How to Write a Great Melody (Over Chords)

10 Tips for Writing a Melody Line over a Chord Progression.
Thanks to Charlotte Bonneton for performing.
Jake Lizzio's video on The Andalusian Cadence : • The Awesome Power of t...
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0:00 Introduction
1:13 Use Notes From the Chords
2:37 Try Other Ways Through the Chord
4:24 Passing Notes & Other "Non-Chord Tones"
6:38 Suspensions, Anticipations, and Pedal Tones
8:37 Use Sequences
9:24 Think About Overall Shape of Progression
11:56 Adapting the Sequence to the Situation
13:07 Find a Balance Between Steps & Leaps
14:11 Keep the Rhythm Interesting
15:45 Play With Expectation & Overall Shape
17:12 Demo Melodic Line

[@wojtekwieczorek6397]

The fact that you are a great musician and educator is one thing. The fact, that you keep getting better and funnier at editing with each new video gives your content another layer of awesomeness!

[@commentfreely5443]

now i know what a accented passing note is

[@fusillertube]

And bravo Charlotte !

[@fatihaltntas2827]

Üstünde üstünde ya bu arada bu yüzden yüzden ben ben seni alırım oradan ben seni alırım alırım ya bu arada arada bu akşam bir daha iyi geceler diliyorum tatlı tatlı uyu uyu sen sen bir daha daha fazla ben sana da çok seviyorum aşkım üüüüüüüüüüüüüoüülpüüüpüüüüğüüüüüüüüüülüüüüüüülüüülüüüüğppğpüpüüüğüüüüüüüüpğüpppğpüpüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüpğğüüüüüğğğğüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüpü

[@fatihaltntas2827]

Bu Bu bir de bu akşam da çok seviyorum seviyorum ben sana sana ben seni seviyorum aşkım ben sana da çok çok teşekkür ederiz Allah ppürazı olsun üüübir ben ben seni seviyorum ben sana sana ben seni seni alırım alırım ya ben sana sana da iyi uykular iyi dinlenmeler diliyorum diliyorum çok iyi olur ben seni çok özledim çok iyi bir de de bir daha arama ben ben sana bir de de bir daha daha fazla fazla bu akşam bir daha da bir de de var ben seni alırım alırım ya ben seni üüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüü

[@Durczykiewicz]

@@fatihaltntas2827 Nice composition 🙂

[@philomelodia]

The violinist won me over. Gorgeous playing. She is amazing because she can take a simple melody and make it sound very beautiful.

[@girlgeniusnyc272]

Yes she is amazing!

[@niklas3686]

And just the fact that he actually made the effort to reach out and stuff, and not just save time and money with a sample library

[@verbotenco]

Your ears apparently are made of tin can. It was a synth, her playing.

[@philomelodia]

@@verbotenco bollocks.

[@PauLtus_B]

There's so much expression in there! Shame I can't really replicate that with my midi keyboard. If anything this video proves that a very simple melody can sound great when played well.

[@KlaviersAnthology]

Pro tip: explore melodies with your voice if you struggle thinking or playing them on an instrument. Play with your voice and the subconscious knowledge of genres you have experience with or you just listened to will guide you. For faster runs just fill in the gaps or move around the notes you sing. By letting your voice lead you you will discover knew chord and melody relationships even if you have no idea about music theory and just hold on what suits you better! Do not give it much thought. Just hear a chord progression and sing!

[@tandybare]

@@neighbor4772 it helps when you're playing improv solo's to practice voice melodies over chords. it's amazing how your mind with begin feel the scale chord connections more naturally.

[@TheWorld_2099]

@@neighbor4772 regardless, don’t ever feel some pressure to be “brilliant“ right off the bat. Creating anything in music is a step by step process of refinement and evolution. There’s a wonderful interview of John Williams sharing that it took him several days to find the right combination of notes for the Indiana Jones theme.

