WRITE BORING MELODIES? How To Make Better Music

[@musicjst]

hey! just found your channel, can’t wait to check out the new videos. I just wanted to say thank you, I swear your envato tuts page taught me at least 50% of all I know about music theory. Specifically chords by thirds, how to modulate to remote keys, & adding fills to loops to bring them to life a bit, all really inspiring. Anyway sorry for the big comment haha, all the best to you and thanks again!

[@RyanLeach]

Thanks Jamie, it's awesome hearing that those tuts were helpful!

[@CoreyMHall]

Of the five steps, I would say I struggle the most with harmony. My knowledge of chords is very basic so I would really enjoy a video, or a series of videos, on how chords are constructed and used in a composition.

[@RyanLeach]

Thanks, that helps me know what to think about for future videos.

[@richardmaia8732]

@@RyanLeach I would love it too

[@ShaharHarshuv]

I actually feel like it's TOO fast now... Maybe it will work as a variation with more rhythmic movement in the accompaniment later in the movie.

[@Jath2112]

I'm mid-binge after discovering your channel. I just want to let you know... it is working. You are actually making a difference. From one random dude in Wisconsin: Cheers. You literally improved my life.

[@Algoritmarte]

After hearing the original slow version, the tempo increase makes it sound less "natural" (to my poor ears :-) ). It's hard to discard the first "impact".

[@MorwenWhyte]

I believe it's the instrumentation what makes it sound less natural at an increased tempo. I guess it would sound much better on harpsichord or piano.

[@duality4y]

@@MorwenWhyte i think so as well.

[@wobblyorbee279]

nah its not your poor ears, its normal..

[@mstegosaurus]

I totally agree with you. Everything about this worked for me, EXCEPT the tempo change-- I think it was better at the original tempo.

[@GabrielBacon]

I also feel the original was an easier listen - the revised version feels cramped/busy even though there are improvements too

[@RyanLeach]

Of the five steps here, which do you struggle with the most? Let me know so that I can make the kinds of videos that will be the most helpful!

[@emilyrln]

When you talked about adding to the end, I was like, "Ah, an 'amen.'" AND THEN YOU CALLED IT THAT 😂

[@Shouyin]

I really like your lessons so far! It really helped me notice the smaller details in music a lot more

[@RyanLeach]

Awesome, thank you!

[@matthewzagorski9161]

Thank you for sharing this! I think all too often we assume the John Williams' of the world sit down at a piano and magic simply falls out of them. We only ever see the final product and not the evolution from a simple concept to a complete piece. This was enlightening and it makes me feel a lot better about my own writing.

[@robinbelanger4294]

Sounds like Gandalf brought something to the Shire a little more interesting than fireworks! This was another awesome lesson, thank you! Harmony is still probably the most difficult, knowing about V/X and modal shifts is great, and I tend to compose by 'listening' for what's next, and my brain seems to never want to organically suggest key changes or other really interesting progressions so looking for them always feels so formulaic and I have to cross my fingers and hope I found something good. After that it's both rhythm and orientation, I can do it and sort of have an instinct for it but it's difficult to not make the music crowded or like you're getting too far away from some ineffable "something" that was the impact/experience of my original line.

[@povilasl5383]

this is honestly amazing! I find that using secondary dominants is easy, but then getting and finding the right feel of dynamics and phrasing is the hardest part.

[@twoscoops2]

That was really awesome. Taking something, even period or sentence, and making it longer/better. It gives me ideas of how I could take a A part and when it comes back around have those changes. Thanks for your great videos, I'm really enjoying them and learning a lot.

[@nico-zh4eo]

When I work on a melody, whatever the tempo is, my ear are so used to hear it like that that I can't enjoy it at another tempo. It happened the same when you changed it, I felt like it was better before. I need to work on that

[@Author_SoftwareDesigner]

Top notch information. Explanation of what to do, why to do it, how to do it and how it works.

[@mikescofield]

Your videos on period and sentence really helped my fundamental approach to starting a song. This video really got me excited about how to make my melodies more interesting. Thanks.

[@greasechoreography5501]

Thank you so much for your videos. I've had a lot of writer's block lately and learning from you has helped me five up perfection and make my writing more about the craft than a reflection of my soul haha.

[@LoveRonnelid]

Love this vids! Really helpful harmony tricks. Hard to add ornaments that really improve a piece I feel. Thanks for great content!

[@ElbowEddie]

I thought this was really good. I'm a bedroom electronic artist and DJ, plus a ukulele enthusiast - so clearly not on you level - but for me the borrowing from a different scale was the best tip, plus reminding me of secondary dominants. But I have to say that forms you are talking about in this series (sentence etc) is totally new to me.

