Melody Writing 101

How Melody Interacts with Harmony

What you'll learn

Learn the basics of creating a functional melody

Understand how melody interacts with harmony

Breakdown the concepts of good melody writing through simple analogies

Learn concepts from neighbor tones and passing tones, to ornaments and arpeggios

Be able to write melodies within your own songs

Understand how to analyze the melodies of other composers

Requirements

You should know basic major and minor chords

You should know the notes of a piano

Understanding piano basics is a plus

Description

Melody writing can be tough when we first start learning about it, but it doesn't have to be!We often start by drawing a bunch of dots on the page, hoping that if we follow the rules it will sound nice when applied to an instrument. But like many musical techniques, it’s best that we DON’T learn it at the page, but rather at an instrument.The way I approach melody writing is very much interrelated to the interaction between melody and harmony. When we have a chord supplied, our melody can either agree or conflict with our harmony. This can lead to stability, color, or dissonance within our melody. I find it easy to picture these tensions and resolutions as the relationship between magnets and metal. There’s a certain amount of tension when metal is held close to a magnet, and I find that this is the best analogy to use when understanding how melody is working with harmony.From these more birds-eye-view ways of looking at things, to specific techniques like the ones below, I’ve got you covered from many angles so that you’ll be feeling confident with your melody writing by the time you’ve reviewed and practiced the material within this course.What you’ll learn:- What makes a good melody- How much complexity to add to your melody- How to approach rhythmic density within your melodies- Various types of neighbor tones and passing tones- Enclosures- ArpeggiosAND A LOT MORE!While this course is for beginners, it will still take much practice to get the most out of this material. Whether you prefer to learn on the instrument or off the page, I’ve provided enough extra resources that you can approach this material from various angles/learning styles.So strap on your melodic boots, get your fingers warmed up, and jump on in. I’ll catch you in the first class!

Overview

Section 1: Course Preparation

Lecture 1 What Makes a Good Melody?

Lecture 2 Melodic Complexity

Lecture 3 Melodic Approaches

Lecture 4 Magnets and Metal

Section 2: All Techniques

Lecture 5 Neighbor Tones and Passing Tones

Lecture 6 Stability - Color - Dissonance

Lecture 7 Chromatic Passing Tones

Lecture 8 Ornaments

Lecture 9 Enclosures

Lecture 10 Arpeggios

Lecture 11 Rhythmic Density

Lecture 12 To Swing, or Not to Swing?

Lecture 13 Putting it All Together

Section 3: Wrap-up

Lecture 14 Outro

Lecture 15 Bonus Video

Composers,Music Producers,Music Performers,Pianists,Guitarists,Beginner Musicians