[@SignalsMusicStudio]

Thanks so much for helping out with my video, and for putting together this excellent demonstration as well! I get this question asked all the time and will just be sending people here from now on :)

[@DBruce]

A great pleasure!

[@AlexanderOrion]

Thank you both!

[@Bladavia]

great work guys, I learned so much

[@Markrspooner]

Just watched both videos and find each of them to be really enlightening and stimulating with what you can do with 4 chords and a melody line built from it.

[@royschwaben9646]

@@kylej.d. if this is your first exposure to some of these ideas, I highly recommend Alan Belkin's channel. His videos are somewhat dry and resemble an academic lecture, but they are fantastic. He's criminally underrated on KZbin. He really gets into the nuts and bolts and gives plenty of practical info. I can't say I love his compositions, but that's just due to my personal preferences. His teaching videos are excellent. He has a book, I haven't bought it yet so I can't comment a review, but I'm tempted to recommend it based on the content of his videos alone.

[@emmak.1313]

The level of pedagogy is just marvelous. Such an encouranging introduction to creating a melody. Thank you, David.

[@xjam879]

Excellent session! In high school I took classical guitar class but didn’t know much about music theory. Next thing you know they were handing me classical pieces like Bach and other classical pieces . When I heard your violin player, it sounded similar to the notes and lines I used play. Thank You David for unlocking this mystery since high school, which is over 40-years ago! I still have that classical Bach guitar piece and now I am inspired because I now have better understanding on what Bach was trying achieve on that particular composition. Thanks again!

[@philip5940]

Originally spelled as paedagogy , and we gotta damn fight with the auto-correct to get the spelling placed in . Originally pronounced as paid-agogy, not ped-agogy .

[@Marduk-np5gq]

WHAT IS THAT MELODY!!!!

[@unknownpage9239]

I DONT KNOW!!!

[@TrellxValentino]

Add me I need a tank

[@yoku_UwU]

WHAT ARE THOSE???

[@JuniperCourt1]

It actually sounds like the opening chords of “ Victims “ by Culture Club….🤔

[@khashayar8989]

@JuniperCourt1 Victim ? I am the only Victim here there is no other 🤣😅 Stop spreading Rumours

[@alexandrapossum71]

Thank you for this, I'm autistic and struggle with stuff like this a lot. Most advice online on songwritting is "Sit down and just write with your heart LOL". This was very helpful

[@Dacstunes]

Real

[@_cynth_wave]

A lot of people dont stress the importance of the rhythm enough-- it can even be helpful to think of it like harmony-- a dissonant rhythm (syncopated or fast) is going to sound more expected over a dissonant chord, playing with that dynamic is really fun.

[@sharadsemilo]

Can you expand on that?

[@shlecko]

@@sharadsemilo using space between some notes. Using mixtures of semiquavers, crotchets, quavers, demisemiquavers (depends on your music's mood). Try taking a single note and playing it with a cool rhythm. It can sound really good. Have some fun

[@kuuderepiano2988]

Rhythm can change the structure and color of your song/piece. Sometimes, you'll find yourself struggling with searching for more melodies, or ideas. Try a new variation of rhtyhms

[@14jemima]

There are also examples where the melody influences the rhythm. You could even say that the melody IS the rhythm. Take The Blue Rondo Alla Turk, for instance. Time signature = 9/8, which generally is 3+3+3. In The Blue Rondo, it's the melodic pattern that gives the listener the sense of it being actually 2+2+2+3 and not just a succession of 9 regular 8th notes..

[@Overxpossed]

as a drum player, I remember when I saw my classmates trying to do triplets in the piano. They just couldn't either play because of the sincopated riddim, when for me, shifting the pattern by a semiquaver each time it "loops" in a non linear tempo is piece of cake, just becasue I'm a drummer. And add polyriddims to that.

