Getting a Grip on Song Melodies

If you’ve learned one thing as a songwriter, it’s that song melodies change as a song progresses. What often passes as a good verse melody won’t necessarily do the trick for a chorus melody.

If writing melodies has been the part of your technique that needs the most help, it might be best to stop what you’re doing, take a breath, and then do a bit of reading.

“The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBook Bundle (plus a FREE copy of “Creative Chord Progressions”) is written by Gary Ewer, designed to straighten out your technique and get you writing better songs.

I’ve written hundreds of posts that deal with song melodies: how they work, what an audience is expecting, and how to make them memorable and singable. Here’s a list of five posts I’ve written over the past year that can help you deal with whatever frustrations you may be going through right now.

(Each link opens in a new browser window or tab)

1. Using Chords to Get Song Melody Ideas. Like a good set of chords, good melodies need a sense of purpose and direction.
2. Can The Shape of a Song Melody Affect the Mood of a Song? Try these steps for isolating your song melody to see what kind of mood it’s really conveying.
3. What Makes a Melody Resonate With an Audience? Repetition, along with a carefully-placed climactic moment, allows melodies to make a strong connection to listeners.
4. It’s Always Been About Melody. I still believe that melody is the most important aspect of any good song, and it’s always been that way.
5. Using Strong Beats to Help Add Chords to a Melody. If you can tap your foot, you can add chords to a melody line. Here’s how.

And if you haven’t ever tried writing a song by starting with the melody, you really should try it. You’ll find that one of the benefits of this approach, ironically, is that it helps to develop your understanding of chords.

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Written by Gary Ewer. Follow on Twitter.

“The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBook Bundle looks at songwriting from every angle, and has been used by thousands of songwriters. How to use chords, write melodies, and craft winning lyrics.  (And you’ll receive a FREE copy of “Creative Chord Progressions“)