A Strategy For Writing Melodies

Here's a strategy for writing melodies that I've used with good results. What I do is, instead of taking some lyrics and writing music for them, I just pick a book at random and write music for a chunk of the text.

Starting Out

I choose an existing song with a "feel" I'd like to create in a new song. (There's a good online resource of songs from the past at everyHit.com: they have a retro-chart featuring every song that's been a hit in the UK.)

I will run the first line - or a few lines - of the chosen song (I'll call it the foundation song) through my head to get into the "feel" of the song, and then I'll aim to make the next line of the song a completely new melody, but still with the same feel as the foundation song.

I create this melody by reading a line from the text in a book, but instead of reading it in the normal rhythm of reading, I sing/read the line so that it has a similar rhythm to that of the foundation song. As I sing/read I make sure that I create a new melody as I go. From that line I move on to the next line, singing/reading the line with a new melody. The structure of the words in the sentence should help to force me to create new rhythms, which in turn helps in the creation of a new melody

Dividing the line of text, pitch of notes, and direction of notes

Dividing the line of text:

When sing/reading a line of text I sometimes divide the line into sections. So, if I divide the following text:

We walked into the cave and felt unnerved by the eerie silence.

into two sections:

We walked into the cave and // felt unnerved by the eerie silence.

I'll treat each of the sections as a whole idea in its own right - that is, the first section (we walked into the cave and) will be one line of a verse (or chorus) and the next section (felt unnerved by the eerie silence) will be the next line of verse or chorus. I pause between the sections (represented above by "//").

I can also divide a line into three parts:

We walked into the // cave and felt unnerved // by the eerie silence.

again with each section being an idea in its own right and the "//" being a pause.

Or I can treat the whole line as a whole idea:

We walked into the cave and felt unnerved by the eerie silence.

Choosing the pitch of notes

When I'm about to sing/read a line of text, I choose the starting pitch of the starting note (or notes). My starting note(s) will either be higher, lower, or about the same as the last note of the previous line. I don't follow this rule religiously -- I don't worry about using a keyboard to make sure the note is correct. It's just a rough guide.

Note direction

I also decide the direction of the notes in the next line I'm about to sing/read. The direction can be:

ascending
about the same
descending

Again, I don't follow this rule religiously or expect every single note to follow the direction chosen.

Pause

The "//" sign on the line of text used above denotes a pause. Sometimes I will pause by making a count before proceeding on to the next line of the song. To do this I decide on how many beats will make up my pause - it's usually from one beat to seven. The tempo of the count is the same as that as the song.

One further point:

I don't select a chunk of text from a book and use that as a set lyric as though I have to write a good tune for that chunk of text -- I keep proceeding through the book, taking different chunks of text for my verse and chorus etc. I like to think that the slight differences in rhythms created by using different words can make the difference between a melody being ordinary or being a really strong hook.

Number method for writing melodies

I've been using this number method to help me write melodies. It's quite a useful method to use at any time, but it's particularly useful for generating further melodic ideas when I think of a song idea when I'm out and about, as it's quick and easy to use.

Say I have a new melody for a song -- or hook -- in my head. I run the melody through my head and then prepare to create the next line of melody. To do this, I write down a random number, say 705803, and read the number out in words:

Seven hundred and five thousand, eight hundred and three.

However, I don't read the number in a normal reading rhythm, I kind of 'fit' the number into the rhythm of the song and create a new melody as I go.

If I have pen and paper with me I can write lots of different numbers down -- ranging from numbers of a couple of digits right up to numbers in the millions -- but if I don't then I can just keep using the same number in a cycle:-

The approach I use when doing this is to "read" the number and then insert a pause - say from one to eight beats in length - and then read the number again in the manner described above. I've found that varying the number of beats in the pause sometimes forces me to use the number in different rhythmic and melodic ways.

Writing Music

I've developed a strategy for writing music that uses different methods I've found on the internet and developed myself. I'm going to blog about the methods - let me know what you think.

I want to get some of my songs up on MySpace at some point but that would involve accumulating ££££. Not gonna happen for a while yet!

Ideas For Promoting Music On MySpace

Here's somes idea I've made up regarding the use of MySpace for promotion (there are some other general promotion ideas too). If you have any to add then let me know and I'll link to your page.