[@johnrubensaragi4125]

0:00 Introduction 1:13 Use Notes From the Chords 2:37 Try Other Ways Through the Chord 4:24 Passing Notes & Other "Non-Chord Tones" 6:38 Suspensions, Anticipations, and Pedal Tones 8:37 Use Sequences 9:24 Think About Overall Shape of Progression 11:56 Adapting the Sequence to the Situation 13:07 Find a Balance Between Steps & Leaps 14:11 Keep the Rhythm Interesting 15:45 Play With Expectation & Overall Shape 17:12 Outro

[@happyguycmb2883]

Thank you--this is very helpful for reviewing the content.

[@Aledharris]

I like the fact you’ve basically written a study like the composers of old but you’re able to break it down in a video and explain it all. I imagine if they were alive today, the greats would be much like you.

[@ItsMeVolatility]

That final segment with all the techniques combined was absolutely lovely

[@bvdwevther]

One of the most important lessons in composition, that basically everyone has struggled with at one point or another. So very well articulated and delivered. And your friend lending her violin skills was purely angelic. Such a wonderful lesson!

[@Tomy_Yon]

Genius using the violinist. I had goosebumps throughout the whole video because of her performance. Well played, very well played. ;)

[@carlpanzram7081]

Right. I was completely stunned by the fidelity of her playing. Absolutely beautiful. Very talented. As a guitarist Im in awe of her ability.

[@whycantiremainanonymous8091]

Two added tips, if I may: 1. You can be even bolder with the rhythm! Just like you need to balance steps and leaps in the intervals you use, balance short and long note values in the rhythm. Take the example of one of the best-known melodies ever set to the Andalusian cadence, the verse of the Beach Boys' "Good vibrations". It starts with a long and stressed "I", and then moves on to shorter note values. That long held note can save many a melody from boring the listeners. 2. Remember that your melody doesn't only go over a chord, but is also part of it. If you use an upper extension in your melody that isn't in the accompaniment, that would change the chord the listeners hear. So, if your accompaniment is, say, a Cmaj7, but you're singing an F# over it, not as a passing tone, you get a beautiful (well, to my ear) Cmaj7+#11. So what if the melody is a tritone away from the root?

[@jmarkovich]

As a teacher, I find David very wise. He layers his teaching. All the techniques you speak of, IMHO, belong in an advanced melody writing video, not in a basic video, so I respectfully disagree that he needs your tips, though informative, for this video.

[@whycantiremainanonymous8091]

@@jmarkovich Perhaps. My feeling is that, at least with the first point, David's list is closer to his own writing style. His own melodies often tend to be very "textural" (which works like magic in his compositions; I don't for a moment mean this as a critique), and I was trying to give a bit of counterpoint, that might be useful in different styles. In any case, viewers, and readers, are free to take and use what they like 😃

[@theboofin]

Yeah, to me, melody has to have much more rhythmic variation. Otherwise it just feels like arpeggios.

[@jmarkovich]

@@whycantiremainanonymous8091 Video 2…or maybe you could make us your own?

[@georgesonm1774]

great tips, thanks

[@carlosgomez2305]

I don't think I can express how grateful we all are to you, David, for taking so much care and effort to teach to listen to, write, and overall love music

[@Zackapo]

A challenge I've faced a lot is adding chords to a melody. I usually think or play melodies that don't stick to regular chord progressions and I've sometimes found creative ones that make it work... and some that don't. That could be an interesting idea for a video, coming up with different melodies with different levels of tension and how you would approach the harmony.

[@cisium1184]

I agree, invariably I get melod(y/ies) first. The object is either finding multiple chord progressions that work with the melody or weaving in countermelodies (which is really the same as those counters would be based off chords).

[@InventorZahran]

I learned most of these concepts intuitively from playing and listening to so many melodies, but it's great to finally have it all explained in a way that my mind can make sense of.

