the rule of melody writing

istyle

New member
i wanna give advice to those newcomers at my site who wanna start writing melody
but i forgot them i think it has 3 ?of melody movement
one is scalewise
two is arpegiowise
then three?
i can't remember maybe it's intervallicwise?
anyone?thnx
 
Hey don't be so mean Krystof01 (although, it was quite funny in a cruel way) remember... different languages.. not everyone speaks english fluently (and I have been drinking)

Istyle, I'm not really sure. Writing melody revolves around so many things. It could be a solo melody, or a melody that goes over top of a chord progression. I'm sure there is a relation there, but why think about it? How can you come up with a 3 variable formula?

I don't think it's possible to explain to anyone *how* to write a melody. Anyone can write a 'melody', whether it's a 'pleasing' melody is cultural dependent, per-person dependent and a dozen other reasons. I find microtonal music somewhat annoying. The odd time I hear something that is acceptable, but most of it is just.. grating. East Indian music for example, it all sounds the same to me, but to people who appreciate it, I'm sure it ROCKS! Rap all sounds the same to me, but again.. someone likes it!

Maybe #3 is microtonal. But I doubt it. Intervalic, maybe.

I prefer dissonance. Constructive dissonance rocks.

A sine wave could be considered a melody(to someone, an alien perhaps). I don't know.



BTW, a good example of a song with 0 melody is Maria Carrie(sp? who cares) I can't for the life of me, figure out what is the point of that song. Wish I could remember the name of it... it's really bad, no melody, no background chord progressions..... WILD! Someone appreciates it though I'm sure.
 
Simplicity

I think the catchiest (not neccissarily the best) melodies are melodies that don't change up or down more than two or three notes at a time in the relavant scale, while the underlying chord changes, change the sound of the note (because it is then a different interval) making it sound complex.

Does that make sense ?

Probably not.

pAp.
 
What do I know about melody? Probably nothing. But to me melody is the creative thing that I give praise and thanks for, the courage to create that is, to the great muse goddess. All that other stuff sounds like the study of harmony and cadence if your into music theory, which really comes into play in devolping melody and orchestration. But melody to me belongs to creativity, and how do you define that?

The last time I had a good idea I think I ran into something with my head, so consider the source.:D
 
To a degree; all the best melodies have been taken (though many would disagree). The simplest are usuaully the best and the beatles are the greatest example IN MY OPINION of simple melodies, they last and will last. Try and get hold of music and study it yourself and don't buy books that tell you how to write fantastic melodies. I don't think you can be taught, you have to teach yourself (again many would disagree).
 
RULES??

While there may be 3 possible moves (step,chordal and leading or passing,the last one either going to a new chord or key and which must be resolved) These are according to traditional usage.
In fact there is only one "rule" and that is that there are no rules.
If the melody supports the lyric,then it's OK. If you likeit then it's OK. Write-on Chazba
 
If you consider melody and the mathematics of its structure, insert it into any given computer number genrator program, I would think that all of the melody possibilities have been written.
The age of electronica is upon us and has already passed in that respect. I think all of the classical composers had it easy, when it came to the opportunity for orginal creativty. They also got to make up all of these rules. I think someone had to much time on their hands back then.

I guess there are no rules to melody. It must become the creative expression of melody, espically when it comes to the many timberal nuances of the human voice. I would also have to agree that simple is best, with no more than a 2 to 4 note movement in pitch. Because what I think makes melody great in any piece is when the vast majority of none musicians can remeber and recreate the original work. This give someone's work longivety and eternal life.

People can be really cruel in their critiques of someone's work. I know that I have been when it come to the visual arts. But what I know and believe is that the gift of creativity, no matter how humble the circumstance, is a gift to each of us and we should be protective of that. The consequences of not being are usually destructive, and I cann't count the times I've heard "I hated it" or some variation on that theme of songs that have gone on to be hits.
 
And you also have to remember that classical composers didn't really hear eachother. It's not like they had that level of communication; you woulld have had to go to see someone to hear them. This means far easier writing. When I'm playing the guitar/any instrument you get drawn to what's right to the ear, it sounds right if it's recognisable usually. What this means in practice is that you are already copying soemthing you've heard.

