3 SIMPLE Rules for Catchy Melodies EVERY Time 🎹

EDM Tips・20 minutes read

The text covers creating melodies from scratch, focusing on scale selection, chord progression integration, and creating evocative melodies, placing importance on vibe, simplicity, and emotional tone. It discusses techniques like aligning notes with existing bass and chords, enhancing chord progressions, creating counter melodies, and humanizing melodies through timing, velocity adjustments, and groove templates.

Insights

  • **Choosing the right preset is crucial**: Starting with a simple piano preset can enhance focus and collaboration, especially with singers, emphasizing the importance of vibe in creating melodies with emotional depth and complexity.
  • **Counter melodies for contrast and enhancement**: Introducing counter melodies as a tool to contrast the main melody can add depth and conversational tone, with a step-by-step guide on creating them by adjusting rhythm and pitch, ultimately linking both melodies for simplicity and memorability.

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Recent questions

  • How do you create melodies from scratch?

    Creating melodies from scratch involves selecting a scale, aligning notes with existing bass and chord progressions, and focusing on rhythm first. By starting with a simple piano preset and choosing a minor scale for simplicity, you can enhance chord progressions with sevenths and varied rhythms. Repetition of pitch patterns and rhythms helps with coherence and memorability, while adding counter melodies can provide contrast and enhance the main melody. Humanizing the melody by adjusting timing, velocity, and volume, as well as accentuating specific notes, can add emotional impact and depth to the composition.

  • What is the importance of vibe in melody creation?

    Vibe plays a crucial role in determining the complexity and emotional tone of a melody. By focusing on the overall feel and atmosphere of the music, you can create melodies that resonate with listeners on a deeper level. Choosing the right preset, scale, and rhythm to match the desired vibe can greatly impact the overall quality and effectiveness of the melody. Additionally, incorporating counter melodies and humanizing techniques can further enhance the vibe of the composition, adding layers of depth and emotion to the music.

  • How can you enhance chord progressions in melody creation?

    Enhancing chord progressions in melody creation involves adding sevenths, spreading notes across octaves, and varying rhythms to create depth and complexity. By aligning notes with existing bass and chord progressions, you can ensure coherence and harmony within the composition. Focusing on rhythm first, using repetition for memorability, and then altering pitch with key notes like the root, third, fifth, and seventh can help elevate the chord progressions and enhance the overall quality of the melody.

  • What is the purpose of creating counter melodies?

    Creating counter melodies serves the purpose of contrasting and enhancing the main melody, adding layers of complexity and depth to the composition. By introducing counter melodies that interact and converse with the main melody, you can create a dynamic and engaging musical experience for the listeners. Starting with rhythm, adjusting pitch for harmony and contrast, and linking the main and counter melodies together can provide a rich and textured sound that elevates the overall quality of the melody.

  • How can you humanize melodies in music production?

    Humanizing melodies in music production involves adjusting timing, velocity, and volume to create a more natural and emotive sound. By lowering the volume of the counter melody to prioritize the main melody, accentuating specific notes with increased velocity, and creating a rhythm within the melody, you can add emotional impact and depth to the composition. Utilizing groove templates in software like Ableton can further humanize the melody by allowing for slight timing adjustments that give it a more organic and authentic feel.

Related videos

Summary

00:00

"Creating Melodies: Scale, Chords, and Vibe"

  • Video tutorial on creating Melodies From Scratch, covering scale selection, chord progression integration, and evocative Melody creation.
  • Importance of choosing the right preset, recommending a simple piano for focus and ease of collaboration with singers.
  • Emphasis on the importance of Vibe in determining Melody complexity and emotional tone.
  • Selection of the scale, with a preference for minor scales for simplicity and ease of use in modern DAWs.
  • Starting Melody creation by aligning notes with existing bass and chord progressions for coherence.
  • Techniques to enhance chord progressions by adding sevenths, spreading notes across octaves, and varying rhythms.
  • Creation of Melody by focusing on rhythm first, using repetition for memorability, and then altering pitch with key notes like the root, third, fifth, and seventh.
  • Detailed breakdown of Melody creation process, including repetition of pitch patterns and Rhythm for coherence and memorability.
  • Introduction of counter Melodies as a tool to contrast and enhance the main Melody, with a focus on interplay and conversational tone.
  • Step-by-step guide to creating a counter Melody, starting with Rhythm, then adjusting pitch for harmony and contrast with the main Melody.

16:30

"Crafting Memorable Melodies: Simplicity and Humanization"

  • The text discusses creating a melody by linking the main and counter melodies together, emphasizing simplicity over complexity for memorability.
  • It highlights the importance of humanizing the melody by adjusting timing and velocity, suggesting lowering the volume of the counter melody to prioritize the main melody.
  • The text explains how to accentuate specific notes by increasing their velocity, creating a rhythm within the melody for a more emotional impact.
  • It suggests using groove templates in Ableton to humanize the melody further, allowing for slight timing adjustments to give it a more natural feel.
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