[@fretnesbutke3233]

Some tips,for what it's worth,from an old itinerant unknown composer,laboring away in obscurity: Study and analyze melody and form as well as harmony. Seek balance,between adventurousness and accessibility,and between spontaneity and structure. At least be willing to meet the listener halfway. That last bit with the labels was great. Bravissimo,Maestro Bruce.

[@JoelSyverud]

I’m starving for this type of content, so thank you so very, very much 😊

[@sillysquirrel9979]

A T O N A L F L A M E N C O

[@FernieCanto]

I find that, in my own melody writing, points 1 and 2 tend to be the most fundamental: rhythm and shape. I find that thinking of these melodic "objects," or "gestures," and how they connect to each other is so important that, arguably, the choice of the pitches themselves is *almost* an afterthought! I rarely ever distinguish between chord tones and non-chord tones while I'm writing, because a) the shape itself is what mandates the choice of each pitch, and b) I can just taste the flavour of each note against the chord, so there's a lot more nuance than "chord/non-chord" tone to listen to. AS such, I can do some rather wacky thing, like ending a measure with a non-chord tone and holding it over the next chord, where it's also a non-chord tone, so it's neither a suspension nor an anticipation. I think it's absolutely fundamental for one to train their ears and learn to feel those "flavours," and how they might change depending on the style of music that's being played. Of course, I'm a vehement enemy of trying to determine those flavours as universal rules, e.g. "4 sounds vulnerable, 7 sounds yearning, etc.", because those are highly personal and context dependent. They should always be arrived at by extensive listening and experimentation.

[@mrjasondylan]

Absolutely right my friend the Beatles couldn't even tell you what a chord tone was or a relative minor until they already had about 6 number one hit records. It was all from natural talent and feel for music, they didn't compose by using scales or patterns just simply by playing chords until something sounded good. Later on they learnt cause George Martin taught them but that was 4 or 5 yrs jnto there career.

[@Hagar00]

I chuckled so hard at "atonal flamenco" part. Bruce you are truly one of the finest creators on YT, great educator, and - dare I say - fantastic composer. Keep being awesome.

[@sharpphilip]

“Yay, new video from Jake! Oh, and one from David, too! … Look, they’re pals!“ This was great. I also hope that the “resolving David” bit becomes part of the standard semiotic vocabulary in video-driven music education.

[@PaulRippey]

What a delightful and brilliant video! Thank you for making it. It hit me at the right place on my learning curve and some of the things you say I was vaguely feeling and didn’t have the words or brain to express. Just brilliant!

[@reverb.deluxe]

This is such a wonderful treatment of this topic! The way you reinforce each concept with a performance and animated score is really effective!

[@cstaeger]

I enjoyed the collaboration between Charlotte, Jake, David and also 12tone. Each musician highlights different aspects of something “simple” as a standard chord progression. Thank you for enhancing my musical horizon and your fantastic work! 😘

[@neubenjamin]

Thanks for being such a clear and concise educator! Great video, again!

[@johnroemer4450]

Thanks for the help mate! Means so much you make these videos. Lot of love

[@eddybarker5072]

Thank you David and Charlotte for educating and inspiring me in this video. Makes me pick up my instrument and compose a new song.

[@EricMartinPercussion]

Wonderful video! I appreciate how clearly and concisely you explained so many concepts. I will be sharing this with all of my students. Thank you!

[@niallocarroll3286]

THANK YOU! Best and was comprehensive crash course on writing over chords I’ve ever seen

[@anamarsproductions360]

absolutely adore the way you edit and the dedication you give to your videos! ot was all clear and very easy to understand, for me at least also kudos on that amazing violin!!!

[@GerritSchulze]

Listening to Charlotte's lovely performance of your AmGFE composition I feel remembered to Phillip Glass'. Not only that finally hooked me... Thank you both for this lesson.

[@Arden7one]

What an amazingly knowledgeable collaboration!! Thank you so much for sharing your expertise!!

[@RolandHuettmann]

So professionally made with a lot of details and wits. An enjoyable work. Thank you.

