Melody writting technique

Melody creation method

Here is a procedure that I

melody creation process.pdf

Feel free to comment, add ideas or show the results you get with the method. I'll try to do the same as soon as I can.

eh, I don't like attaching some kind of process to writing melodies....I just write them :P. I understand that it's hard for some to write a melody, though. In this case this process sounds pretty good ;).

Well, if fact you can view this as an exercice to pratice the mind ! I don't think that Bach wrote all his fugue themes just out of thin air without thinking first hand about the consequenses of the choices of his intervals. That's one thing that this method can be useful (to practice I mean). Of course, only use that might not be the best solution either ! eheh

Well, I haven't tried it yet... so... :P

This is actually similar to a professor's method that was taught in a masterclass back when I was in high school. It's good for those moments when you need to spin out a melody, and the gods aren't really giving you much to work with.

Nice :P Have you tried it ?

I've always had trouble writing a good melody from scratch without doing some improvisation or whatever beforehand, so I may well employ this method in future. Thanks for posting.

By the way, it kind of reminds me of those step-by-step instructions you can get for drawing Mickey Mouse. :P

I personally don't like being composing with a proper method. Melody often comes from your mind, and harmonization just fill the "simplesse" of the original melody.

I just use this "methods": mirroring, octavating, note-splitting, ostinatos, eighth-sixteenth-eighth estructure and no pedals for fast music. That's it!

I personally don't like being composing with a proper method. Melody often comes from your mind, and harmonization just fill the "simplesse" of the original melody.

I just use this "methods": mirroring, octavating, note-splitting, ostinatos, eighth-sixteenth-eighth estructure and no pedals for fast music. That's it!

Well, that's a good start ! You'll have to tell me what a note-plitting and 8-16-8th structure technics are... I really don't see. But learning new technics isn't a bad thing, that would help you to have more colors to your 'work pad'. This one, of course, is just a simple example. And by the way, isn't octavating more about orchestrating notes than a writing technic ?!... so as pedal... that's more a performance technic. You could try to separate the different type of technics you use and see what's left in the composition one. Maybe you'll wish for upgrading this collum from time to time :wub:

nice, i've knid of based a 15 note idea on this method, it doesn't follow it exactly but it got me my melody, and thats the idea of the excercise isn't it! I'm going to start to orchestrate it and write a few variations and stuff to get me going. Don't worry, i'm keeping the ensemble small Dunael!

Mark

Make sure to try all the retrogrades and miroir... that's also a goal of the exercice... to make you learn the basic tools of composition.

rather lengthy PM coming your way Dunael!

Well, that's a good start ! You'll have to tell me what a note-plitting and 8-16-8th structure technics are... I really don't see. But learning new technics isn't a bad thing, that would help you to have more colors to your 'work pad'. This one, of course, is just a simple example. And by the way, isn't octavating more about orchestrating notes than a writing technic ?!... so as pedal... that's more a performance technic. You could try to separate the different type of technics you use and see what's left in the composition one. Maybe you'll wish for upgrading this collum from time to time ;)

Note-splitting is a fast music technic I use so, instead of having 1 eight, I have 2 sixteenths (split the notes in shorter, consecutive pithces). You can see this technic in my toccattas and fiuras.

About 8-16-8, it's a method I use for my Rythma ("Minor Rythmus" and "Alternae Rythmus" collections). Just use an 8-16-8 pattern, such as B-D-C.

Often, the 8ths are staccatto.

As I don't orchestrate (I don't know many instrument properties), I don't use octavating as a way to do it. I use it as a technic to not keep on the same octave. I used it in my Toccattas and in "Minor Rythmus I". It just makes you feel differently according to which kind of octaating mothod you use.

Arthur :

From what I read... you might like a technic that is called heterophony... it might stick well to your musical imagination. A simple way to achieve heterophony is that you write a same melody at different octaves but you alter the rythm of each of the voices to create small distortions or small echos. A way to work succesfully the heterophony is to complexify slowly the rythmic relations between the different octaves... and eventually returning to more simple ones. This has the similar effect has an harmonic progression growing in intensity and resolving, but it's acheived a very different way.

Note splitting is called in french 'monayage'... which means to 'do change' (in terms of money). It means to replace a beat length by several smaller subdivisions.

Note 1: that it doesn't need to be egal subdivisions (so a quarter can be divided in 1/16-1/8-1/16... or it can also be subdivided by intergrating silences.

Note 2 : when you do whatever ornementation you actually do a kind of 'monayage' of the note... so you can easily use this 'note splitting' to do some ornementation of a melody for example.

You'll have few new discoveries to insert to your rythms collections books !! Have fun.

I don't use this technics of yours the same way you depict them, but your comments are pretty valuable.

Thanks!

And I don't use heterophony for I don't like rythm modifications in what do I hear.

I think for a melody writing technique, I pretty much use my imagniation.

for instance

I know that if you have a scale, you can simply make a melody out of it by displacing note value. Like if you have a scale of 8th notes ascending in a major key, it adds color and alot of rythmic interest if you put a dotted 8th in there, increasing the value. Or you can make it a quick start scale as I call it by putting 2 16ths before the 8th notes start, this keeps it organized and makes it interesting.

Another thing I do

Is simply fool around with an instrument until I find what i think expresses my feelings. But with the theory knowledge I have now, I can usually try to express a certain feeling while fooling around. And then usually something pops out that just sticks. :P

That's two methods I use, there are others, but it would take much longer to list them all.

That would be what I do when I am going to compose a Recorder