[@pedrosabia6069]

I felt it became too fast and actually liked more the first version. simple and singable. nice class, anyway. good ways to make things sound more complex

[@DancingPony1966-kp1zr]

It does sound Celtic; I’m enjoying your videos. I want to play my guitar and trying to adapt your lessons to it.

[@Doty6String]

The harmony added the most sauce.

[@francobonanni3499]

Love your channel. What I find is two things that this melody The main motive is on a weak beat. You have it just about in every bar. This syncopation, I feel like something is missing in me. Could something be done to render it less syncopated. What I feel that a resting place is missing a cadence in half way. However the lesson is extremely interesting and con go on for hours. Like a movement in the bass line. Thank you so much you are doing a great work.

[@netuno60]

Excellent video Ryan. Thank you very much. For me, the hardest part always is dealing with rhythm. I have not developed so much my rhythm skill.

[@ercumentturkses6041]

Sir, very good video for giving a perspective for many people! I really liked the new adjustments but just one thing that I wouldn't prefer to be honest is Dm and Bb usage after F in 8th Bar. However, it is personal taste, there is no "correct" or "wrong" for sure. I think apart from that, 95% I would go with the whole part. Even your 3 videos have really helped me for giving me a different perspective. Appreciate that! 🙏

[@nilsfrederking62]

Thanks, you create great content!

[@Yggdraseed]

As an amateur, I hate to criticize a professional, but I think most of these changes are just making it more complex for the sake of it being complex without consideration for what made the original appealing. The increase in tempo makes it particularly hard to listen to. It just gets really chaotic, with so many embellishments crammed into such a fast-paced, almost frantic transformation of what was a slower, more cozy melody to begin with. The notes lose a lot of their distinct, individual sound and melt into each other, turning it into a breathless race to the end of an exercise in slapping as much onto one piece as possible. It isn't completely unlistenable, but it's less a song to be listened to and more just an experiment that you used to demonstrate different modifications. These modifications are useful to know, but if you demonstrate them with a song that isn't going to be listenable outside of the learning environment, then you haven't really given a good real world example of how to employ the techniques you're describing. I think throwing around subjective terms like "boring" and "better" as your mission statement for this piece was short-sighted from the start. There's this old story of two men who were asked to draw a snake. One man finished before the other, so to show off, he drew legs on his snake to make it more impressive. As a result of that, he lost to the man who took longer, but didn't embellish. After all, if you put legs on a snake, then it won't be a snake anymore. It's very impressive that you managed to fit all these alterations into one song, but you've wound up creating something that few are going to want to listen to outside of the educational context of this video.

[@ryanpxl]

Woah! Maybe you should do more of these episodes where you take a boring melody and spice it up.

[@Larsmannetje66]

Very instructive. Thanks! And is it just me, or is there a parallel between this piece and the theme of Hobbiton in the Lord of the Rings?

[@somewhat-blue]

The first four bars use the same chord progression as that theme, except in D instead of C. That combined with a similar-sounding violin melody makes your brain jump there, or at least it did for me!

[@alexfischer9213]

Incredibly helpful for my composing!

[@thynature]

Great lessons and channel!

[@RyanLeach]

Thanks!

[@gatozarin]

omg i'm so thankful I found your channel. thank you SO much!

[@briansullivan3424]

Loved the video! Could you do one on how to use sequencing when we pick non-diatonic chords and melodies? I always love the way sequences sound, especially in classic-sounding pieces, where there is movement to another key, but done so in a way that the melody often smooths out... it's a beautiful technique, and you do a bit of it in that dropping 3rds section you added. For me, I often struggle to know what chords and keys to choose in order to make that modulation noticeable (sometimes, they're too subtle) without being distracting (other times, they're very abrupt). Any tips would be super helpful. Cheers from Baltimore, US!

[@rodterrell304]

Very nice Ryan.

[@coleashmore]

Great stuff, I also write for tv, mostly underscore tension drama that typically has very little harmonic movement and doesn’t typically follow the traditional tonal harmony. I feel fear of stagnation, do you have any suggestions for what I might study? Thanks for your time and content!

[@coleashmore]

@Michael Lochlann THanks both composers are great but I need to ride the line between semi functional harmony that is weird but not too weird. It is primarily underscore that goes with dialogue ( mostly reality tv and news rope programs)dark but not to alienating. I love these composers I wil start studying them immediately thanks for the great content!

[@coleashmore]

I don’t do a ton of orchestral mostly organic synth hybrid with a. mix of moderate strings and orchestra, some tribal elements etc. thanks for the feedback!

[@ASMR_HWD]

Love the piece. Could you show how to orchestrate this to full/medium orchestra? I can hear it.

