The Simple Way to Write Killer Melodies (Rhythm First)

Rhythm is super important to writing good melodies. Let me show you some of my favourite ways to write them; RHYTHM FIRST.
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The rhythm of our melodies, where our notes are placed and the velocity of them, is one of those things that is often overlooked by learning producers. So today we dive into some techniques to get the head-bopping and nail those pesky melodies once and for all.
0:00 Intro
0:38 The 1 Note Rhythm Technique
6:38 The Gate Triggering Technique
11:16 See Ya!

[@MatsumuriMedia]

So much yes!! Dude, your chill vibe and great tips are becoming a daily habit of mine!! Thank you fr all the hard work you put into your videos. This was a great video and I love this technique. Using a sidechained gate to add a 50Hz sine wave to my kick is something I have done before, but gating and processing an entire drum loop to use as a sidechain input is a really cool idea for making melodies from simple sets of midi notes! This could be cool to use for replacing all sorts of sounds by just using the rhythm of a loop. So good!! Thanks again!

[@EDMProd]

Thanks so much! Yep agreed, its a really fun technique that yields awesome results. You can even try, once the routing has been set up between the gate and the trigger track (using just 2xaudio tracks this time), replacing the audio on both the trigger and the gate track over and over until you hit something cool! Super quick and endless with the rhythms and melodies you can generate. Thanks for watching :)

[@nk-me2nw]

gate triggering technique is great, thanks!

[@eoholtzmanyee]

Both tips are great! Plus the cmnd click velocity change - great stuff as always.

[@stech_x8329]

The gate trigger trick is huge!! I had forget about it!!thanks!!🔥🔥👌🏾

[@thustler7339]

Good content man, clear and straight up. Definitely showed me a couple of tricks

[@flyoverfredusa]

love this idea

[@paulpennington1669]

Like the gate trigger idea definitely going to try that out!

[@eferg16]

I've seen a lot of music production tutorial channels on KZbin. You, my friend, are excellent. Quality content.

[@EDMProd]

Very kind of you! Much appreciated :)

[@MatsMorlund]

Cool trick using a gated drum loop. Thanks 👍👍👍

[@HAZARDOUS88]

Very helpful video!

[@SUBSYNDICATE]

very nice topic! 👍

[@madeline569]

You're so talented at teaching, dude! everything is so clear. Thanks so much for your videos.

[@EDMProd]

Very kind! Thanks so much :)

[@andrewgrimshaw4663]

like this. new to ableton and first tutorial iv seen with the key highlighted, brilliant, learnt something new

[@EDMProd]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ozboomer_au]

Just coming to grips with 'sidechaining' and what it can do in terms of a control mechanism with other effects (like the gate), even though I don't use Ableton). A very helpful video. thanks a heap.

[@EDMProd]

Exactly! A sidechain is simply something that is 'chained' to another track, or triggered by something else. Gate has so much sidechain functionality its crazy how much you can do with it.

[@musaty6528]

Of all the tutorials I've watched I have never learned the Cmd+click to change velocity! That might've been my favorite part of the vid haha thanks for the sauce!

[@EDMProd]

Haha its quite an underused shortcut huh! Glad you enjoyed

[@danieldrago_kadmondrago]

Dude, you're crushin' it with these videos! :)

[@EDMProd]

Thanks man! Appreciate that a lot :)

[@billiamsharpe2967]

thank you

[@paulsss8646]

Nice Video, but how to add on another element? Im finding struggeling myself with a lead, chord whatever to add, especially when I want to align it to the previous melody.

[@lukasky_dj]

this is great thank you for gate idea

[@iamdjkirk]

Tips for being able to transcribe Melodies/bass lines?

[@Curtiss1965]

BTW. The first bassline is not in C minor, it's A minor...

[@Nikita-yd4fi]

hey no front but u literally didn’t explain anything about the first rhythm. i thought u might tell us something about dotted 8th notes and stuff. to just “feel” the rhythm is something i think everybody does anyways. would have been great what kind of melody rhythms u most likely find in particular genres. i can’t speak for everyone, maybe someone really found this helpful, but i in generell have a problem with people trying to explain something like withoooooout any music theory. i know it’s a bit more to learn, but u have to bother with it along the production journey anyways, so why not do it the right way?

[@EDMProd]

Hey! Thanks for the comment Unfortunately, due to the format of these things I can't go into depth and explain the theory about everything in these videos. The aim of this video is not to explain rhythmic patterns but to detail a fun technique that you can use to write with an emphasis on rhythm. In my opinion the most enjoyable way to learn rhythmic patterns is by simply experimenting rather than studying theory. Being able to start to 'feel' a good rhythm is a much more important skill than someone simply telling you where to put the notes. But I'm not trying to disprove your opinion at all! Theory is also great, it can be very helpful and suit the way some people learn, but I just don't think it's essential to make great music. Thanks for the feedback nonetheless!