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This, like many of my other articles, will be the first in a series discussions which will hopefully get you thinking about different things you can do as an artist to improve your melodies, both in composition as well as improvisation.

What’s in a melody?

If we were going to compare a piece of music to a photograph, the melody would be the object most in the foreground. Another common analogy would be to think of the melody as the flower of piece, with all other elements supporting it as a stem and roots.

Also, at this juncture it would be wise to make mention of the fact that a melody does not exist by itself. And therefore, one of the absolute best places to begin when trying to improve a melodic phrase is not in melody itself, but in the harmony that accompanies it. Often changing the harmonic “background” of a piece can make enough difference that the melody won’t need anything else. For instance, maybe your 7 year old daughter’s hand turkey would be a little more “artistic” if placed in front of a well-done, elegant oil painting of a river in France. (Bad example, but you get the idea.)

Make it Elegant:

Many of the best ideas are the simplest ones. So many artists strive very hard to create complexity in there music thinking that it will enhance interest. While this is often true, complexity for complexity’s sake is never the way to go. When developing a piece of music the real goal should be the synthesis of those complex ideas. To give yet another relationship, in chemistry the greatest compliment you can give to an equation would be to call it elegant, or beautifully simplistic. This same idea of elegance is also the driving force behind many other art forms like poetry and literature.

So how is elegance achieved?

The easiest test to find out if a piece of music is good or not is simply to ask yourself some very basic questions.

• Do I like the way this sounds?
  • Sounds good = Is good
• What is the purpose of each note?
  • Does a note add to or take away from the overall concept?
  • What texture does a note produce?
  • Where is each note leading?
  • Is a note in contrast or congruence with the rest of the harmony?
• What feeling (multiple feelings) am I trying to evoke?
• What story am I trying to tell?
• Can I say the same thing with fewer words (notes)?
• Can I rephrase anything to make it more powerful?

Playing like you speak:

Music is truly another language, and your purpose as a composer is to express yourself as fluently as possible in this language. Try going through the act of physically talking out what it is you want to convey. Say things like, “I think I’m trying to paint this picture ____ in the listener’s mind” or “I would like this phrase to be more _____.”

The power of repetition:

“If they liked it once, they’ll like it twice, they’ll love it three times, and hate it a fourth.”

Repetition is musical devise that just feels good for some reason. And while it might go against your basic instincts that tell you “Do something else!” you should try your best to resist. And really if you get into the music as much while your composing as you do when you’re playing you’ll start to see natural repetition. The fact is, repetitiveness, when correctly built up to can scratch us where we itch…. again…. and again, but then it’s time to move on.

Melodic Contour:

This is one quality that pertains to all good melodies. In short, a melody will sound better if it does not hinge on one single pitch. If you’re melodic phrases are not going somewhere they’re going nowhere.

So try applying as many of these ideas to your writing as possible, and while you shouldn’t “over-think” it, the sum of all of these minute relationships is what will separate good composition from the mediocrity.

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In the next installment we’ll focus on physical techniques that you can start applying to your melody writing to make it more dynamic and lively.

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more articles by Tyler Oakleaf

• Notes of Fretboard Diagram
• Like our lessons? Take a poster!
• The Big Picture
• Chord Soloing & Chordal Embelishment 1
• Good Things…
• “Making It” In Music
• Practice Progression