[@CarlineFrancois]

🎶🌿This was a great tutorial on composition using the music sheets. I like how you took the simple period piece and upgraded it to a more interesting piece with different melodies and harmonies. I do the same with my compositions. 🎶How do you decide on using a period piece? Thank you so much on this tutorial. What software do you use to compose music on music sheets?🎶 I enjoyed learning about it.😊🌿🎶🌿🎵

[@coelhocointech9841]

Love this

[@ishagshafeeg]

Very useful. Thank you.

[@RyanLeach]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sylvainmathieu3887]

Very interesting to see the process... I would not dismiss the original version, after hearing both at the end of your video, I can see them in a movie, the first one being some kind of nostalgic-old-time song and the second more ornemented as a more contemporary song. Does it make sense?

[@eduardotepoxteca9171]

Really cool lesson, and this is how one should start to apply learned theory. Amazing. I know you are not that type of composer but could you take a look to how to write vocal melodies

[@joshuagodinez5867]

My brain isn't musical so watching composing is like watching magic. I found the best change to be the minor harmony stuff. The tempo change felt awkward. Since people are different, I'd like to see something like coaching someone through finding their musical voice.

[@aze2099]

Thanks. Would've loved to hear a piano version at the end too.

[@pogchamp7983]

12:40 "minor" improvements 😉

[@SoraiaLMotta]

great

[@kenvives]

The biggest thing I learned is that it’s ok to write diatonically on the first pass and then do a second pass to make things more interesting. I had been struggling thinking I had to come up with the “spice” linearly, and often got lost in the weeds.

[@Roman-is4jj]

I like the original best. Sounded like a folk song.

[@UDun8]

Great ideas !

[@ShaharHarshuv]

11:29 It's not a real "Amen" cadence without the flat 6 :D

[@NekoAKAJeff]

Idk why but I felt like the Emperor in Amadeus about the final result: "too many notes". Maybe it's just me, but that was my impression. ;) However, seeing you going through the whole process is very interesting. Loved the video.

[@ondinnonk]

what software are you using to notate/listen/compose?

[@Dru-DruDaya]

Did you ever find out what this is?

[@ondinnonk]

@@Dru-DruDaya nope. But my best guess would be some version of musescore

[@georgespelvin631]

I once saw a spiral-bound notebook for writing melodies. For each structure in which a melody could be written, it presented examples of melodies both traditional and composed, and provided a blank staff for the user to write a melody of his or her own. I have tried to find the title and author's name so I could purchase a copy. Can anyone help me?

[@RyanLeach]

If you ever find it less us know, sounds interesting!

[@thegooddoctor6719]

Wow....... Nuff said.....

[@benebad]

The first version was pretty basic, pretty simple, but it worked alright. The new version however feels more disingenuous and bewildered than anything.

[@golafs]

because it´s a kind of folk tune, not sure about the church-like ending (the harmony)

[@marcoprezotto]

The hardest to me is to discover which note I should use in writing and melody

[@onlinescammer8291]

great collection of "improvements" to listen critically to. :(

[@NelGabriel]

Great channel and info, however, while I do get the point of this video, I’m not sure that simplicity and its square nature were the issue. Complex doesn’t always mean better Music being a vehicle of emotion, there has to be intent that goes into the music making, and that intent is what makes it meaningful and interesting. Interpretation, arrangement, timbres. And I realize you touched on part of that in this video. But ultimately, I don’t think the melody was the issue to fix. If anything, harmony would be where I’d start. The original part, if anything, was more relatable. The modified part sounded elitist and exclusive. A good simple melody can draw the audience into something more subtle that lies underneath and will invite them to then explore further and open themselves to more complex ideas in the process. If the melody is boring, you can think of it as the melody is bored. And you got to take it to a more interesting environment so it’ll open up and start singing with soul. Regardless, love what you do and I’m subscribed.

[@BrandonJComposer.]

Dope!

[@bonbonpony]

07:03 This part sound very out of place :q

[@markwhitmore7013]

Melody can also be passed out to another instrument... Trumpet or oboe might be appropriate for the style

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

Merci, an Al Gore Rhythm comment.

[@duality4y]

personally I think the bpm is to fast.

[@plusmin09]

The syncopation with the tempo change sounds very unnatural. I think one or the other would have been better in this case.

[@williamcody768]

Bring some “life” to your lessons, please. I was struggling to stay awake, and I am glad I had the strength to. Because your video has really improved the melodic aspects in my music. But damn, bro. Fart, or crack or joke or something to keep those of us with attention-issues engaged.

[@RyanLeach]

I guess you don’t check the date a video was released before commenting

[@christopherravelbell8899]

Stop using "line cliche". Try "line Parade" Much better. "Cliche" mean bad. Grow. Thank you.