Song Analysis - Melody
Lesson 28 from: Music Theory for Electronic ProducersTomas George
Song Analysis - Melody
Lesson 28 from: Music Theory for Electronic ProducersTomas George
Lesson Info
28. Song Analysis - Melody
Lessons
Introduction
00:58 2Basic Music Theory Terms
08:07 3Keyboard Layout and Octaves
06:19 4Working out Major Scales
08:58 5Perfect 5ths
06:42 63rds - Part 1
08:05 73rds - Part 2
07:39 8Perfect 4ths
04:36Chords and Inversions - Part 1
10:05 10Chords and Inversions - Part 2
09:13 11Chord Progressions - Part 1
10:22 12Chord Progressions - Part 2
08:26 13Inversions
08:53 147th Chords
09:48 15Chord Extensions
08:09 16Suspended Chords
02:40 17The Circle of 5ths
04:30 18Minor Scales
08:09 19Chords in the Natural Minor scale
09:56 20Harmonic and Melodic Minor
09:30 21Write the Chords, then the Melody
09:03 22Write the Melody, then the Chords
18:01 23Arpeggios
08:00 24Writing Bass Parts
11:35 25Writing Bass Riffs and Adapting Melodies
14:10 26Song Analysis - Chords, Part 1
10:17 27Song Analysis - Chords, Part 2
05:58 28Song Analysis - Melody
08:55 29Song Analysis - Arrangement
07:30 30Song 2 Analysis - Arrangement
05:04 31Song 2 Analysis - Chords
08:55 32Song 2 Analysis - Melodies
06:34 33Song 3 Analysis - Chords
11:41 34Song 3 Analysis - Melodies and Arrangement
06:55 35Create a Song from a Drum Beat - Part 1
10:22 36Create a Song from a Drum Beat - Part 2
18:47 37Create a Song from a Drum Beat - Part 3
18:49 38Create a Song from a Drum Beat - Part 4
08:21 39Create a Song from a Chord Progression - Part 1
08:16 40Create a Song from a Chord Progression - Part 2
08:07 41Create a Song from a Melody - Part 1
07:27 42Create a Song from a Melody - Part 2
09:05 43Modes Intro
04:10 44Ionian
00:43 45Dorian
04:31 46Phrygian
02:09 47Lydian
01:35 48Mixolydian
02:13 49Aeolian
00:39 50Locrian
01:50 51Dorian Mode Example
09:12 52Pentatonic Scales
12:27Lesson Info
Song Analysis - Melody
OK. In the last lecture, we had a look at the chords from this track and we also deconstructed and worked out what the chords were. There were two main sections, the A section and the A one section quite similar, but the, a one section had a few slight different chords and they had this kind of chord that wasn't really part of the key and was quite a chromatic chord. But I personally think this worked. Now, we're going to have a look at the riff or the melody of the track. The track is basically based around these two chord progressions and the melody that locks in with the chord progression. So let's have a listen to the melody from the first section, the A section and then we're going to deconstruct and work out what this melody is actually doing. So from looking at this melody or listening to this melody you can hear and see that it's split to two parts and they both repeat. So it's really just based around these notes BD A and G. Let's have a listen again. Then the melody repeats, ...
looking at the chords, the chords carry on. But the melody repeats. So the way I really wrote this was thinking about the notes in the scale and what I could create a logically. So thinking of something that's quite catchy and rem uh memorable and also quite repetitive. So the notes BD and G fit in our scale A minor which are the notes ABC DEFG and A. So basically the white notes, but starting on a is a scale, a minor, but they don't necessarily use the notes. You'd expect you a lot of the time you'd expect riffs or melodies kind of revolving around the third and the fifth. But if we look at this one, the first chord, we have a B ad and a G, the cord we're playing is an A minus plus two. So we have the B and the sus two cos in a minus plus two chord, we have an A, then we have a B instead of AC, then we have an E here. We have ad as well and we have a G. So this kind of changes the chord as well. So this really turns the chord into 1/7 chord also adds on this D. So we've got quite a few different things going on really. So this chord isn't necessarily a minus two from looking at the chords. It is, but when we hear this melody, it adds a different shape. This kind of makes it a lot bigger and thicker sounding. So we've got kind of the seventh or minus seventh and also this 1234 instead of a five a fourth. So it's more turning into a, an A minor SU two A s um add 4/7. So really thickening up this chord and making it sound more color, more colorful and more kind of going on. The deeper sound, which is why this sounds quite mysterious. And the track they actually called space radar. Cos I imagined a spaceship flying through space and robbing different planets like a space radar. And this kind of big mysterious sound is creating, created by a combination of the synthesizer sound. Cos I'm using quite a spacious synthesizer sound and also the chords and note selection. So really, it's not an a minor. So two, it is at the start, but when the notes come into the rift, it changes the shape of the chord completely and adds a bigger shape to the cord. This was kind of done subconsciously, but I also knew I was adapting the sound of the chord by adding these melodies in. And then we've got the second chord, which is the a minor su two similar kind of thing. And then we have the G, so we've got the notes of the G here. So we kind of have this tension of this first chord that's all built up and it has these different notes that aren't the traditional notes of the triad and then it gets released by the second chord, which has a