[@fabiocaetanofigueiredo1353]

David, right from the first examples your melodies gave me goosebumps. Fantastic. 👏

[@TheModicaLiszt]

This couldn’t have come as a better time. I have a chord progression I composed, and an idea for song lyrics, but I needed a super melody to work it! Thanks David Bruce!

[@peterpersson9883]

After having not seen many of your videos lately, the jump up in editing from your early ones is stunning. The editing on this one is just excellent! The sheer amount of interest created in just the first two second, oh my goodness

[@adrianokury]

Beautifully crafted and clearly explained -- loved it...

[@adamsilber-gniady6326]

i searched for a video just like that before christmas. i see it as a late christmas gift :) normally i write my melodies through humming / singing over chords or humming and playing these notes on the guitar. but as i found myself being on trains more again i needed another aproach to writing melodies. this was beautiful. i will definetly get a ton of inspiration through this. btw a beautiful little piece that you wrote there! thank you very much

[@NathanEllery]

Wonderful to see how you've incorporated your community of 'competitors' into your presentation. I'm enjoying so much from so many experienced and clever voices.

[@citrus8788]

This immensely helps in voice leading exercises as well! I got inspired and wrote a little 2 parts invention thanks to this video. Take a chord progression you like and little by little add your contrapuntal touches that you learnt in your species counterpoint exercises. Thank you David for this amazing video!

[@BaluLeBear]

this video is amazingly extensive and concise at the same time - super helpful, thank you!

[@nightlust]

That was an extremely helpful, informative video, thank you so much for making it and to Miss Bonneton's playing that really helped emphasing what you were explaining!

[@CWMdeschepper]

Love the atonal flamenco, should be its own piece.

[@user-mz6qu3hz6m]

Charlotte is just magnificent.

[@lovelyy6491]

EXACTLY what i needed, thank you so much for this 💖 great video!!!

[@ComposerMichaelDow]

This is such a great video. Realised i do some of these without knowing it, now i know why, and know more things i can do. Cheers! And big thanks to your talented friend for playing the melodies for us all!

[@richard135b7]

As a piano player this is an area where I have been struggling. The contents of this video is so insightful, just awesome. Thank you!

[@dlanska]

Excellent. Clear, interesting, organized, well-illustrated, well-expressed. The very skilled violinist greatly facilitated illustrating the points covered. And, a touch of humor along the way. Dorian is great by the way.

[@23rbarrett]

Finally found you! Thank you, David! Actual specific ideas/mechanics, based in theory, for exploring melody ideas!

[@robertbradshaw4386]

Thank you for your insight and thoughtful delivery, and let's hear it for Charlotte!

[@Abdymalik_Zachansaev]

Английский понимаю, но не на все сто, смотрю ваш ролик и меня просто распирает от восхищения, удивления, как вы умело совместили в этом ролике прекрасный монтаж, прекрасный юмор, прекрасный обучающий материал и прекрасное живое исполнение. Десять раз за один ролик у меня возникало желание лайкнуть его

[@alex_montoya]

That was pretty enlightening. Thanks!

[@violaisreallycool]

I love this video, so helpful and amusing at the same time. Thank you for being such a wonderful composition pedagogue. :)

[@johngilbert184]

Brilliant round up of ideas. Helped me greatly to crystalise some ideas about music as patterns in many dimensions and the flow of recognising one or more dominant patterns and their process of change. So impresssed I signed up as a patreon conributor. Huge thanks!

[@FlesHBoX]

Loved this! Would definitely like to see more "how to" videos in this vein.

[@Persen91]

Gorgeous track at the end - wish it was longer!

[@RachelWangCal]

This video is amazing! Thank you so much for breaking down exactly how and why each element works. It was immensely helpful to a beginner like me who couldn't follow some other videos that suggested things like improv-creating melodies through humming.

[@joseferro1432]

Excellent information! Thank you, David.

