Deja vu?

[CloveWC]

When I write songs I always first think of a melody. Next, I decide what exactly I'm writing about. For me, the lyrics form rather easily around this topic that I had chosen to fit in with the melody.

My problem is the fact that I never know if I'm coming up with my own melody or if it is simply one I've heard from another song. I like a wide variety of music and never know if I'm just copying from one of the many songs I've heard. In the effort to avoid extreme embarassment from showing somebody a song that I thought was mine but was really someone elses with new lyrics I haven't asked my friends about it. How can I know whether my work is original or not? Is there any way to be sure of avoiding melody stealing?

~Clove

 

[Sonic Misfit]

That is a fear that everyone who writes songs has at one time or another. The best way is to join a songwriting group who will listen to you songs and give constuctive feedback. Some of the feedback would be whether the melody is familiar.

Another way is to record your songs and post them in the MP3 clinic. Someone will let you know if you accidentally copied some other melody.

 

[dragonworks]

there is nothing new under the sun
every melody i ever wrote i stole
dont worry about it

 

[jonhall5446]

yeah,
there are only so may notes out there and only so many that sound good together. Also, there are only so many combinations of words so don't beat yourself up over one liners either.