Difficulty with melodic construction is a common issue music students (the world over) face, for years in a lot of cases.
There can be multiple approaches to this depending on what you are playing, who you are playing with, and your own mindset.
Having said that, there's one method I have found that has always helped me and my students.
In no way will this magically make you a better player (nothing will). You need to put SOME effort atleast to get better.
Having said that, this is a fairly simple method that anyone can start with regardless of their level of playing or musical vocabulary. Let's take a look at it.
Things To Remember
Before we move forward, it's important to understand that music has very less to do with how simple or complex a melody is.
It's the idea, and how musical it sounds that matter most. Some piece of music may demand complexity, while some, the opposite.
In this blog (and the next few blogs), we will work with simpler ideas. Why? because complexity starts with simplicity.
To be more precise, complexity is simplicity stacked up.
If you don't understand this notion at the moment, it's absolutely fine. It will make perfect sense in time, as long as you truly learn and understand what I have to say.
If you wish to learn these things (and a lot more) in-depth, you can take one-on-one online lessons with me. Details and pricing mentioned HERE.
The Basics
This approach to melodic construction follows the steps mentioned below:
Create a rhythmic idea
Choose a key centre
Choose a scale
Put them together
Though it's a simple method, it still requires some minimal effort in order to execute it well.
The Rhythmic Idea
When you think numbers, possibilities are endless. But I'd encourage you to start with the simple time signature of 4/4.
Next, create a rhythmic idea. If you are very new to this and don't have enough vocabulary, try taking inspiration from a tune, or sounds around you, and transcribe that.
Let's take a very simple rhythmic idea:
The Key Centre
Next, we choose a key centre. Let's say 'A'.
The Scale
Since a lot of you know the minor scale, let's take the A minor scale as our starting point.
Next, we figure out the notes of this scale: A B C D E F G.
Now, in that rhythmic idea above, we can see that there are a total of 6 rhythmic elements.
So we choose any combination of 6 notes from this scale. Let's say: C B A G A A
Putting Them Together
Now, we got our rhythm, and we got our notes. Time to put them together. Once we do that, we get the following melodic idea:
Does this sound familiar? Yes, it's the melodic phrase for the famous song 'We Will Rock You' by Queen!
In the next few blogs, I will be using this method to give you simple melodic ideas that you can add to your vocabulary.
If this was helpful, subscribe to my blogs and never miss out on the latest posts. Stay tuned for the next blog!
Want To Learn Music?
If you wish to learn the art of music and express yourself your way, email me: contact@subharaj.com for pricing and details!
*Open to students from all over the world and all age groups.
Here are some of the things I talk about in class:
Music fundamentals and theory
Ear-training
Composition
Improvisation
The guitar as a solo instrument
Musical, compositional, and improvisational philosophies
Artistry
Expression
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