What makes a good melody?

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  • KebabkidKebabkid Frets: 3301
    Slightly linked to this, look at Rick Beato's series of 'What Makes This Song Great'? and pick a song you like or are familiar with and watch it. You might find all sorts of things in there, including bits on the melody.
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  • BranshenBranshen Frets: 1222
    @gringopig thanks for all the tunes. Especially enjoyed the chorus in the Annie Lennox song.

    @jellyroll aimee puts out excellent content. That video is a very interesting analysis of some good melodies. Thanks for that! I particularly like the comparisons to jazz standards and bebop which I listen to alot. 

    @Funkfingers thanks for the link. But BBC is being an ass and not letting me view it cause I'm in Malaysia and not the UK. 

    @viz that is an intense piece of music! I'll have to give it a few more listens to internalise and appreciate the melody better. But on my first few listens, the first thing that sticks out to me is the juxtaposition of the nimble and powerful left hand playing and the hesitant, slightly delayed melody line played on the right. Then on the second and third time through the same motif, the melody line picks up in tempo and confidence.. Very interesting rhythmic idea. 

    Thank you everyone else for all the other comments. 
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  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    Branshen said:

    @viz that is an intense piece of music! I'll have to give it a few more listens to internalise and appreciate the melody better. But on my first few listens, the first thing that sticks out to me is the juxtaposition of the nimble and powerful left hand playing and the hesitant, slightly delayed melody line played on the right. Then on the second and third time through the same motif, the melody line picks up in tempo and confidence.. Very interesting rhythmic idea. 

    Yes and listen for the inner tune, especially the the second time round - so cleverly written - it alternates between both hands, played a lot using the thumbs. If you looked at the music you’d never realise there’s a tune to follow there as it skips from hand to hand. Amazing skills to bring it out so fluidly. Glad you appreciated it :)
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  • AlexCAlexC Frets: 2396
     No art or creativity is a science.  
    And by the time it’s presented to an audience then it all just comes down to an individual’s taste.
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  • RabsRabs Frets: 2602
    edited July 2018 tFB Trader

    This is a cool vid that talks about improvising melodies.. REALLY good..


    For me though its about picking out interesting notes but also notes that arnt just random but lead you somewhere. For me David Gilmour is one of the best melodic players along with Jeff Beck.

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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    Try Andy Latimer for a melodic guitarist. No disrespect to any others, but he always does it for me.
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  • BranshenBranshen Frets: 1222
    @AlexC Can't argue with that! But I believe there is reasoning behind the artform as well. You probably can't program a machine to make art but you can develop a theory to why it sounds good.

    An example of a good melody to me is:


    @rabs and @Phil_aka_Pip thank you for the suggestions. I do enjoy a good melodic guitar solo but I was thinking more of lead or head melodies, which tend to be sparser. But I guess the ideas do overlap somewhat. 

    Wow! I've never seen Barney Kessel so young. 

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  • RabsRabs Frets: 2602
    tFB Trader
    Branshen said:

    @rabs and @Phil_aka_Pip thank you for the suggestions. I do enjoy a good melodic guitar solo but I was thinking more of lead or head melodies, which tend to be sparser. But I guess the ideas do overlap somewhat. 

    Wow! I've never seen Barney Kessel so young. 

    Yeah I know  what I posted was a bit different to what you were asking but thought it relevant...

    This guy does REALLY good videos where he goes in to the technical aspects of many great songs and I think he does it really well..

    Heres his tips for a great melody...


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  • BranshenBranshen Frets: 1222
    @Rabs Thanks! I've seen all of these and yes they are spot on! 12tone puts out very interesting analyses of music that I enjoy. 
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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    I can't hear sound on my PC right now but would deffo like to know what was said about writing melodies.

    FWIW my take on the subject includes
    • repetition ie patterns that the ear can latch onto and recognise maybe in a different form
    • not so much repetition that it becomes boring
    • a modicum of twists and other unexpected things
    • not so many twists that it becomes random or avant-garde
    • melody fragments that work over a chord change rather than a statement-per-chord
    • harmonic movement (see what @Viz said)
    • if words are involved, then rhythmic patterns or rises and falls in pitch that go with the words

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  • bingefellerbingefeller Frets: 5723
    sometimes I hear vocalists and a certain note stands out to me and it's nearly always a minor chord and the melody note is a 9th.  I don't know why, I just think that's such a sweet sounding interval.

    I was reading the sheet music to Taylor Swift's 1989 albums and noticed the amount of one note melodies she uses.  The chords are moving while she's singing on a single note.  Her use of rhythm is so strong that it never sounds boring.  Just to note, other artists do this too, but I like Taylor Swift's music so that's why I'm using her as an example.
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  • RabsRabs Frets: 2602
    tFB Trader
    I can't hear sound on my PC right now but would deffo like to know what was said about writing melodies.

    FWIW my take on the subject includes
    • repetition ie patterns that the ear can latch onto and recognise maybe in a different form
    • not so much repetition that it becomes boring
    • a modicum of twists and other unexpected things
    • not so many twists that it becomes random or avant-garde
    • melody fragments that work over a chord change rather than a statement-per-chord
    • harmonic movement (see what @Viz said)
    • if words are involved, then rhythmic patterns or rises and falls in pitch that go with the words


    And also surprising timings...  Add a little double time or playing in-between beats rather than on the beats...

    So basically... Try not to be boring  :)  Add musical surprises....

    This is why I gave the examples of solo players.. In a solo I think to be good it cant just be scales and playing inside the boxes. You need to play outside the box literally and mentally. 

    The problem with all of this is everyone has different taste.. So sometimes people can go so far outside the box (in my taste) that it becomes being different just to be different rather than it necessarily sounding good. Its my issue with Fusion Jazz type music.. Its so far outside the box that I can no longer follow any sense of a pattern and then it almost becomes a bunch of people playing random notes as there never seems to be any resolution to the music. I understand and see the skill involved in such music but I don't enjoy listening to it.

    Something like this

    I get the skill.. But theres so much going on that at the end I don't remember any of it..  Id rather have a catchy repetitive riff and some good lyrics to listen too :)

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  • RabsRabs Frets: 2602
    tFB Trader

    A good friend of mine is currently getting a demo together..  He spent like ten years studying music at Uni...  When I hear his music I can always hear he has tried to make it as interesting as possible.

    Heres one track

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  • 57Deluxe57Deluxe Frets: 7329
    edited July 2018
    ...a good melody on the guitar is more often than not one or two things: Either a replication of the vocal or a triad of the root notes.

    A solo has to have both of these at some point to make it relevant so probably be at the start then a reference midway culminating back down the scale in the original key.

    Is strange how evident this is when studying other classic songs but bloody hard to build-in when thinking about it logically with a blank sheet in front of you!
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