Melody. The notes the singer is singing.

Chords. Chords are a "shorthand" for all the notes all the instruments are playing.

Lyrics. The words the singer is singing.

These are the three basic components or elements of a song and every playing music involving several instruments contains this three divisions.

If you create a melody, a chord progression (a series of chords), and lyrics that all go together, you have a song! In ChordSong it looks like this:

Melody, Chords, Lyrics – Which Comes First?

An experienced composer can start with any one of these elements first, and then add the others. But to begin, I suggest you start this way:

Chords first. Why? Because chords are the most "technical" or "mysterious" of the three elements. So it’s easier to play with chords all by themselves, find a chord progression you like, and then add a melody to it.

Once you have some chords, here are a couple of ways to add a melody:

· Let ChordSong play the chords over and over, and try humming (or singing) something along with them.

· Create the melody with your mouse on the ChordSong melody staff. ChordSong even shows you notes which work with your chords!

Note: A pop song can easily be 100-200 measures long. You probably don’t want to make up just the chords for a whole song first, without any melody. Try making up a few measures of chords, then add a melody to those measures, then add a few more measures of chords, then some more melody, and so on.

Now let’s look at the bigger picture; combining single notes to make a good melody.

To create a melody, you have to decide two things about the notes:

Rhythm – when the notes start and how long they last

Pitch – which notes (high or low) to use

To take one thing at a time, let’s start with the rhythm.

The Melody Rhythm in Some Real Songs

If we look at the melody rhythm in real songs, we see a pattern:

Melody notes are grouped into phrases.

Each phrase is a group of several notes which fall pretty close together. The phrases are separated from each other by longer gaps.

To get a feel for the possibilities, look at these "hook melody phrases" from some real songs. (I’m using just one pitch, not the real notes, to show just the rhythms.)

In the examples above, I’ve marked the beginning of the hook section with the word "Hook". Notice that sometimes (like in #1 and #3 above), the hook melody starts a beat or two before the downbeat of the hook section. When the melody "starts early" like this, it’s called a pickup.

Recipe for a Melody Rhythm

Here’s a specific recipe you can follow to start creating a hook melody phrase:

Step 1: Start with a chord progression.

You might want to insert a couple of measures of chords on a line above your main hook section, as an "intro". (You could use a 2-measure phrase copied from your hook section for this.) This gives you a place to put the pickup if you decide to use one.

Step 2: Decide where to place the first note.

You can place the first note anywhere from a couple of beats before the downbeat of the chord phrase, to a couple of beats after that downbeat.

You can place the first note either on a beat, or on an off-beat (half-way between two beats). If you have a lyric, it can help you decide this. If the first syllable is accented, it will often go on a beat; if unaccented, on an off-beat. If you don’t have a lyric yet, don’t worry! You can always modify the melody later to make it fit a lyric.

What pitch to use for this first note? Don’t worry about it, just use any chord tone (the "green notes" in ChordSong). We’re concentrating on rhythm now; you can change the pitches later.

Step 3: Place more notes to complete the phrase.

Follow these "rules" (derived from the real-song examples above) to complete your melody phrase. Or break them if you want; they’re only here to help narrow down the choices when you don’t know what you want to do next!

Rule 3.1: Starting with the note you already placed, place one "quarter note" (a quarter note lasts a full beat) or two "eighth notes" (each eighth note lasts just half a beat) in each beat until the phrase is done. If you have a lyric, it can help you decide where to use one or two notes in a beat, because accented syllables often go on a beat, and unaccented syllables often go on an off-beat.

Rule 3.2: Keep using the same pitch you used for the first note. When the chord changes, move up or down to a nearby pitch which works with the new chord.

Rule 3.3: Use about 2 to 8 notes in your phrase. Of course, if you have a lyric, the number of syllables in your lyric can tell you exactly how many notes you need.

And that’s it! You’ve created the rhythm for your song’s hook melody phrase.

This article’s "mystery example songs" were:
Song #1: Like a Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan)
Song #2: Imagine (John Lennon)
Song #3: Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
Song #4: Yesterday (The Beatles)

Copied from www.drawmusic.com

Written by Conrad Albrecht

Visit the site to make a "hook chord progression" and facilitate your work

Just any body can write music, all it takes is the mood for writing, the love of music and music literacy. Here are some ideas and advice to enhance your music writing experience coined by Christopher Fowers.

