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Songwriting - Chord and Melody relationships

The fitting of a melody to a chord progression should be a work of songwriting finesse. There are, however, too many songwriters who take this process for granted.

Songwriting Theory

In order to fit a melody with a chord progression, one needs to know what scales will work with a set of chords. The easiest way to determine this is with the a chord scale. Learn how to build a chord scale for any key - click here!

Once you are familiar with a few chord scales, you can more easily find the key center of a song. The key center tells you the key from which most the of the chords were chosen.

Let's say you have F Major, A minor, and G Major in the Verse of your song. You need to find which key these chords have in common. Here are some clues:

1. G Major and F Major - Major chords are either the I, IV, or V in a Major key. Go through a few Major keys to see if they include the G and F Major chords. If you have played in the key of C a couple of times, you will know where these chords are from.
2. Ruling Out - There are 5 sharp keys - G, D, A, E, B, and 5 flat keys - F. Bb, Eb, Ab, Db. F# or Gb would be the sixth sharp or flat key, and C has no #'s or b's. NO sharp key contains an F Major chord - that rules those out. NO flat key contains a G Major chord. Therefore, the key has to be C.
3. Where is "home"? - Listen to the chord progression. Which chord sounds like "home"? The one that sounds like "home" is the key of that progression or section.

For more info on finding the right key or scale, go to our scale choice lesson.

Writing The Melody

Writing a good melody is probably the hardest songwriting skill, next to writing lyrics. Chord progressions don't sound so bad if they are rehashed again and again. But, a melody?? A rehashed melody sounds as bad as a squeaky shopping cart, and it will put you in jail for copyright infringement! Copyright protects songwriters from Songwriting thieves.

Rhythm

The rhythm of the chords and melody are integral to a song's feel and overall success. This is not to say that the two have to be identical, of course.

1. Syncopation - This is the use of upbeats in a rhythm. If the chord rhythm is syncopated, the melody should probably be syncopated to some degree also. Think of the melody and chords as dancers.
2. Harmonic Rhythm - This is the speed at which the chords change. If the chords are changing rapidly, the melody shouldn't necessarily follow. The best result often comes from the melody staying around the same note as the chords are changing. If the harmonic rhythm is slow, the melody might be more complex (more notes, more jumping around).

Melody Structure

Just as a good song or progression needs structure, so does a good melody. Melody structure has a similarity to song structure. Here are a few examples of good song or melody structure:

Verse=A, Chorus=B, Bridge=C

1. AABA
2. AABC
3. ABAB
4. ABAC
5. ABCA

Below is the verse melody of "The Farmer in The Dell" nursery rhyme. Sure, you laugh, but a great melody is often as simplistic as a nursery rhyme!