“It’s the lyric that makes a song a hit, but the tune is what makes it last” —Irving Berlin
No matter which music genre you’re writing for—whether it’s pop, rock, country, R&B or any other style—the melody line is second only to the title as the most important part of a song.
The melody is the first thing that listeners catch when they hear a song for the first time. If they like the tune, they’re more likely to want to start listening to the words. That’s why melodies need good hooks, and why a strong and memorable melody is the chief reason why most songs become hits.
It is also important to make sure that the melody in your chorus is significantly different from the verse melody to make it stand out. In most hit songs, the chorus melody is usually placed higher in the scale—or in a higher key—than the last note of the verse.
A weak melody can’t be fixed in the recording studio with the aid of lots of production gimmicks. People won’t be able to hum vocal effects, drum fills or instrumental breaks.
“If you have a keyboard that’s MIDI’d with a couple of synthesizers, so you have strings and horns, you can sound glorious,” said Burt Bacharach. “But when you take it all apart, when you peel back the cover, what do you have? Do you really have a song, do you really have a melody?”
According to Glenn Frey, The Eagles put such a strong emphasis on writing memorable melodies that they even try to make their guitar solos ‘sing-able’.
Robin Gibb once explained that the Bee Gees always made sure they had a great melody before they started writing the lyrics. “The principle is to let the melody dictate the flow of the lyrics,” he said. “A good melody is not something you should labor at. It should come easily. If you can’t remember it, then it’s probably not worth it.”
He added: “If the melody doesn’t get you off, the chances are it won’t get other people off either.” # # # #