On Melody Writing

Usually the chorus starts on the downbeat and on an important note of the key/scale. That's usually the 1st note/tonic but may also be the 3rd or 5th in that order.

I haven't seen any books cover this point except the Berklee book on Popular Melody Writing. Period. Finished. It's the only one and I've read A LOT. I'm certain Mariah Carey's songwriters know this stuff. You should too.

You can break these rules but you'll want to know that you ARE breaking them and better yet why you're breaking them.

A related point is that if the chorus starts on the first note of the scale and the first beat of the first measure then the verse shouldn't do either. For variety's sake you should start the verse on a different note and a different rhythmic starting point.

This is the main thing amateur composers miss. I've heard it on all of the songwriter/composition forums I've belonged to. 95% of the stuff peole are posting for review aren't taking advantage if this basic strategy.

Every section sounds like its supposed to be a chorus if they all start on the downbeat and on the first note of the scale. The effect is usually boredom.

To recap, the Chorus starts on the downbeat and on the first note of the scale.

If it doesn't start on an important beat then it really MUST start on a very important scale tone.

The verse doesn't start on the downbeat (perhaps on the "and" of 1 or on beat 2 or before the downbeat) and on some other note of the scale such as the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 2nd, 6th or 4th in that order.

If your chorus started on the 5th which is a slightly weaker note then you probably don't want to start the verse on the 1st note of the scale because it's a stronger note and you'll be relegated to choosing from the 7th, 2nd, 6th or 4th.

The fourth is actually a dissonant interval which is why it's placed last and most tunes don't start with it so if you feel like you need to narrow your choices feel free to drop it from your available options especially if you're a beginner and arent' sure how to treat it.

Now, what are you going to put in those sections? A better question is how are you going to put it in?

Did you know that most sections of popular music have at least two melodic phrases? And you have to write the first one to sound like it's not finished so that people will be expecting the second one?

There are two ways to accomplish that. The first way is where it ends and the second way is what not it ends on.

In a 4 measure phrase if you end on beat one of the 4th measure it will be a strong ending position. The phrase will sound finished.

If you also end on the first note of the scale or the root of the chord that's playing then it may even sound like the end of the whole tune.

Obviously you don't want to end in that position or on that note if there's more music coming. So don't. End somewhere else and end on any other note, preferably not the one you started on either.

Again I've never seen this advice anywhere except in the Berklee book. Not even in books on classical composition. It's very specific and advice that's easy to accomplish.

Another point is section length. Tunes will tend to run on the short side if you have verses and choruses back to back with only 8 measures each. So one or both of them should be 16 measures.

F.Y.I. A vast majority of western music is built in blocks of 2,4,8 or 16 measures. Also, you can contrast phrase lengths not only between sections but within sections as well.

If the first phrase is 8 measures long then the second phrase could be 4 measures long or you ccould have two 4 measure phrases for balance at another even 8.

Other possibilities include a four measure phrase followed by two 2 measure phrases etc...

So, go get your note book. Make some schemes for the song form, decide how long each section will be and which key, then how long each phrase will be and write in the starting and ending pitches of each verse and chorus.

Don't agonize over these decisions. Just plop them in. If you catch yourself spending too much time on this process go get some dice and let them decide.

Then decide the starting and ending notes for the phrases within each section for the positions that are still left undecided. That would be the ending of the first phrase and the beginning of the second phrase.

Isn't planning for variety fun? This is the method that I have used a lot and recommend to beginners. Not everyone needs to do it. They have heard and played so much music that the right moves come out unconsciously.

Much of the time it falls nearly exactly like I'm talking about here.

Another consideration is that the chorus should reach a higher note than the verse.

Usually the chorus starts on the downbeat and on an important note of the key/scale.

You should too.

The verse doesn't start on the downbeat

Now, what are you going to put in those sections?

Tunes will tend to run on the short side if you have verses and choruses back to back with only 8 measures each.

Isn't planning for variety fun?

And here's why:

This is mostly taken from the Berklee book on Melody Writing. They say that the chorus usually starts on the downbeat and an important part of the scale.

The professors at Berklee say that the verse can start on the downbeat but then you have to be careful with starting notes between the verse and chorus.

I think I said that.

I think I'll listen to them. Ignore as you like.

OK, I've had enough.

You are here simply repeating your interpretation of what you are reading (and apprently misunderstanding) in other books.

This isn't the forum for that.

I am closing down this thread.

Do you think we're all stupid? Do you think we need to be taught basic things about writing popular music? Have you looked around at the compositions of people in this forum???

From pop to jazz to theatre to classical and back again there are many talented musicians here who have created very inventive pieces of music following and breaking these rules you've set out for us, since before you came here. We don't need a pompous teacher to tell us we need to know things because he just read them in a book somewhere.