Using Chords to Get Song Melody Ideas

Like a good set of chords, good melodies need a sense of purpose and direction.

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When it comes to writing songs, here’s the main problem when you start with creating the chords: the melodies you’ll eventually come up with risk sounding aimless and shapeless. Aimless melodies don’t lock into the brain of the listener very well, and that means you’ve eliminated one of the most important parts of what makes a song memorable.

But why does that happen? Mainly because of this: a good chord progression has a good sense of purpose and direction. So does a melody. But once the chords are working, so many songwriters forget that the melody needs the same kind of attention that it took to get the chords right. They hear the good underlying landscape that the chords provide, but can’t identify the reason that the song isn’t getting attention: a lacklustre melody.

To help you correct this problem, here’s a set of steps to consider if you want to get a chords-first song working well:

1. Create a chorus progression. I recommend starting with the chorus first because once the chords are working, you’ll want to get something catchy working for your song melody. Here’s an example of one that might work well as a chorus progression: C  F  Am  G [LISTEN]. You may decide to lengthen this by adding to it, but it will serve well as a start.
2. Play the chords many times, changing the voicing each time. All this means is to play the treble notes of those chords in different configurations. Do this on guitar or keyboard – whichever instrument you feel most comfortable with. Here’s an example of what changing the voicing would sound like on a piano: [LISTEN] If you concentrate on the upper notes, you’ll hear a kind of “proto-melody” taking shape.
3. Identify basic melodic shapes that sound attractive. You’ll probably notice that ones that incorporate a leap (especially ones that leap upward) will catch your attention.
4. Add rhythm and extra notes to the melodic shape. This may involve creating a bit of lyric, because it’s the lyric that usually gives us melodic rhythm. But even if you just want to ignore lyric for now, you can get this working. Play your chords over and over, and keep modifying the “proto-melody” until you’ve got something that sounds catchy. You may find that you’re also changing the rhythm of the underlying chords, and that’s to be expected. What you’ll end up with is a string of 2-bar samples you can assess. Example: [LISTEN].

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At this point, it may seem like a lot of work for such a small thing: you’re really only working to get a small 2-bar melodic fragment to work. But that will serve as a good hook for your song. If it doesn’t sound good to you, you’ve identified something really important: you’ve got chords that sound fine, and a melody that doesn’t.

What’s next? Once you get those two bars working, you then need to expand it into something longer – a full melody that entices the listener. That step may not be as tough as it sounds. Since most chord progressions are repetitious in nature, you can form a good bit of your melody by doing the steps listed above, and keeping various renditions of those 2-bar experiments as 2-bar segments of your melody.

It’s that expanding of the melody into something longer that represents the make-or-break step for songs. Song melodies need to have purpose and direction, just like the chords underneath. That’s achieved by the following:

1. Use repeated, catchy phrases when you compose your melodies.
2. Let the tonic note act as an anchor, the note that your melody likes to eventually end up.
3. Ensure that your melody has a clear overall shape, with a climactic moment somewhere in the chorus.

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Written by Gary Ewer. Follow on Twitter.

“The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” 10-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.“)