Melody

[Guest stripey]

Ok this may sound stupid but I don't know any better. If you have a string/pad type sound going on with a chord progression, to write a melody, would you use the component notes from each chord to construct the melody, and switch as the chord used in the pad changes?

For example:

Am7 - D7 - Dmaj7 - Cmaj7 (i'm sure you will recognise that)

while the Am7 is playing, would the melody be made from notes that make up the Am7 chord? and so on with the other chords?

Is this the wrong way to look at writing stuff? i.e to write the chord progression with the pad first, then build the melody on top of it? I dont have a clue!

[Frosty Jack]

Um, well, kinda, but not really...

Think of the melody as a line that flows above the chords, but is anchored by notes from the chords at certain points.

e.g. While the Am chord is playing, your melody doesn't have to use only A, C or E, but having one of them in there somewhere sounds good. Then when the chord changes to D7, you should try and have a D, F#, A or C in it somewhere. As long as your melody is in the same key as the whole piece you can use whatever notes best express the feeling you want.

But really, if you sit and try and work out what can go where, you'll probably never get a decent melody at all. It should just flow naturally without worrying about the rules. If it sounds right, then it is right.

Try coming up with a melody first, then fitting the underlying chords to it, instead of the other way round.

[soundian]

Originally posted by Frosty Jack

Um, well, kinda, but not really...

Think of the melody as a line that flows above the chords, but is anchored by notes from the chords at certain points.

e.g. While the Am chord is playing, your melody doesn't have to use only A, C or E, but having one of them in there somewhere sounds good. Then when the chord changes to D7, you should try and have a D, F#, A or C in it somewhere. As long as your melody is in the same key as the whole piece you can use whatever notes best express the feeling you want.

But really, if you sit and try and work out what can go where, you'll probably never get a decent melody at all. It should just flow naturally without worrying about the rules. If it sounds right, then it is right.

Try coming up with a melody first, then fitting the underlying chords to it, instead of the other way round.

Words of wisdom.

The best melodies are always the ones that stick in your head for days (or weeks). I think being a musician at least means you have the ability to transform what's in your head into music. It's probably the major difference between a 'musician' and 'someone who can play a bit'.

[Guest stripey]

Originally posted by soundian

Words of wisdom.

The best melodies are always the ones that stick in your head for days (or weeks). I think being a musician at least means you have the ability to transform what's in your head into music. It's probably the major difference between a 'musician' and 'someone who can play a bit'.

I agree totally, I'm tryin to bring a bit of method to the madness though so to speak - i wanna learn about intervals and chord progressions so I can go beyond hitting random keys, and actually realise whats in my head. Learning the rules before u break em and whatnot, the theory is all a bit bewildering to me at the moment. Thanks frosty_jack.

[Dan G]

In agreement with frosty jack here.

My advice would be to find out the overall key/scale of the chord progression you are working in (one way to do this is to write out all the separate notes used in ALL the chords in the progression, and reference which notes are common in all the chords, and which notes are less common within chords, then you can figure out which are the main notes to bass your melody round). From this you can figure out what the 'right' notes you can use are. For example:

In the chord progression Am7 > D7 > Dmaj7 > Cmaj7

A common scale that you would use would be the natural A minor, which conveniently is comprised of the notes A B C D E F and G. Assuming you are using a keyboard you don't have to use a single sharp, which is handy. You can then figure out what sounds good, in the knowledge that non of the notes will sound particularly 'wrong'. (the common notes in the A minor scale used over your chord progression would be A, C and E, with D and G being strong linking notes and B being a good 'passing' note). Watch out for the C# note in the Dmaj7 chord and try not to use an F note over either of the D chords. (sorry if it sounds like i'm telling you what to do, I find it quite hard to explain this stuff)

However this is only the very basics of what you can do - you could use the A dorian scale for example, which instead of having an F (the 6th degree of A minor), it has an F#.

This would add a more 'bluesy feel' rather than a sad/melancholic feel due to having what is now a major 6th, as opposed to a minor 6th.

