Melody is arguably the most important aspect of a song. Of course, a song is the sum of its parts, much like a guitar, but a boring melody will crate a song in almost every case. So let’s talk about melodies.
How To “Invent” a Melody
There are two ways to come up with an initial melody for a song: you can improvise one and just blurt it out, or you can build one by intentionally using a preexisting one. It can be a four or five note phrase, or an entire chorus. It can even be a guitar melody that is played in the background of a different song. Any melody you like can be stolen – songwriters have been doing it forever.
For some, the idea of ripping off someone else’s melody intentionally is the worst possible sin. It’s cheating. And if a songwriter lifts an entire chorus, most would agree that they’ve done something bad. If the songwriter rips off a three or four note sequence, some would be OK with it and some would not. So where’s the line? What if you steal an entire chorus but change enough notes that it sounds like something different? To some, this is a black and white answer – if you intentionally steal a melody, you are cheating and being unoriginal.
It’s a personal decision for a songwriter. But something to consider is this: when you improvise, you are doing something very similar. Your mind is tapping into your memories and coming up with a melody based on melodies you’ve heard before. Sometimes you’ll spit out part of a melody from a song you can’t stand… that melody is in your memory. So in one case, you’re intentionally copying a melody, and in the other case, you’re unintentionally copying a melody. Does it matter?
To me it does. I would much rather rely on my improvising skills than to sit down and rip something off on purpose. To me, the melodies are more interesting when I improvise them, because the process is more organic and less calculated. However, I am not above hearing a four or five note phrase and stealing it IF I fall in love with it and my song ends up being different enough to avoid getting sued.
Songwriters have their role models, but don’t be surprised if some of your role models are “cheaters.” And the percentage of “cheaters” in pop music is obviously going to be a much larger number than in most other genres, because most pop music is written or co-written by experienced songwriters. They’re good enough at understanding what people like to be able to come up with catchy melodies on demand. But is catchy “great?”
The Difference Between Catchy and Great
Catchy and great are two different things. A simple way to demonstrate this is to think about any number of famous children’s songs, such as “Ring Around the Rosie.” Most people would say the melody is catchy, but if you tried to put that melody as the chorus of a pop song, it wouldn’t work unless you have a superstar singer and very clever lyrics. It’s not a great melody but it is a catchy one. A more modern example is the song “Royals” by Lorde. The chorus is catchy but not great. Is that just my opinion?
Well, yes, but I do think there’s a way to judge melodies. Catchy is easy – If a melody sticks in your head, it’s catchy. But how do you know if it’s great? Here’s a good trick – play the melody on a piano. Force yourself to NOT think about the words and just listen very carefully to the melody. Is it interesting? Does it make you feel anything? Do you enjoy the melody?
Let’s look at “Royals” again. It is (as of the time of this post) a massive huge hit. Take the chorus melody and play it on piano. What do you hear? Don’t sing the words in your head when you play it, just listen to the notes. Is it melodically interesting? Barely. The main melody is three notes and sounds like something a bugler might play to wake people up or announce that it’s chow time. Now play the melody to the chorus of “Yesterday” by the Beatles. Is it melodically interesting without the words? Hell yes. It’s beautiful. It’s great.
Stripping a melody all the way down is a pretty effective way of getting a more accurate assessment of how “great” it is. It’s only one factor in a song but it’s an important one – catchy melodies can do better on the charts, but great melodies will likely stick around longer. 20 years from now people will still be listening to “Yesterday.” “Royals” will be a footnote.
A song is a sum of its parts, so you can definitely have a great song with a not great melody if everything else in the song is great. “Royals” works because people can identify with the lyrics, the singer has a different-sounding voice, the production is interesting. So some people would argue it’s a great song. And you don’t need a killer melody for every single part of a song – part of the reason we have choruses is that they’re more melodically interesting than the verses and allow us to dramatically build up the song. It is more interesting to hear someone go from a whisper to a scream as opposed to just screaming.
It is important, in my opinion, not to “judge” all songs using the exact same criterion. When McCartney wrote “Yesterday,” his goal was to come up with something that people could listen to in a relaxed setting and enjoy. “Royals” was written to make people sing a long and tap their feet. You can’t compare a chocolate chip cookie to a steak. They’re made with two different purposes. There’s nothing wrong with writing a song that makes people happy, makes you a million dollars, and won’t remembered in 20 years.
Go back and listen to “Lights” by Ellie Goulding from a couple of years ago – the chorus melody is catchy AND great. It was a hit – not as popular as “Royals,” but still a hit. I did not like “Royals” but I loved “Lights” because the chorus melody was catchy and great.
So what happens when a pop star consistently manages to have chorus melodies that are catchy AND great? They can do very, very well. See “Katy Perry” and “Maroon 5.”
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go work on a melody. At my piano.
