How to Write Melodies
1st Edition
Published on 15. July 2023
176 pages
978-1-4930-7340-5 (ISBN)
Description
Melody is the true heart of music-the identity of a composition, the vessel that carries the lyrics, the tune that you keep whistling on your way home from a concert. Composing melodies is often thought of as a mysterious process-a lightning bolt of inspiration delivered by the songwriter's muse-but in fact melody is an art that can be learned, honed, and perfected. This book teaches that art in an engaging and thoroughly accessible fashion. Starting from basics, it covers the essentials-rhythm, intervals, scales, and harmony-and builds on these simple principles to offer a wealth of advanced techniques and tricks. Every musical example in the book is accompanied by a downloadable audio track, allowing songwriters to increase their understanding of melody through both sight and sound.
How to Write Melodies is the only guide you'll ever need for demystifying and perfecting the art of melody writing.
How to Write Melodies is the only guide you'll ever need for demystifying and perfecting the art of melody writing.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Hal Leonard Corporation
Target group
Professional and scholarly
ISBN-13
978-1-4930-7340-5 (9781493073405)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Rikky Rooksby is a guitar teacher, songwriter/composer, and writer on popular music. He is the author of How to Write Songs on Guitar (2000, revised 2009, 2020), Inside Classic Rock Tracks (2001), How to Write Guitar Riffs (2002, revised 2010, 2021), How to Write Chord Sequences (2003, revised 2011), Chord Master (2004, revised 2016), and countless other books. He has written entries on rock musicians for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and published interviews, reviews, and transcriptions in many music magazines. He is a member of the Society of Authors, Sibelius One, and the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society. Visit his website at www.rikkyrooksby.com for more information.
Content
- how to write melodies
- contents
- dedication
- preface to the second edition
- how to use this book
- introduction
- section 1 insiders: the notes that belong
- section 2 outsiders: the notes that stand out
- section 3 the rhythm thing
- section 4 one small step, one giant leap: intervals
- section 5 different scales for different wails
- section 6 lines and curves: the art of phrasing
- section 7 color and shape: alien notes and off-key tricks
- section 8 in perfect harmony
- section 9 advanced techniques
- section 10 a gallery of melodies
- section 11 voice, melody, and the magic of pitch points
- afterword
- checklist of melody tips
- glossary of melody and songwriting terms
- acknowledgments
- about the author
