How to Write a Standout Melody
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- čas přidán 7. 08. 2024
- Music Theory from PJ Harvey "A Child's Question, August".
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0:00 Step 1. First Impressions
1:30 Step 2: Second Impressions
2:44 Final Example
Step 1. First Impressions
There are many ways to write a standout melody, but it’s difficult to improve on the method PJ Harvey uses in her new single “A Child’s Question, August”. That’s because nothing grabs our attention like a bold first impression. And by first impression, I literally mean the first note of the melody. You see, PJ Harvey starts her melody in the Dorian mode, and the very first note she sings is the major 6th. That’s the one-and-only note that makes Dorian different from the super common scale that we hear all the time: the natural minor. The vast majority of people are not used to hearing a major 6th over a minor chord, so when her melody begins with that unusual note, it instantly stands out. So, in D Dorian, which is all the white notes from D to D, the major 6th is B. When we play B in our melody over a D minor chord, you can hear exactly how powerful that one note is at grabbing our attention. So step 1 in this method is to use that unusual note to begin your melody, then finish the phrase with usual notes.
Step 2: Second Impressions
Your listeners are now familiar with that unusual note, which means that if you play it again, it won’t be unusual any more. In other words, your melody is now at risk of losing its initial impact and therefore losing your listener’s attention. The way PJ Harvey deals with this issue is brilliant! In the second half of her melody, instead of singing the major 6th again, she sings the minor 6th. That’s the usual 6th note in a natural minor scale, which we’re used to hearing. But, after getting our ears used to that unusual note, the usual note now sounds unusual haha. What a brilliant trick! So to maintain your listener’s attention, step 2 of this method is to create a powerful second impression by using the minor 6th (which is B♭) in the second half of your melody. In other words, you’re using the natural minor for this phrase. Just to recap, we’re starting our melody in D Dorian, then switching to D natural minor. So use the major 6th (which is B) as the first note of your melody, then use the minor 6th (which is B♭) in the second half of your melody. And if you need more help writing melodies, just download our Songwriting & Producing PDF and follow the seven guidelines in our Melody Checklist.
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This is very cool! As always, you really got me thinking here. I am already considering how I can apply this concept in different areas, particularly in improvisation, soloing over changes. Thanks again for getting my wheels turning! Have a great week.🙂🙏🙏🙏
Indeed a cool trick! I wonder this concept could be applied to all the other greek modes by starting with their different notes then turning back to natural major/minor.
Only one way to find out. 🧐🤓 🎶 Lol
Cheers and Happy music making ❤
-Skylarr
Absolutely, my friend! You could start your melody in any of the minor modes (Dorian, Phrygian, Locrian) then switch to the natural minor scale for the second half of you melody. Or you could start in any of the major modes (Lydian, Mixolydian) then switch to the major scale. Thanks for stopping by and connecting, and we hope to see you back here in the comments on the next video! Ray :)
@@HackMusicTheory Bonus points since “The Snozzberrie’s taste like snozzberrie’s!”
Haha. Thanks again for sharing this music theory hack!
Nifty stuff for sure. ❤️
I love it. Thank you both very much ❤
Simply amazing and great tool for melodies! Thank you so much guys, you are always the best! 🤗
Powerful! I'm gonna use this for my next song
Could you do "Washing machine heart" by Mitski? The melody sounds so special, why is that?
Thanks so much
short, sweet and to the point 🙂
amazing tutorial....
Please do an episode on Wes Borland's riffs!
Guys, as one of your apprentices, I’m always interested to hear these little snippets. I’m having fun listening to the opening theme of the second and third series of Prime show Jack Ryan. I keep trying to sing it and getting hung up in the second half of the melody. There is one note there that trips me up every time. What’s your analysis?
Thank you for the video and for the cool knowledge-sharing in general!
I will be super-specific in wishing to analyze artists - specific songs and specific parts:
🎶Yann Tiersen - La valse d'Amélie (especially first notes are so cool)
🎶In Flames - Gyroscope (riff, melodies between verses and choruses)
🎶Opeth - The Night And The Silent Water (especially guitar/-s motif/-s in the first verse)
🎶Opeth - To Bid You Farewell (melody in the first 2 minutes, bass)
🎶🙂 Ray Harmony - We Are (ft. Serj Tankian, Ihsahn, Devin Townsend) (chorus melody, and why chorus short guitar motifs at the end of each phrase sound cool?)
Mentioned parts above I wrote as an example that first come to mind but usually, there are more favorite sections in each song.
Special wish #1 - analysis of the album:
🎶💽Opeth - Morningrise
(not a fan of the lyrics but the musical part is the masterpiece in my opinion from different angles including nice bass sections)
Special wish #2 - analysis of the album (actually it is a game):
🎶💽1NSANE
(Would like to understand - why most of the album sounds so great. My favorite compositions: Stone, Vega, Force, Ball, and Main Menu 🙂)
Hmm, I'd really want to see some hack from some of Kikuo(きくお) songs. They are so different and crazy that they really catches and gives me a goosebumps and uneasiness. Well, maybe it's not your field but.
Hi again, I'm honestly finding your videos to be some of the best tutorials I've ever come across, I'm curious, have you got a video on How to write odd time sigs in the grid in reaper? I seen the djent riff one and it was great, but Im wondering how I go about setting the grid to say, 15/8? Or do I just write in a 4/4 grid and chop off what I don't need, if that makes sense, I've been writing guitar riffs in the grid first then sending them to guitar Pro to tab them out lol, tonnes of fun, and I'm writing riffs I'd never have thought about on guitar, thanks.
Reminds me of The Song of Healing at first.
Please make a detailed video about how to work by reference. What to pay attention to. I think many newcomers have problems here
Hi Kate & Ray! I love Dorian! But when we hear the first note, we don't know yet, is it major six or something else, until we hear the root.
Andrei my friend, good to see you, as always! Hope this finds you well. Regarding the major 6th. There's a minor (root) chord playing underneath, so the major 6th in the melody is instantly recognizable, and that's why it stands out. Ray :)
@@HackMusicTheory Oh, I see! Thanks!
I would like to learn some Mastodon techniques. 🤓
👍 - _also_ for the YT algo! 😊
Where is the intro
Hack Deftones. 🙏
Ehhh doesn’t sound that great tho just my opinion on that one specifically