1) Get friends who don't have a MySpace account to set up an account (or offer to do it for them) and include your music on their page. (The more pages there are with your music, the more chances there are that someone will find the music)

2) Ask friends with accounts to put your music on their pages

3) Look at popular YouTube videos that have "incidental" music and ask the video maker if they'll add your music instead

4) Create a YouTube video showing clips of one of your gigs

5) Do a medley of all your best songs

6) Get lots of photos taken at every gig and post them all

7) Update your MySpace page every day so that your updates are reported and thus the band stays in people's awareness

8) (Related to 6 and 7) Add photos over a few days instead of all at once

9) Put adverts in music shops (big adverts with your logo and MySpace address clearly shown) saying that you are looing for a support act for gigs

10) Offer free CDs to people who come to a gig after seeing it advertised on MySpace

11) On your MySpace page put a section of "local bands we like"

12) Add live recordings from gigs

13) Regularly add new songs. If you don't have new songs to add then add a live recording from a gig

14) On your MySpace have a clear "diary" displaying gigs and venues

15) Start a blog in addition to the MySpace one - this way there is more chance that people will find your music

16) On any YouTube videos add lyrics

17) Team up with local bands and venues and create a MySpace page called "Music at (place)" page. Contact local people to tell them about this resource. This will advertise both bands and venues.

18) Write a tutorial or Wikipedia article or make a YouTube video entitled "How to get your music on MySpace"

19) Send fans a song on their birthdays

20) Be sure to contact MySpace if you think of any improvements that the MySpace site could offer, or highlight any problems with the site.

21) Make sure your music is free. People shouldn't have to pay to hear unsigned bands. (from The 69s)

More to come...

New Ideas For MySpace (Relating To Music)

Here's some ideas of mine that I think could improve MySpace's music services. I'm fairly new here so let me know if I've suggested something they already do! Feel free to add your own - I'll give you full credit and link to your page. To save you wading through the lot I've starred my favourite ten ideas in red. I'll send all the ideas to MySpace to see if they'd like to introduce any of them. Let me know what you think!

* Random Music Selector: This can be added to your page and all the time you are online it picks different music totally at random from the site, plays it, and shows you the band/performer who played the music. (A great way to discover new music!)

Random Music Selector for friends: The same as above, but you opt to hear only the music of your friends

Also: Random Music Selector that plays just music added today to site

Bands/Performers Template: Exhaustive list of possible information bands/performers can add to their pages. For example: songwriting influences, ambitions, favourite musicians, expression of willingness to cover songs not written by the band themselves.

* Popular Music In Your Area: A feature where you type in your postcode and see which bands/performers near that postcode are getting the most plays on MySpace.

Most-listened Chart: A chart (a top ten) showing you who, from among your friends, is having their music played the most

The option to make a list of "friends whose music I recommend the most"

As well as being able to update your activities and mood in the "friends status" box, the option to add "music I'm listening to now" or "music I really like at the moment".

The option to see all the comments you've added to others' pages and where(already done?)

In addition to having a music player of their own music on their page, bands could have a player that features some of their favourite music from MySpace.

* Some pages are very hard to read - especially when someone has added a photograph to the background. There could be a "readable" button that changes the page to black text on white background. This could also be a default setting.

Collect "Top ten promotion tips" from each performer and compile a list.

Option to put messages on your default logo without changing the logo itself

* Local "Battle of the bands": All the bands within a distance of a certain postcode are included on a page that has every band's music (or maybe the songs the bands choose as their "best") on a player. MySpace contacts every account holder within a certain distance of the postcode to ask them to vote to find the winning band and song.

The option to add comments to your friends pics on your page. Eg: "great local band" or "great influence of mine" etc.

When you join MySpace, in addition to having Tom as an immediate friend, you also get one called "music lover" who features the best songs from the site, or the best songs from bands living near you.

MySpace, in a kind of "fame lottery" could pick bands to be added to new MySpace accounts as friends in addition to Tom.

Bands can pay to be "automatic friend" of anyone that joins with a postcode within five miles of themselves.

"Thumbs up/thumbs down" ratings for every song on every music player

A "Music Vault" could be created each week - a kind of record for the future with bands getting the most plays and bands getting the least plays.

Create a chart based on repeat plays of songs, not single plays (if one person plays a song ten times, does this not mean more than ten people only playing once?)

An easy means to hear all the music added today in your area.

An option to receive email alerts when one of your friends adds new music.

Gig Finder Facility: You put in your postcode and are told about gigs upcoming in your area.

* If you add a group as music you like (say, The Beatles) you are automatically told if there are people near your postcode who listed The Beatles.

* Complete Listens Chart: A counter next to a band's player that shows how many complete listens there were compared to how many "aborted" listens.

A rating that shows you your average position in people's friends lists

The option to have an additional friends display that lists your top ten friends purely by how much you like their music.

* "Ten songs I like": On your profile, the option to list your ten favourite songs. You are then alerted to people who have ten identical songs, then nine, then eight etc. Great for music lovers and performers alike.

On their players, bands could have option to highlight "Our Star Song".

MySpace could give bands the option to have live feeds from gigs.

* Each week, MySpace could ask an established singer or musician to pick out "my ten favourite bands/songs on MySpace this week".

Bands could be given the option to add comprehensive "tags" about a song to aid others in searching. For example: rock/guitar/sounds like Nirvana/similar to song X etc.

Compile a list of "average song rating" for each band shown on their page. So a band with two songs rated at 5/10 and 10/10 have a rating of 7.5/10

Bands page has statistic showing number of friend REQUESTS this week.