How many times does that happen. YOu think you've got something good, then you think hold on a minute. Increase the tempo a little, play it through again..........oh that's the beatles.....oh that's the stones............zeppelin etc etc.
 
Melody is simplicity. Listen to Chopin. Listen to Mozart.
After all the notes, after all the chords, there is simple, beautiful melody.
 
This might seem out of left field to some, but here goes anyway. (This might be best as a new thread) Have any of you heard of Einstien's "unified field theroy"?
This is a very short math equation intended to define creation, creativity, etc. I am not a physics or math major so correct me if I have misquoted this. But current work on this presents this theroy as a musical string with notes or sound vibration along its length being the access portol for all dimensions, first, second, third, etc., and the answer to all creation, ie creativity, god, etc...

This is something my little mind was working on sometime back, but not because of the "unified field theroy." Probably most musicians have had the same idea in some form or another.

Since we were discussing melody and I wanted to talk about creative expression of melody adding this to the mix might be interesting.

Such is the stuff of dreams..........................:)
 
istyle

istyle has cast his thougt upon the water and now gathers his reward and i'm grateful for it.

But, I was serious about my question of the "unified field theory," and its corelation with music. It really is what is proposed by leading physicists, as being the portal to suspected alter dimensions or states of reality, etc....

Do you think it would maybe make a good question on its own maybe? Or maybe most people would just think I've been smelling my shorts for to long and have already passed on into that altered state and just need to be quite until I come back to this dimension? :eek:

But such is the stuff of dreams and creativity..............:confused:
 
many of the really catchy songs derive their melodies from pentatonic scales, often containing no more than 3-4 different notes.
maybe because the pentatonic scales are most easy to sing for the listener, and tunes using them are most easy to be remembered.

I also think that melody writing cannot be learned. what can be trained is the judging of a self written melody: is it boring crap, or is it really good....

maybe it's true that today it is more difficult to come up with new tunes than it was 30 years ago, but I think that the variety of words and ways of verbal expressions (and be it just the "uh" in "uh baby I love your way") will always lead us to new songwriting grounds...

good luck on your journeys
:)
 
Very interesting notion, Ozlee. Now, I'm no physicist either, but comparing the creation of melody with the creation of the universe appeals to me.

As I understand it, current "string theory" supposes that these "vibrating strings" are the basic component to all that exists. These are not like shoestrings or other three dimensional strings and they never exist in a static state. You can't take a picture of them. They "unify" matter and energy and all the other stuff the theoretical physicists talk about.

A melody is also something you can't hold in your hand. It exists in time. It has physical components and a metaphysical quality that makes it unique even though the same note progressions have been used before.

Songwriters sometimes say that they don't create a song, rather, they discover it.
 
HMMMMMM?!?!

What a neat idea, tying the Unified field theory to music. I have to go retro and say OH WOW!!! Much human progress has been made through connecting ideas that weren't previously connected. The idea that atoms with different rates of "wobble"
would have to be in another reality from ours is kinda like playing a song in a different key. Ever notice that when you try a song
in a different key the feel (reality?) can change? Maybe changing the key is
another way of getting unstuck!! Things that make you go HMMMMM
write on...chazba
 
rules of melody writing.

The real reason for my bringing up this idea of the "unified field theory," was to hopefully break new ground. Since what ever the rules are, keeping that creative juice flowing is really what it is all about for me.

Can you imagine composing a melody that unlocks other dimensions, other realities. I am not so jealous of the classical masters for bieng the first to use the musical palete when I consider this possibility.

But to get back to the rules of melody. I think what was first asked has to do with harmony. Cadence may be more of guiding rule to melody, but I don't like to think "inside the box" until after I have had the blessings of the muse of creativity. Then I think the guide lines of harmony come into the mix, which is what I think the question really was. But if there are any rules in writing melody I would think it would go like this, melody, rythm, and then harmony.
I would use just about everything that has been said, so far, as a guide for developing a melody.

I apologize for straying from the question. But since it seems like some of us felt that all of the good melodies had been used, I thought I'd try and open another door and see what was on the other side.

But the idea of a melody that would unlock the universe!, just gets me going.

Keep the faith :cool:
 
Back
Top