This will work, but you should be careful where to use the F# note (you should use it over the D7 and Dmaj7 chords), because an F# note may clash and sound dissonant with the C note that is used in the Am7 and Cmaj7 chords.

Sounds complicated I know....

If you play what sounds right however, as Frosty Jack said, it IS right. And music should sound good rather be like a quantum phyiscs equation.

(although I do take great pride in being able to understand how music can 'work')

Hope that helps.

[Guest neil ex]

personally i would never sit down and write out which notes would fit over a chord progression and then choose them out to get the 'perfect' melody or whatever

you could pick the 'correct' notes and have a shit and boring melody

you should just try sing/play something over the chords and you'll know if something sounds good

i don't see how writing out which notes would help you all that much anyway, you still have to write something interesting

if you need to write out which notes would fit, then i don't see how you would be able to come up with anything good unless by chance

[Guest stripey]

Originally posted by neil ex

personally i would never sit down and write out which notes would fit over a chord progression and then choose them out to get the 'perfect' melody or whatever

you could pick the 'correct' notes and have a shit and boring melody

you should just try sing/play something over the chords and you'll know if something sounds good

i don't see how writing out which notes would help you all that much anyway, you still have to write something interesting

if you need to write out which notes would fit, then i don't see how you would be able to come up with anything good unless by chance

Well think of it from my position - i dunno nothing about any chords etc - I am learning the basics so that when I do sit down and play, I can be a little more informed than just randomly hitting keys and chords in the hope of getting what i want....

[Guest neil ex]

Originally posted by stripey

Well think of it from my position - i dunno nothing about any chords etc - I am learning the basics so that when I do sit down and play, I can be a little more informed than just randomly hitting keys and chords in the hope of getting what i want....

you don't need to know anything about chords to write a good melody.....

you could work out which notes fit or not, but by knowing which notes fit doesn't really help you in writing a good melody, you have to use your ear to do that

all it will do is give you a guideline that's all, so that all the notes are correct and fit

[Guest]

Originally posted by neil ex

personally i would never sit down and write out which notes would fit over a chord progression and then choose them out to get the 'perfect' melody or whatever

you could pick the 'correct' notes and have a shit and boring melody

you should just try sing/play something over the chords and you'll know if something sounds good

i don't see how writing out which notes would help you all that much anyway, you still have to write something interesting

if you need to write out which notes would fit, then i don't see how you would be able to come up with anything good unless by chance

I'm holding my vote here.... mainly because I haven't studied the theory side of music...

I'm probably the most hellish person to write music with, at practise last week, I had to sing the lyrics, and said "I want a creepy bassline" and strangely the bassist managed to create something, then guitars were layered over, and through finding out what notes everyone was playing we then stuck in synths.

I get tunes stuck in my head, it just sucks that I can't convey them well to other people.

So consider yourself lucky Stripey, you know what notes are what... the theory world is a blur to me.

[Dan G]

Originally posted by neil ex

you don't need to know anything about chords to write a good melody.....

you could work out which notes fit or not, but by knowing which notes fit doesn't really help you in writing a good melody, you have to use your ear to do that

all it will do is give you a guideline that's all, so that all the notes are correct and fit

Not just that, it helps you UNDERSTAND why what you play sounds good.

Trust me.

I didn't know theory - now I do. The difference in some of the melodies and chords I come up with now is infintely superior than ever before, because I understand.

If you do stuff by ear, it is possible to write as good a melody than by knowing theory. However you won't know why.

Do you know why the notes F, C and E (which when played together form an Fmaj7) sound so good when played over an A#sus2 chord?

Sounds like a complete waffle I know, but trust me, when you do know it is damn helpful.

For an example in great melody everyone should check out the 'finelines' album by My Vitriol.

[Cammy]

Originally posted by Dan Atom

For an example in great melody everyone should check out the 'finelines' album by My Vitriol.

Shit, i thought I was the only person who actually likes My Vitriol! Yeah, cool melodies, and nice ethereal chords too.