nice straight G. So let's listen to this again. So we kind of have this first couple of chords that are quite strained and quite colorful have all this tension then it gets released on this G here. And then we kind of add the tension a bit more with the GSO two. Let's just listen to this again. It's quite hard to notice until you train it here. So we start with the tension, then we release and it builds up again. Now let's have a look at this third cord and the melody that links to this fur chord. So we have this a minor which is here. Then we have the G which kind of releases a bit. The tension builds up when we have this SU two. Then we have this cord here. Just kind of a, a lot of tension going on. Cos you have this B with the F which clashes. So we're actually playing this note. Had this be with the safe at the same time. This clashes, which is another thing I subconsciously did. I want the tension to build up a bit more. I think it's created from this clashing sound and then a similar kind of thing. We had the six, but here we've got the fifth, then we have the G which releases again, then builds up because uh going back around again to this A minus. So it's really just the chord progression and the melody should build up tension and release, build up tension and release. As long as it's released by the end, as you can see here, we're playing a G and the last chord has a B ad and a A. So it kind of had a little bit of tension with this A and AJ but not too much. So this melody is just built up around cause and tension release cause and tension release causing tension release. That's basically it. And what I want to do is create something that was quite melodic, memorable, repetitive, but also had a bit of flavor, had a bit of color and a bit of depth. So let's just listen to this again at the start. I just repeated a bit of this. R just to kind of give you a little taster of what's going to happen. And then we have the A one section. It's quite similar. We have a similar kind of ref let's play this. It's the same thing. So the first one's pretty much the same, but it's the same. And then the second one, something different happens here. This is kind of crazy. The second one. So let's have a listen to this again. So the C#, the D and the A, so we still kind of have this release because the C# and the A are the third and the fifth of the C# minor chord. So we still have a bit of a release, but the chord changes to a different key. It's a cord that doesn't fit in the key. So we have the release and the attention at the, at the same time, which I think works well, similar kind of thing. We have the D add a bit more tension and then we go back to this f and then back to the G. So it's all about add intention using the notes that fit in the scale but not necessarily always the root, the third and the fifth, not always the predictable notes. Let's just listen to this second section again. So a lot of it isn't just about following the rules and writing the exact same thing in using the exact ch pat chord pattern. Writing the root for and fair for melodies. A lot of the time. It's just hearing stuff in your head and just work and get out trying to transcribe what you hear in your head and writing it down in your digital audio workstation. A lot of the techniques I like to use is cause intention and then release as long as it's kind of released by the end of the pattern and it can loop round as a loop. You can pretty much put whatever chords, whatever notes you want. There's no real rules, but generally you wanna use the melodies, the notes of the melody which fit in the chord. They don't necessarily have to be the obvious notes and just make sure it can continuously loop round. Of course, not all electronic music has to be repetitive, but a lot of the time we do repeat certain phrases, certain patterns, certain melodies that we change certain elements like the drum parts, maybe the cause instrumentation behind it to add development and mood and really allow your music to let your listener go on a journey. But this is basically how I created the melody. I use notes that fit in the chord notes that fit in the scale and that when the chords and the scale changed because we have a key change down here. I added different notes that fit in these chords and scales but not always the obvious note, not always the root, not always the third, not always the fifth to add a bit of tension, add a bit of color and just make it a bit more interesting to listen to cos I think if it's too obvious, it's too clean, it's too happy. It's a bit boring personally, but write down, write the music, whatever you think sounds good. It's not about what I think. Sounds good, it's about what you think. Sounds good. So, so I hope you found this lecture useful about writing melodies. And then I do believe I wrote this on the keyboard. I played it in, on my midi keyboard, then I adjusted it and moved a few stuff around so you can write melodies on your midi keyboard. If you're used to playing the keyboard or you can just type it in on the piano roll editor, you can even use other devices like the posh two. If you're isn't able to live the launch pad, um different kind of midi controllers to trigger clips and to write parts in. So thank you again for watching this lecture and the next lecture we're going to be looking at arrangement.
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Electronic Music Production