[@zarys76]

Wspaniale wytłumaczone :) dziękuję!!

[@edwardconover4728]

I'm not a musician, much less a composer; yet, I found this utterly fascinating. The use of Charlotte's playing as a demonstration was lovely (I watched it a second time just to hear her play. Thank you and Happy New Year!

[@mikescofield]

Terrific, very helpful video. The content combined with the production of the video, the great visuals, make this a superior lesson. Thanks!

[@hannahmichaels9992]

I love this channel because the editing is so whimsical yet practical in conveying what you’re saying and it’s both so clear but also so fun!! Epic video 👍

[@jimlawton4184]

At 3:20, you scored the High note in the final measure as B and it was actually G Sharp 😃

[@Bronze_Age_Sea_Person]

Awesome video! One interesting thing I tend to do with melodies, since arpeggios can get repetitive, is to use syncopation and dotted notes. Your past video about microrrhythms really influenced me on playing with the duration of intervals.

[@felixplaza823]

What a GREAT video! Charlotte is amazing! The ending was beautiful! Thanks!

[@naturallyDissonant]

This is an incredible video, quite possibly the best I've seen about composing melodies. Thank you for the useful tips!

[@maxivillafane4273]

Somebody make Atonal Flamenco a thing. Great, useful video, David!

[@polinanikulina]

Although the examples were in Am, not in Gm, my brain autocompleted some melodic snippets with Chaconne by Vitali :) Great video, I think it could even help someone who's learning sight reading or trying to memorize music.

[@chantingscorpius]

Bruce, your videos are gold for music lovers. Can’t get enough of them. Thank you!

[@florianglinka8575]

The amount of information you give for free is amazing! I actually grabbed pen and paper and wrote one and a half pages of your teachings down. Thank so much.

[@ochreJ]

Would love to hear your thoughts on harmonic composition (this video) vs melodic composition (ie writing the melody first then the chords). I tend to gravitate towards the former and feel I’m missing something by not working to get better at the latter. Maybe a hybrid approach is best. What do professional composers tend to do?

[@lefttrunleft]

I find that I tend to use a hybrid approach to composition/songwriting. Whether the initial idea I start with is chords or a bit of melody, I tend to adjust both the chords and the melody as I go along to get something that I really like; and to make it more original, as I often draw inspiration from existing songs.

[@oibruv3889]

Classical composers would generally practice each so much in their own regard that the process of melodic and harmonic invention were natural enough to be done simultaneously

[@LesterBrunt]

It depends on what your musical idea is. Different styles and genres require different focus. If you write something based of lyrics or a poem you should probably focus more on melody, rhythm and form. And it also doesn’t have to be a dichotomy between melody and harmony. You can write pre baroque counterpoint style where all voices are their own melody. Indian music stays in the same key nearly all the time. There are some Middle Eastern music where harmony is about the distance of the intervals between the notes. Or Arvo Part’s Tintinnabuli where the melody and the harmony are one entity. Or Schoenberg’s serial works where there is no harmony or melody just the structures and variations of those structures. In some styles like Classical, Blues or 4chordloop pop song your entire harmony and song structure is basically already determined by the conventions of that style.

[@paulzaba3786]

@@oibruv3889 I think it's really hard to generalise about what 'classical' composers do; there's so much variation between different composers and different traditions of composing, and so many different ways that composition is taught these days (from the formal nuts-and-bolts technique to more aesthetic/philosophical/conceptual approaches e.g. WHY do you want to do this?)

[@oibruv3889]

@@paulzaba3786 I'm just expositing how we know they were taught, and in some cases, directly knew how they composed. The idea that composition skills can undergo concentrated practice is something that seems to have missed some people these days.

[@adysykes5174]

Excellent video David very informative and inspirational. If you get a chance could you possibly do something along these lines for counter melodies please, my apologies if you have already and I didn't see it. 😁

[@BlessedByGod143]

Thanks Bruce. God Bless You and Your Work

[@godorgoddess3543]

This is one of the best music education videos I've ever seen. Easy to understand and simply beautiful.

