How to project emotions through music: Creating a memorable melody
It brings me immense joy to connect with you today and continue on this delightful journey together. Today we will talk about melody!
Melodies, oh melodies! They hold the power to captivate, to stir emotions, to make a song memorable. The art of crafting a powerful melodies is a precious gift that can elevate your musical creations.
Are you ready to embark on this melodic expedition?
What is a melody?
In a nutshell, a melody is a sequence of notes that form a unified whole.
Before talking about music theory, listen closely to the score below created in Flat. Can you guess which song it is?
Yep, that's Hey Jude, by The Beatles.
🔥 Fun fact: Melodies are what usually help us recognize songs.
The melody of a song is formed by the pitch and duration of its notes. If you were to change the note durations or rearrange their pitch, the melody would change completely – to the point where Hey Jude just wouldn't sound like Hey Jude anymore.
Interestingly, even if two songs share the same chord progression, it is the melody that sets them apart. Many songs use the popular C–G–Am–F progression, but it is the melody that gives each song its unique character.
Watch the video below to understand what I mean:
In short, the melody is what makes a song stand out.
How can I craft a compelling melody that effectively conveys the desired emotions to my audience?
Let me give you a concrete example. Currently, I'm working on the musical arrangement of a song for my friend's upcoming album. The song narrates the story of two lovers who, after a prolonged separation, reunite once again. In this context, I would like to elaborate on my approach to creating a melody specifically for the chorus, which represents the pinnacle of their reunion.
The first step involves selecting the key that perfectly aligns with the intended emotional expression of the melody. In this case, the emotions I aim to evoke are joy, gratitude, and peace. With these sentiments in mind, I believe the key of G would be most suitable.
💡 You can read our article How to project emotions through music: choosing the key, to learn how to choose the right key for projecting the desired emotion.
The concept of melody can be understood by comparing it to a sentence in a conversation, where each note represents a word. Just as people's speech patterns reflect their mood, there are parallels with the way melodies evoke emotions. For instance, when someone is joyful, their speech tends to be quick-paced and filled with a diverse tonal range. Conversely, sadness often manifests as slow, monotonous speech.
Melodies function in a similar manner. Lower-pitched sounds often evoke feelings of darkness, sadness, and tension, while higher-pitched sounds tend to uplift and evoke happiness. Bearing this in mind, opting for high-pitched sounds seems appropriate for my friend's song. However, it is essential to exercise caution and avoid going to extremes. Striking a balance and maintaining accuracy are crucial elements in the process.
How do I learn to make the right choices?
Practice, practice, and more practice! But here are two amazing resources for you:
As we progress with the arrangement, the final aspect to address is the tempo. After careful consideration, I have settled on an Andante tempo, specifically set at 90 beats per minute (bpm).
💡 To further explore the topic of selecting an appropriate tempo to effectively project desired emotions, I recommend referring to our article titled "How to Project Emotions Through Music: Choosing the right tempo." It provides valuable insights and guidance on choosing the ideal tempo for evoking specific emotional responses.
This is the melody I created for my friend's song:
Integrating melody into your creative process
Think about something that has deeply moved you recently, such as a book or a movie. Recall the emotions you felt during that experience and let them inspire you to create a melody in your music notation editor. Use the guidelines I shared above to shape the melody and capture the essence of those emotions.
Moving forward, we'll explore the concept of harmony and how it complements the melody to convey the desired emotions in a song. As a quick preview, harmony adds depth and richness to the music, working alongside the melody to create a pleasing blend of sounds. By carefully choosing chords and progressions, we can enhance the emotional impact of the melody and create a complete musical picture.
See you next time!
If you liked this article, check out the other articles in this series: