sure that you keep to the inversions and patterns that you’ve set.
- Play your song in the ABA format: that’s once through the A section, once through the B section, and finish with the A section one last time.
- In Day Six you learnt how the Beatles extended their songs by repeating sections. Try repeating different sections of your composition e.g. AABBAA, to see what sounds most satisfying to you. Make a note of what works for you.
- Try slowing down as you near the end to signal to the listener things are about to wrap up.
The final flourish
When you reach the finish line play the root note of your key with both hands, at the far ends of the piano e.g. a low C and a high C. Notice how a finishing ‘flourish’ such as this can help make your piece sound more complete.
Congratulations. You have now created all the ingredients of a bona fide original composition, and captured them in your worksheet. You’ve come such a long way.