5 More Tips for Writing A Better Melody

This post we are going to get into some less heard of techniques for developing a melody. I have adapted the following techniques from a discipline of melodic writing called counterpoint. These definitions have other meanings to true counterpoint devotees, but I find they help suit my purposes, so I like to use them.

1. Try using Retrograde motion - So let's say you have half of a melody. Maybe you only have two measures. You want to do something else, but you're not sure what to do. Maybe just flip it backwards and play it in the opposite direction.

2. Try using Contrary motion - A variation on the above is what I like to call contrary motion where as retrograde motion is the reverse of a melodic piece, I like to think of contrary as the mirror image of what you originally wrote. So if the piece goes up, you bring it back down, if it goes down you bring it back up. If you write a line that goes up a third and then plays that note three times. Repeat it by going back to the original note, then going down a third and repeating it three times.

3. Oblique Motion - Oblique motion requires another melody line that you are working against. Perhaps it's the guitar line, or the piano line, but basically while the one line remains mono-tonal (that dreaded word from last post), the other melody will rise or fall against it. This works great with harmony lines of a song.

4. Melodic Doubling - A similar but different technique is to double what another instrument is playing. So if the guitar has a really cool riff, then sing the riff with lyrics over it. Maybe stack up a few instruments playing the same riff and it becomes a really ear catching section of the song.

5. Use Chords to Derive Your Melody - Chords can be used to help you out of a jam. If you are playing a progression that you've written, and you start to decorate up your chords with sus2's and sus4's and 7ths and other interesting ways to doctor up the chords, you can add some of those chord voicings to your melody as well.

Bonus:

6. Hooks - Instead of just concentrating on writing one major hook for the chorus, take the time and craft hooks for each section of the song. If you listen to a song like "Bohemian Rhapsody," every part of the song if taken on it's own, could have been the hook of a song. It's a cool way of approaching your songwriting, and it makes your song strong on every single part.  

If you found these tips helpful, you can find out more about songwriting tips and tricks in my new book: "Lyrics and Music: Music Theory for Aspiring Songwriters" available now at Amazon.com, or with several additional Appendices at Barnes and Noble..

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lyrics-music-willy-minnix/1131960011?ean=9781987082982
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lyrics-music-willy-minnix/1131960011;jsessionid=6F73A94CC7BEF9C130CFFEF90E7B8008.prodny_store01-atgap06?ean=9781987082869
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1097464636
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5 Tips for Writing A Better Melody

In the spirit of continuation of our series on songwriting, we need to now turn our attention to how to write better melodies. In this article I will give you five tips on how to make your melodies a little better.

1. Falling Melodies Tend To Remain Popular - When you examine the vast history of popular music from the dawn of the recording age until today, and even when you include popular classical and romantic melodies that have remained popular throughout the years, you will find that melodies that fall (in other words melodies that start high and drop low) tend to get more attention. If you seem to have melodies that are static, or do the opposite (start low and end high) then give the opposite a try and see how it works for you.

2. Mono-tonal Melodies Must DIE!!!!! - Ok, so maybe I'm a bit dramatic here, but I am so sick of rap type melodies in pop songs. They have four to eight bars to impress me, but instead they just blast off a rap style melody and then launch into the "hook." Well, I for one refuse to stick around for the hook, because I HATE mono-tonal melodies. Take the time to actually write a song, not just a catchy chorus, hint hint Taylor Swift, your early stuff was so much better than the crap you've been peddling lately. I digress. Mono-tonal melodies are all the rage these days, but they are really a waste of talent, and my thinking is that there are very few, if any, of these songs will actually stick around past the fad age where they live.

3. Learn How To Develop A Melody - So what do you do if you don't want a mono-tonal melody? You learn how to develop a melody. There are a lot of motions that you can try to make your melody more interesting. Read on and find out about a couple of them.

4. Try Ascending Motion - So if you are stuck and you want your melody to go somewhere, try writing an ascending passage. Ascending melodies rise from a lower pitch. They don't have to rise dramatically or jump up to a high note, they can take their time and gradually get there, but they rise none the less.

5. Try Descending Motion - Well, what if your melody is already up in the rafters? Try doing the opposite. You don't have to keep the melody all the way up there, bring it down and let it drop in pitch. It could also drop in volume and make some dynamic change while you're at it.

So that's it for this post. Check out the next post where we will continue this exciting topic! And if you found these tips helpful, you can find out more about songwriting tips and tricks in my new book: "Lyrics and Music: Music Theory for Aspiring Songwriters" available now at Amazon.com, or with several additional Appendices at Barnes and Noble..

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lyrics-music-willy-minnix/1131960011?ean=9781987082982
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lyrics-music-willy-minnix/1131960011;jsessionid=6F73A94CC7BEF9C130CFFEF90E7B8008.prodny_store01-atgap06?ean=9781987082869
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1097464636
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RM9KZJY