1. Write the Lyrics For Your Song

Many musicians write their own melodies as well as the lyrics. If you already have lyrics, consider them when writing your melody. Some questions to ask yourself before composing the music are: What words do I want to focus on? Are there note lengths or timing that will accommodate certain words better than others will?

Consider the following line: I DROVE my CAR down the UB STREET. The emphasized words DROVE, CAR and UB STREET give the listener an idea of what is going on, even if these are the only words they hear. On the other hand, if you sing the same line but emphasize different words: I drove MY car DOWN THE ub street. The listener might have no idea what you’re singing about.

You can emphasize words with a louder note, changing the note itself, a longer note or including a rest before or after the note. Experiment with your song and see what sounds the best.

2. Listen to and Learn from Other Composers

There is something to be learned from every single musician or band out there. Listen to how your favorite musicians construct their songs—examine the style, the tone, how different instruments work together and so on and so forth. You can implement many of the same ideas into your own music or even take some of their riffs and tweak them to fit your style. This is a great way to come up with new melodies.

3. Use Music Composition Software

Music composition software can be a musician’s best friend. These programs aid in the writing process by organizing your work and allow you to see what you’re playing. Quality software packages provide features including a metronome to keep beat, playback, so you can listen to what you’ve composed, input, so you can hook your instrument or microphone directly to your computer and notate a song you play or sing and tons of editing tools so you can easily compose a riff.

4. Look for Musical Inspiration

Before writing a piece of music, it’s critical to feed your mind inspiration. Inspiration comes from all around us: our emotions, relationships, nature, people and experiences—some songs are even about surreal situations. A big part of finding inspiration is putting yourself in situations that rouse inspiration and then recognize it when it comes.

We all have different people come into our lives; relationships have always been hot topic for songwriters. To generate other ideas get out of the house, go somewhere, and do something. This could even be something as simple as walking in the park or down the street. You’ll be amazed where inspiration can be found.

5. Have Fun

You first started writing music because you love music. If you’re not enjoying composing music, then do something else for a while. People tend to do what they love best.

6. There is no Wrong Answer in Music Composition

Writing music is one of those things you can do and never make a mistake. Some melodies are catchier than others are, and everyone will write some bad stanzas. It’s all right; that’s why we have revisions. Remember this while writing music: it will make you feel better and help you avoid writer’s block.

1. Define Your Music Composition Goal

Are you writing music for yourself or for other people? This alone will totally change the tone and style of your music. If you are writing for yourself, you have more freedom to write what and how you want.

In contrast, if you are writing for other people, it is a good idea to identify your target audience and write music they will enjoy.

8. Seek Advice and Opinions

People are always willing to give advice and opinions; take their comments into consideration when writing music. Give your music to family members and friends to get their opinion of your songs. Though people close to you may be biased, their comments are still valuable. You can always leave a comment or question on this site and we’ll definitely get back to you.

9. Do Something Different

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and all of your songs begin to sound the same. Even if you’ve found a great combination of notes or a catchy beat, changing it can be good and help you grow as a composer.

An easy way to try something new is pick up an instrument you haven’t played before. Sometimes you find yourself playing the same old keys or strumming the same chords on your guitar. A different instrument can lead you to melodies you may not have thought of otherwise.

10. Practice, Practice and More Practice

There is no substitute for hard work and practice—it is the only formula that will guarantee you will become a better songwriter.

Maybe your next song will appear at the top of the charts. That’s my prayer for you. Good luck in your endeavor.

CHE ELVIS “Elvizy”

For www.elvizy.com

info@elvizy.com

References

Harper, Monty, Tips for Young Songwriters: Writing Melody. montyharper.com. (2003)

Hill, Ken, Torchlight Creek Music: Something Out of Nothing: 21 Songwriting Tips. Musicbizacademy.com. (2003)

Li, Keane, Top Ten Tips: Writing a "Hit" Song. guitarnoise.com. (2003)