How To Write A Vocal Melody
When we created Captain Melody we analyzed the melodies of thousands of songs from a multitude of genres and we found some amazing patterns and straightforward techniques.
By following a few simple rules you can quickly get down an idea, and with some additional tweaking it could be the next big hit!
Got The Key, Got The Secret
There’s no hard-fast rule to which aspect you begin with, but let’s say you have written down some words, maybe a chorus or verse. Begin with establishing a key which you feel comfortable singing in and write chord progression within that key. Check out Captain Chords for writing chords.
Need help finding your perfect key? Mixed In Key allows you to find the key & scale of your favourite songs.
Pitch Perfect
Once you’ve laid down a chord progression that you like you can start to think about the melody or ‘top line’ as it’s often referred to. The easiest way to approach this is to look up the key & scale you’ve chosen for the song so that you know which notes can be used.
Captain Play allows you to trigger all the notes from the key & scale without having to remember where they are on the piano or keyboard and Captain Melody will create melodies to match your chords.
Captain Melody 5.0
- Write melodies that suit your chord progression
- Connect the Melody plugin with Chords plugin
- Apply different rhythms
- Apply arpeggiators that move your MIDI notes
- Adjust the tension between the Chords and Melody
- Hear the melody played with 100+ different sounds
Get Jamming
Now write a catchy melody to fit with your chords by keeping to only the notes in the key & scale. Try auditioning melody whilst the chords are playing. If your chord progression repeats, try using the same melody for each repeat but change the endnotes to add some variation.
Sing To The Melody
Finally, match the words up to notes of the melody ensuring when you sing you follow the same notes and rhythm. You can then simply mute the melody instrument and sing the song, with it’s melody, along with the chords.
Here’s an example of putting this into practice.
Write Your Own Melodies Using Captain Plugins
It’s super easy to create your own ideas from scratch. Visit the official Captain Plugins homepage and see how it will help you explore music and write your own original productions.