Step 1: Pick a Key

To start your melody, first decide the key you will be creating or writing in. I chose C major as it is one of the simplest keys to play and understand from a piano perspective, and is often used as a starting point for those learning piano. If you already have no idea what I am talking about, you can still create melodies! Your form of creation may be more aural, however this specific guide deals with the physical notating of a melody, which requires some basic theoretical knowledge.

Step 2: Writing a Basic Melody

There are a lot of things to consider here, and a lot of directions you can go. In this example, I will show you how to create a very basic concept. This is intended as an example only, there are many ways to write and create melodies and this is just one of the possibilities.

This is what we call the antecedent phrase. (Also called the “question” phrase). In the key of C major, I have chosen to start on one of the chord tones of a C major triad. This phrase starts on the dominant note of C, which is a stable scale degree, and ends on the supertonic note, which is an unstable scale degree. This part of the melody moves only by step-wise motion.

The rhythm in this melody uses quarter notes, eighth notes and ends with one half note. Notice that the rhythmic pattern in the first two measures is identical. The second measure is very similar to the first by using the mediant note of C, which is also the 3rd note of the C major triad. Then in the third measure the first note is C. So the first note of the first three measures spells out G E C, which is a C major triad from 5th, 3rd to root.

This is the second half of the 8 bar melody, called the consequent phrase. (Also called the “answer phrase). Notice that the first two measures of each line are identical, this is called creating a parallel period. The last two measures are different in this phrase, ending on a stable scale degree.

So because the first two measures are identical, half of the melody is covered in the first two measures. The remaining two measures in each phrase are slightly different, but use the same variety of notes and rhythms. With the exception of the third measure in this phrase, the melody is contained within 5-6 notes, CDEFG (plus A). This part of the melody uses a combination of step-wise motion and skips or jumps in the last two measures.

Step 3: Adding Basic Harmony

This is the part of the guide where a good understanding of scales, chords, and keys will be essential. I have used a combination of notation, chord quality symbols, and functional chord symbols to give the most amount of information.

The melody presented above, is exactly the same as what you saw and heard earlier. What you see in front of you is a complete harmonic realization of this 8-bar melody. You can write a melody with some of these parts, you don’t necessarily need all of this information. The chords I added are all simple root position chords, with very little rhythmic development. By choosing consonant harmony and only using I, IV and V chords, I kept the harmony very simple and easy to read.

Notation

The written notes on the lower stave are a way to communicate exactly what you want played. This form will give the most precise information to anyone looking at the music. Most standard piano sheet music is written using only notation with no chord symbols. This method requires more notation literacy, and usually takes longer to write out.

Chord Quality Symbols

One of the more common forms of writing out songs or harmonies. Chord quality symbols go above the staff. Using chord quality symbols alone with the melody or even with lyrics to a song, can be easily transferred between different instruments, and allow for much more creative and expressive freedom. There are many ways to play a C major chord, so this method tends to allow for more artistic choice for playing and is generally a simpler way to write down the harmonies.

Functional Chord Symbols

The roman numerals that go below the staff are less commonly used in standard piano/guitar/vocal books. Functional chord symbols are used much more from an analytical point, to study and understand how the chord and harmony relates to and functions within the key that is being played. Functional chord symbols allow you to transpose keys much more easily, but require a more solid foundation of music theory to understand how to use and read them efficiently.

Step 4: Developing and Expanding the Harmony

Now let’s look at two variations of harmony on the same theme. The melody itself is unchanged, in the 2nd variation the melody has added notes to fill out the harmony, but otherwise is the same melody we started with.

Using a variety of new chords that still “exist” within the key of C major, the harmony changes noticeably. The harmony follows a similar pattern as the melody, staying exactly the same within the parallel period. I used different inversions of chords, added different types of 7th chords, added harmony that is dissonant with the melody in some areas, all while use chords entirely based on the C major scale.

Chords Within the Key

If we consider the chords that naturally occur within the key of C (chords that do not use any accidentals or modulation), and start with three note triads in root position, there are 7 different chords of this kind, just like there are 7 scale degrees. (CEG, DFA, EGB, FAC, GBD, ACE, BDF - See below). These chords are built upon the 7 notes of the diatonic scale.

The chords I used in the 1st variation are all based on these triads. I inverted some of them to create a descending baseline (notice the lowest note on the lower stave moves down step-by-step in the first two measures of each line). The 7th chords do not involve accidentals to keep it simple, and add more dissonant and interesting harmonies.

This is an example of a more complicated harmonization of the melody. Using applied harmony you can hear brief modulations away from the tonal centre of C major. The chords here are even more varied, using diminished 7ths, dominant 7ths, major 7ths and suspended chords to create a very rich and textured harmony. There is generally more contrary motion between the melody and baseline, where previously there was more similar motion in the first variation, creating more stable changes of harmony. The melody has been untouched, although the upper stave does now include more written notes to fill out the texture. Shifting some of the harmony notes into the upper stave also allows for the chords to use more open voicing’s, whereas the first variation kept the chords in closed voice position.

As you can see, even a very simple 8-bar melody can evolve and become and interesting piece of music, but it will never get there unless you write the simple melody first. It may not seem as interesting at the start, but just listen to the first tracks with the two lines separated, and then the last track with the 2nd variation. You can hear how even the simplest of melodies can become music worth listening to.