* A "Stats Box" for every band showing statistics such as: number of friend requests this week/year, number of song plays, number of friends etc.

* A discussion forum for every band on their page - so that people can start conversations and ask the band questions that others may like to hear answered too.

The option to order friends lists (yours and others) by different criteria: eg - number of plays of their songs, number of friends, number of profile hits etc.

Chorus Line: A New Way to Find Music and Promote Unsigned Bands And Performers

I've been thinking recently about the problems and the sheer work involved in finding new music online from new bands, and how solving these problems would help bands and performers to promote their work. So I've devised this idea and submitted it to the Global Ideas Bank:

Chorus Line: A New Way to Find Music and Promote Unsigned Bands And Performers

The Problem

The problem exists for two groups: music lovers (or music seekers) and unsigned bands/performers.

The music seeker: The problem for the music seeker is a simple one: you want to quickly find lots of new music from new bands/performers but it takes so long to navigate around the different websites and pages.

Bands/Performers: Thus this obviously creates a big problem for bands! -- their music is much less likely to be heard if people cannot access lots of new music quickly and easily.

What’s needed is a quick way for people to hear lots of new music from different bands/performers, and to be able to pick out the music they want to hear more of – to sort the wheat from the chaff, if you like.

The Solution

“The Chorus Line”

In A Nutshell: The Chorus Line is a compilation of many choruses from different songs, and each of these songs is by a different unsigned band/performer.

When a listener plays the Chorus Line they hear ten seconds of a song (the chorus) before the Chorus Line proceeds to the next song and then the song after that etc.

Selecting Favourites: If the listener likes the chorus currently playing and wants to hear the whole song they have the option to either:

Listen to the entire song now

Or

If they wish to continue listening to the current Chorus Line, they can save the song to their favourites to be listened to at a later time.

Chart: Charts would be compiled showing the most saved songs, and the most listened to songs.

A rough idea of how Chorus Line could look:

Note: The "Play" marker can be dragged either backwards (as rewind) or forwards (as fast-forward).

The Winners’ Hierarchy

If there are say, one hundred songs on one day’s Chorus Line and a “winner” is picked (the song with the most entire listens) then that song could be included in a monthly Chorus Line compiled to find “The Song Of The Month”. Thus there could also be a "Song Of The Year" feature.

Where?

Chorus Line could be created on a new website, or an existing site linked with music (such as MySpace or YouTube) could introduce the feature.

Further Options and Possibilities

The Band/performer could decide what part of a song is added to the Chorus Line: they may opt to add a verse and the chorus, or the introduction and the chorus, the chorus and the instrumental etc.

The listener could decide how much of each song is heard – for example, they may decide that they’d like to hear ten seconds of a verse of each song, and twenty seconds of the chorus. Or maybe they want to hear more songs and feel they could pick out the good songs on hearing only five seconds of each chorus.

There could be a comprehensive library featuring all songs that featured on the Chorus Line and all past winners.

Statistics (and another chart) could be created about how many people decide to visit a band/performer’s webpage after hearing their song through Chorus Line.

Each day’s Chorus Line could be sponsored. Perhaps each day’s Chorus Line could be sponsored by an established band/performer, and a Chorus Line could be created featuring that band’s entire output, to help promote their music.

Different Types Of Chorus Line Possible

Individual bands and performers would be able to download the Chorus Line software so that they could make their own Chorus Line but featuring just their own songs. This Chorus Line could be added to their own MySpace page to enable visitors to be able to form a quick impression of the band and, if they decide to hear more, they can choose which songs they like the most to hear in their entirety.

A Chorus Line could be created to help choose the shortlist for the Eurovision Song Contest. The public could thus be involved in all stages of the Eurovision selection process.

Chorus Lines featuring vocalists could be created so that songwriters can quickly find suitable vocalists for their songs.

“A Capella” Chorus Line for songwriters: If someone writes songs and does not have the musical ability or the resources to pay for professional demos, they could sing their songs A Capella to be included in a Chorus Line. Visitors (and statistics) would inform the songwriter which are the best songs to pursue, and also listeners – if they like the song – could opt to assist in making demos.

A Chorus Line could be made for the purpose of displaying the talents of musicians. For example, a guitarist could add their work to a Chorus Line and people looking for a guitarist would be able to listen to that Chorus Line to speed their search.

Different Chorus Lines could be created for different music genres: eg. one for dance music, one for country music etc.

When a number of different artists have covered a song (particularly on YouTube) there could be a “Battle of the covers” – a Chorus Line featuring the chorus of each cover.

A Chorus Line could be created for people who have written music but are looking for someone to write the lyrics. Thus lyricists would be able to quickly find songs that inspire them.

If someone has created a YouTube video, is looking for suitable backing music and wants to encourage unsigned bands/performers, a Chorus Line could be created with music that video-makers can choose as backing.


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