Creating a memorable and engaging song often hinges on its top-line vocal melody. Let's delve into an exploration of the essentials of melody writing, armed with insights from experienced industry professionals and interactive classes that are designed to elevate your songwriting.
Writing a top-line melody
In this class Top-line melody techniques, producer and vocalist Pops Roberts provides insights into techniques for crafting compelling top-line melodies. Pops suggests generating ideas, finding rhythmic pockets, and focusing on developing a memorable hook as the initial steps to creating a standout melody. "Get the first instinct as soon as you start humming or murmuring anything, it doesn't need to have lyrics, as soon as anything comes record it... the chances are the first thing you record is the winner." says Pops. This guide emphasises the importance of instinct and immediate recording, highlighting how optimum results are often a product of your initial ideas.
Embrace experimentation
It's important to remember that the first ideas might not necessarily be perfect — but they can be raw materials from which you can craft melodies that resonate deeply. Pops Roberts' class encourages songwriters to embrace this approach towards melody writing with the idea that you can refine your initial spark as you progress further. Aluna demonstrates a similar philosophy in her class Vocal ideas and melody writing. "Essentially what the creative process is for me is doing lots of stuff that doesn't work, but being dedicated enough to push through that process to find the one gem." Aluna notes, reinforcing the importance of perseverance in the melody-writing process.