Instruments playing the melody

[nave]

How you guys feel about an instrument , say piano guitar or strings etc etc playing the melody line in a song as opposed to outright soloing............


My opinion is that for me, it can be great sometimes...Especially since I'm influenced by alot of folk type melodies where this is common place..........however, my music is more rock then it is folk and I'm beginning to think that I do this a little too much and that it becomes over kill........Maybe I should try just putting a little bit of the melody into a solo without outright actually playing the melody as a solo.....or at least do that more often....


Anyhow,......I'm basically just thinking out loud here....if you have any input, opinions or ideas then please dothrow them out there....

[theron]

I think, on git solos ecspecially, that using the melody as a "home base" and coming back to it often is a great way to maintain the feel of a song and to add intelligence to your solo phrasing. It is a "can't go wrong" formula.

Theron.

[Henri Devill]

I agree with Theron that melody in a solo is a can't miss..Also a secondary melody{counter melody} can be really nice as a "solo"..Kinda a bridge mentality..I could be wrong but I think that the guitarist from Journey used that approch..Most cool solos can be hummed so there is a lot of melody involved,counter or direct melody..But sometimes wanking works too mostly for attitude/agression..LOL..Depends on the tune and style ..Interesting topic

Don

[nave]

theron, I know what you mean by saying it's a can't go wrong formula but I think that's part of my problem with it....It's as if it's too damn predictable sometimes.....My problem is that my first inclination is usually to play the melody with an instrument everytime on nearly every song I write .....I do that because I love when an instrument plays the melody.........Initially I want to do it on every song I make but that just gets freakin boring.....I've got all these songs and I just don't want to use that same old formula for all of them.....I've never heard an album in my life that relies on one thing every song......welp, on second thought maybe I have....but you know what I mean....I need some more variety to make it more interesting....


hmmm........I think I need to start colaborating more often again...


and henri devil .....I'm not really into wailing out in that aggresive cathartic manner..........Although, I think it is more interesting if the chord progression and/or tempo and time signature change when you're wailing out like that......At least for me anyway...


I do like the idea of adding alternative melodies.....When you say that the journey dude does that...........Is it a completely different melody he plays over a different chord progression as a solo???I mean it's not just a complimentary harmony type thing to the original "melody" right????

[Henri Devill]

Same chords diff. melody..Not really a big fan of theirs but I seem to remember that the solos would be a separate melody..Try doing something like Harmonica players do{Crossin keys}..Go to the reletive Maj. for exam. to get your melodic juices flowin..Const. the new melody from there..It will keep you off the other melody..It also gives you a cool harmonic varience because your tensions will change from the straight and counter melodys.Works for me sometimes when Im stuck..Good luck

Don

[nave]

Cross harp eh????


dunno why but I hadn't even thought bout that.....That's a good idea.....I'll start with that and see what else I can do...



Thanks....

[theron]

Nave,
What I should have emphasized more was the "use the melody as a home base" part. Use the melody to have a safe and proven return point within the solo. Start with what you've done (i.e. played the melody) and venture out from that. If you're not a shredder, this is perfect because as soon as you leave the melody and do something a little different, you know you can go home (home=the melody) so, you're not lost and still sound in control of the solo. It is a safe haven. In the context of the solo, you can rush out, add something different (via Don's suggestions perhaps) and always know that you won't get lost cause you can return to the melody.

Hope this clarifies a bit.

Theron

[Peter D]

I'm afraid that I'm pretty well bound to melody for solos because I'm so bad at improvising. I have to admit though, that sometimes when I listen to a someone else's song I find myself wondering why they had some atrocious solo break instead of sticking to the melody. Sometimes it seems the solo breaks are more for showing the expertise of the player rather than contributing to the substance of the song. Lately I've been using a lot of mandolin for solos sticking pretty close to the melody.

[gmiller1122]

In my college band, I used to just improvise for a guitar solo -- sometimes, it sounded cool...other times, just stupid. At the time, I had only been playing a few years.

But, in doing cover songs, I had to learn well-known leads (like the Cars' "Just what I needed"). As a whole, this made me consider the melody being integral for a decent solo, w/improvisation when necessary/beneficial.

The BIG thing this taught me was how dull my melodies were -- following them in a git solo was SO boring. So, working in reverse, I try to build a melody w/the guitar and my voice at the same time. If the melody sounds flat, I'll play around w/ it on the git. If a guitar riff sounds cool, I'll try applying it to the lyrics.

Has it worked? I'm not sure!

But it has certainly made the process more enjoyable.

g

[tommyp]

The thing with solos, IMO, is that they need a purpose. I really hate the standard "time for a solo" thing. Why bother with it if it does nothing? Songwriting convention??

From that point of view, tho, if a solo has a point then it will be good, whether it is just the melody repeated, or a big wanky guitar stad-rock thing.

Actually, no, I take that back - big wanky stad-rock is never a good thing

On a tangent - does anyone else think its cool when a 'solo' instrument plays the melody along with the vocalist?

[JMarcomb]

I think that its important to remember that you should use everything you have learned when constructing a song or solo... try to visualize what your trying to say in a song. Seems complicated, but with practice you get good. Every little dynamic change in a note can mean something else... so your palette is huge. During your day think of melodies and countermelodies in your head and play them in your head until you have the framework of your song.
Use the Beatles for example .. their music is extremly attractive because of the use great rythm lines and hooks. Add that to your equation and you have music that is pleasing as a whole. Everyone(the majority) can relate to a song better that sticks to the fundumental magic of music. When people try to create under a microscope the music lost its magic.