[@ruvenw]

Hi David! Thanks for the great output - I am thoroughly enjoying your educational videos. I think I might have found a little "mistake". At 3:21 over the E7 Charlotte plays a G# as the highest note, but the notation suggests a B natural.

[@possible-realities]

Nice video, especially like the examples! One thing that I've been thinking about lately is melodic cohesion. You don't want to bore the listener, but you don't want to overwhelm him/her with a constant stream of new ideas either. And I think that if you do it right, you can reuse a limited number of ideas in many fresh ways, and get more cohesion, but how do you do that? Any thoughts on how to approach this? (Would probably be worth a video in its own right...)

[@silviaarantes8015]

I loved the video. Thankyou! Charlotte is incredible!

[@epiphanydrums5427]

Very clear and practical. The examples shown were fantastic! 👍

[@Kneith]

I think about it more in a modal sense to find the most intresting notes. So like on the Am the minor 6th, on the G the minor 7th, on the F the sharp 4th and Maj7th and on the E7 kind of a phrygian dominant sound with the Maj7th and the flat 2nd. As to bring out the modal sounds of each chord, and obviously resolve the melody from time to time with the chord tones :)

[@hugobouma]

This is more of a jazz approach but very useful indeed-not all non-chord tones work equally well or convey the same atmosphere. Also you can develop a melody by gradually introducing more and more "outside" tones and upper structures, something which I'm personally quite fond of. But I guess that if David incorporated these approaches as well, it could easily double the length of the video and put off the relative beginners that it's aimed at.

[@stjacquesremi]

I always go by the motto "if it can't be sung, it can't be fun". But one can disagree. I simply apply this to my own compositions.

[@Taliesin2]

I would agree, because if you are a competent singer there is basically nothing (within your vocal range) that can't be sung with a bit of practice. :-)

[@tckgkljgfl7958]

@@Taliesin2 shots fired

[@xezdog]

This is exactly great! Very concise and easy to understand. I feel like I learned a lot, will definitely practice this stuff. The examples are pure gold as well. Thank you so much!

[@Chavez3d]

this is an awesome video, the content is killer and the melodies are beautiful and the feeling put into them via your violinist is a true delight

[@Markleford]

While you do cover sequences and rhythmic interest, you ignore something lurking at their intersection: PHRASING One thing that I'm keenly aware of, as a recovering jazz trombonist who eventually lapsed into rock songwriting and production, is that not only do people need to BREATHE, but playing with a contrasting density of "Notes vs Rests" and "Short vs Long" will create a great deal of memorable melody moments, approximating a "hook". Despite this little blindspot, which could always be drilled down on in another video, it's a really good overview!

[@mr88cet]

Great topic and video! “Melodizing a harmony” (as opposed to “harmonizing a melody”) is indeed an intriguing creative exercise! As you so-correctly pointed out, there are many ways to approach the problem, and what’s curious here, is that _my immediate intuition is usually to work in the reverse of what you did here_ : not to start with pitch much at all, but to first think of a melodic rhythm and contour, and *then adapt that* to the details of the harmony! A good melody is very robust! It maintains is recognizability and interestingness through transposition, modal interchange, inversion, all kind of melodic varation, and, up to a point, even retrograde. Then, often at least, I then use the same approach to devise a propulsive bass line - one that has meaning in its own right and plays well against the main melody line. Probably the most important interplay between melody and harmony is a rhythmic concern: Phrasal accent! You often want to put the climax of your melody where the harmony is the most tense, and let the melody guide resolution of that tension, such as by tendency tones.

[@indradhanush5444]

Sir are you a teacher?

[@mr88cet]

@@indradhanush5444, not really a teacher as such; just making observations that have worked for me, for whatever it’s worth.

