Melody Writing

What books, in your experience, are the best to read to learn the theory of writing melodies. I don't mean basic introductory books about scale tone tendencies and motives (which seems to be all that I can find), but more in depth books about writing melodies.

Also, what do you find is the best way to learn to write melodies?

Study some Mozart.

And John Williams.

Anything but John Williams! haha sorry (personal dislike)

But yes Mozart for sure, but also study Sibelius he had a real gift for melody not to mention orchestration. Also I'd suggest Beethoven, because of how he could fragment a melodic line and break it up into themes and motifs, i.e. really obvious example the 5th Symphony.. in which the 1st movement is basically a 3 note motif.

Maybe you could look at how melodies, themes and motifs are linked to form, Cyclic forms for example where themes recur throughout seperate movements.. again I could mention Beethoven againt.. but I shan't haha, but the Debussy sting quartet is a goodish example of how recurring themes shape cyclic form.

Oh yes I forgot books... Nah you're probably not going to get much more than what you've already said you could find. Study composers

Have any of you read Theory of Melody by Narveson?

DSCH, on 03 September 2010 - 02:42 AM, said:

Williams is awesome at writing memorable melodies.

In my opinion, the art of writing melodies can't be taught. It is something that should come within and it is often learnt subconsiously by listening to music and finding out what sounds you are looking for before you compose. If you want to leran how to write melodies you shouldn't look at what intervals others have used, you should study form and compose thereafter and move on with more complex stuff as you grow as a composer. Why should you write melodies if you don't have melodies in your head you want to write?

Melodic composition is a craft.

It is one thing to write down a ditty you have swimming in your head, it is another matter entirely to determine how you should develop it into a complete piece. Some melodies will be versatile and effective, others will be unworkable and sound contrived.
Inspiration is unreliable, and this is why the the craft becomes necessary.

Study pieces from composers such as John Williams and Richard Wagner - not to listen for the "inspirational" melodies they've written, but for what they do with those melodies. While learning from their works, you should seek to understand why their melodies are built the way they are and how they are characterized for specific purposes. They were not invented willy-nilly on the spot, they were crafted carefully to fulfill a specific goal.

There is a syntax that can be learned in studying this way, but you do not necessarily need to copy their methods of melodic embellishment.


To add: the best authors are those who have read enough books to understand how a sentence can be written.

You'll get nothing from books....

Listen more. Find a good melody, then look at it.

Buy scores and cd's - don't waste your pennies on "theory" books...

There's a "theory" of melody writing???
Ew.

Best places to study melody.....

Mozart - Mozart was a superb lyricist, largely considered to be one of the best. View Eine Kleine, Symphonien 39, 40, and 41, the Piano Concerti.
His melodies are strictly within the classicist aesthetic though: regular measures with periods, antecedents, etc.

Beethoven - Beethoven was among the most masterful users of motivic melodies. The Fifth Symphony, for example, is based solely off one 4 note
motif and it's various mutations. His 6th Symphony, also, is an amazing compendium of melody (as well as the slow movement of the 9th.)

Brahms - I love Brahmsian melody more than any of the other facets of his work. Some are simple, while others are quite expansive in nature.

Schubert - The Lieder of Schubert also are an amazing resource for melodic invention. I would put him up there with Mozart in terms of lyricism.

Those are just a small handful of composers you can study for ideas on creating and structuring your melodies. However, it's important to note, in this century what constitutes melody is a vast plethora of definitions. One note, for example, can be treated as melodic material. As Robin said above, and I whole heartedly agree, writing melodies now is not something a theory book will teach you - it will teach you how composers long before you wrote them, but most of those techniques aren't used today.

It's best also, to be imaginative.