The vocal melody

[Bulls Hit]

Have mercy on the newb here (hope this is the right forum), but I'm interested in how you guys come up with the vocal melody for your songs.

I have 'composed' a few original songs. I don't have too much trouble coming up with riffs or rythyms, but I'm totally stumped as to how the vocal melody should be constructed over the top.

I realize there's no silver bullet, but is there a sequence of events that need to occur? Do the lyrics come first, then the melody or what? Is there some secret to this? Where do your melodies come from?

 

[WATYF]

No. There is no perfect formula. If there was, it would have already been packaged and sold on eBay to the highest bidder.

Seriously though, there really isn't a sequence that I know of that will "help" anyone to write better melodies. Every song writer I know does it different... Heck, even I do it different from one song to the next.

Sometimes it's all lyrics and then chords and some melody. Sometimes it's just a melody, then the lyrics and chords. Sometimes it's chords then a melody and lyrics to fit it.


A lot of times, I'll have the chords/lyrics ahead of time, so I'll just try out different types of melodies to see which one fits best. It's usually a process of trial-and-error. Just play around with the verse or chorus while trying out different melodies until something sticks.


WATYF

 

[badgas]

One thing I try to keep in mind, and experiement with, is while changing chords, have the melody aiming for a note in the next chord.
By doing this and shifting the notes around within the scale your playing in, you should come up with some thing.

But, as always, there is a exception.
The note in the melody, doesn't have to be within the chordal formation of the next chord. That's what makes music so versitle.

I guess I'm back where I started, huh?

Just try to make the meldoy flow with the chords. If there is a bump in the melody/chord formation, try changing a chord, like from D to D9, or Gm to a Gm7.

It's not easy to write a song. Fact is it can be quite frustrating. But knowing where your headed and then using the sounds of melody and chords to get you there helps.

 

[voxjockey]

Yep, no hard and fast rules. It's just a question of what works in the overall scheme of things. I've written many songs where the lyrics came first, but only because I spend a lot of time on the road with my job. I can sit in the motel and write lyrics, but I don't necessarily have an instrument with me to work on melody, etc. That being said, when I write lyrics a "working melody" forms along with it in my head. I may or may not ultimately use it (sometimes it's from another song), but it helps me keep my meter straight. I've yet to write a song that started purely from the melody although I'm hoping to do that someday.

The best bet is what has already been mentioned....try a bunch of stuff and don't stop until you find something that works.

 

[studioviols]

There is of course ... no 'one' way to 'do it'.

You can become familiar to 'what is available' to the melody, and what is 'not available' for the melody. And then of course you can break that rule to great effect ... but I press on.

Sing the notes of the chord as you play the progression. Become familiar with the notes, the tones, that make up the chord. Often, you can get a very 'agreeable' melody for your lyircs this way.

Just sing with oooo, ahhhhs, uhhhhs, whatever is appropriate and expedient.

After you are really familiar with what 'is available' the melody will probably just pop right into your head and then it's all over .

Becoming familiar with what seems to be 'not available for the melody', those tones that are 'dissonanat' to the currently voiced chord, is great for building color in a melody.

When a chord is sounding and the melody is singing a note that belongs to the chord, we are in agreement. But we can choose a note to sing in the melody which is not in the chord and we can say that note 'passes through' the chord, it become a 'passing tone' and there are a handful of clearly defined passing tones.

A note that sounds with the chord and is a note in the chord, (the note E within the CEG chord), that then changes to a note that is not in the chord BEFORE the chord finishes sounding becomes dissonant and passes through the chord, for example the no F while the CEG chord is playing, that note can even be prolonged to make it a suspension, and it can pass through the chord.

So how do you know when it's appropriate to sing a note IN the chord, or sing a note that is DISSONANT to the chord. Your ear will know, or your 'heart' will know. But your Earbrain needs to be familiar with the 'pitch collection' and what pitches belong to the chord sounding, and which do not.

So, sing the notes of the chord from the root to the fifth, or ninth or whatever and sing them triadically. If the chord sounding is a C chord, sing CEG repeatedly while the chord is sounding.

Do this for several breath cycles or measures, next sing DFA while the CEG chord is sounding ... and the next day, your brain will have created a matrix for that song with affinity values for the notes, and those affinity values for those notes will attach to the words, over time, to create a melody for you.

It's all very organic, and there are methods like this to create melodies, but after a while you build a huge matrix of affinities for your voice type, your style in prose as well as progression, and all the other variables and you begin to create melodies spontaneously.

 

[Bulls Hit]

Hey thanks all for the great replies.

After you are really familiar with what 'is available' the melody will probably just pop right into your head and then it's all over .

Haha that's the bit I'm waiting for.

You know, it never occurred to me to try the notes in the chords. It seems so obvious now. At last I've got a starting point.

Thanks again!

 

[Porter]

I just finished reading Jimmy Webb's book 'Tunesmith'.

There is no simple formula! The way to look at it (this is both mine and Jimmy's guide), you can either come up with a chord progression first and sit the melody on that, or you could come up with a melody line and fit the chords under it. Not always but some/most of the time, the melody will use notes of the chords and as other's have suggested 'step's' leading to the next chord. Another thing to think of are the actual lyrcs, when you come up to say soaring, make it soar.. ie take it up etc.

Just a couple of thoughts.

Porter

 

[Benreturns]

I think Keith Richards puts it best...

There are 12 notes. Unlimited possiblities, endless equations of rythem (how do you spell that anyway) + tempo + harmony + words + arrangments and of course melody.

A natural songwriter has a sattalite dish on their head. They are constantly tuned in to everything and everything, and anything can serve as inspiration. If something comes along the airways a natural songwriter can tune into it and nail it down into a song.

You can do it through hard labour too, but thats a case of education and effort. No way particulary yeilds better results, but theres something about playing my guitar along to anything and suddenly before i know it i have a words and melody going round my brain.I hardly know im thinking it myself until i get that 'nail it!' feeling. That moments better than anything. Sex? nah.

 

[Layla Nahar]

but I'm totally stumped as to how the vocal melody should be constructed over the top.
Is there some secret to this? Where do your melodies come from?

This is probably not the answer yo want, and I don't mean to be a wize-ass, but

Lots of experimentation
keep working working working
keep writing, singing, refecting.
don't expect miracles
do expect results

in other words, there is no magic bullit, just persitance in the face of your own percieved inabilites.

only the woodshed really brings progress

layla

 

[Bulls Hit]

Re: Re: The vocal melody

only the woodshed really brings progress

layla

Hmmm. Thanks. You know I've been meaning to get one of those. There's a lot to be said for a good woodshed

 

[ron82]

bulls hit: thanks for posting that question
i'm having the hardest time on the vocal melodies..

everyone else: thanks for the replies, some really helpful stuff has been mentioned

 

[dragonworks]

Record the Rhythum track and Play a Nice Slow in the Groove Lick to the Rythum and let if flow until you find somethin you can feel then write the lyric??? If you get stumped with syntax try saying the same thing in a different way to achieve what you ar striving for lyricly????