[@indradhanush5444]

@@mr88cet im searching a teacher sir.. Is their any teacher you know... Who teach me?

[@mr88cet]

@@indradhanush5444, that’s a very reasonable question. My immediate thought would be to find a Composition graduate student at a nearby university. You may be able to make such a connection simply by looking up, and then Emailing, a professor with a background in the styles and types of music you’d like to work with.

[@indradhanush5444]

@@mr88cet long time I am searching sir I am from India.....

[@davidsanchezperez5995]

This just blew up my mind! You are just an amazing composer and teacher! I got goosebumps with the last violin example !

[@jlbenj01]

I've watched many a video on the topic and this is by far the best breakdown of melody writing I have ever seen. Thank you so much for sharing. I saw Jakes video and came right over to yours.

[@franciscos.5165]

There's is a strange two-note piano chord at 15:46, while David is talking.

[@cristian2180]

PLEASE KEEP THE RESOLUTION THING WHERE YOU MOVE AND POSE WITH THE SOUND. TRADEMARK IT

[@kahwigulum]

Great video! Thanks for helping me break out of my compositional plateau. Rhythm is always the answer.

[@Excellentness]

Yes she certainly lent in to that one with feeling great to watch and hear 👏

[@BsktImp]

DB: a simple repeating sequence quickly becomes boring... we get used to the idea of what's coming... if the music does exactly what we expect our interest starts to fade. Ravel's _Bolero_ : hold my cup while I 'repeat' 17 times for 15 minutes. Only kiddin'. 😁

[@mattheasboelter5217]

Note though that Bolero doesn't use sequence, it uses repetition. For something to be a sequence, the original phrase needs to be repeated but transposed. Minor changes can be made to the pitches, but the original contour needs to be maintained.

[@BsktImp]

@@mattheasboelter5217 I just knew _someone_ was going to take a clearly annotated light-hearted, throw-away YT comment and hammer away at the keyboard in reply as if it were a doctoral thesis or article submitted in earnest to an academic journal... 🤐

[@superblondeDotOrg]

@@BsktImp he is correct, so why are ya bagging on him?

[@mattheasboelter5217]

@@BsktImp To be clear, I do appreciate the joke! Bolero is definitely a great example of too much of a good thing, haha I just wanted to clear up any potential confusion for anyone who is newer to the concept. It's of course not a massive deal, but it is easier to communicate about the topic if you understand the definition correctly.

[@BsktImp]

@@mattheasboelter5217 Thanks for taking the time to reply and providing context for what you wrote. 🙏

[@DerekPower]

Sleep well, Dorian ;) =D

[@scottp8575]

You are only one step away from... great learning combined with entertainment! Thanks David! Plus Atonal Flamenco I liked the most! 😍

[@aminelabidi6113]

wow what a great lesson..! i'm so thankful loved the animations they are precious thank you everybody ♥

[@batelgroun]

I'm andalusian and it feels too weird to see someone "discovering" how awesome is that cadence. And all those "spanish" pictures.

[@lurduslurduslurdus]

Jajaja. Al final los españoles estamos más que acostumbrados a esta sonoridad, ya que várias músicas de nuestro folklore utilizan esta progresión. Saludos desde Castilla y León

[@royschwaben9646]

I love all your videos, this type of content makes KZbin great, but I *really* get a kick out of how this essentially boils down to just a beautifully executed, very well made, entertaining, 20-minute long, sugar-coated, example-filled, nice and tactful way to say "study your counterpoint and work through some species exercises, you lazy nincompoops!" yet you manage to say it in an uplifting way. lmmfao.

[@weisi3547]

Wow excellent pedagogy with clarity, structure, great editing and fun. Thank you so much!

[@molochsorcery4357]

Bravo, Charlotte. I could listen to her play all day. And thank you sir for elucidating me on melodies. There was so much to unpack that I will have to view this video multiple times to get everyting.