The Complete Idiot''s Guide to Music Theory

Part 3:
Tunes
Writing a Melody to a Chord Progression
You don’t have to start with a melody; you can base your tune on a specific
chord progression and compose a melody that best fits the chords.
If you prefer to work this way, it helps to get a good feel for the chord progres-
sion before you start writing the melody. Play the chords again and again on
either a piano or guitar. In many cases, you’ll find a melody forming in your
head; if this type of natural melody comes to you, you only have to figure the
notes and write them down.
If no natural melody occurs, it’s time to roll out the theory. While you don’t
want to work totally mechanically, there are some basic approaches you can use.
Take a look at these tips:
◆
Stay within the notes of the chords—at least for the main notes in the
melody. If you’re holding an A minor chord in a specific measure, work
with the notes A, C, and E for your melody.
142
A simple melody for the popular I-IV-V chord progression—note the heavy use of chord notes in the melody. ( The notes
indicated with a (p) are passing tones.)
◆
Try to find a logical line between the main notes in different measures.
For example, if your chord progression goes C-Am-F, realize that these
chords have one note in common—the C. So you can base your melody
around the C note. Conversely, if your chord progression goes C-F-G,
you might want to pick three notes (one from each chord) that flow
smoothly together—E to F to G, for example; or G to F to D.
◆
Use notes that emphasize the quality of the underlying chords. For exam-
ple, when you’re writing to a V7 chord, emphasize the tension by using
either the root or the seventh of the chord in the melody.
◆
Once you pick your main tones, fill in the gaps with passing tones.
◆
Come up with an interesting rhythmic motif, and repeat that rhythm
throughout the melody.
I wish there were a more complete set of rules for adding a melody to a chord
progression, but we’re getting into an area that is more art than science. The
best way to hone your skill is simply to work at it—play a lot of chord progres-
sions, and practice writing different types of melodies over the chords. (And
remember to read my companion book, 
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Music
Composition
, for lots more advice and instruction.)
Over time, you’ll figure out your own rules for writing melodies—and develop
your own melodic style.
In this example, the C in
measure 3, beat 4 is tech-
nically an 
anticipation,
not
a passing tone. An antici-
pation is, in effect, an
“eager” note—a note from
the next chord that is
sounded just a little earlier
than the chord itself.
Note
Now that you know all
about chord progressions,
turn back to Chapter 8,
and repeat some of the
exercises with specific
chord progressions in
mind.
Note

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Chapter 10:
Chord Progressions
The Least You Need to Know
◆
Every note of the scale has an associated chord, notated by a Roman
numeral (uppercase for major; lowercase for minor).
◆
Chord progressions naturally lead back to the tonic, or I, chord of the
underlying scale.
◆
Every chord naturally leads to at least one other chord; for example, the V
chord naturally leads to the I.
◆
The final chords in a progression--the ones that ultimately lead back to
I—are called a cadence.
◆
The most common chord progressions include I-IV, I-V, I-IV-V, I-IV-V-
IV, I-V-vi-IV, I-ii-IV-V, I-ii-IV, I-vi-ii-V, I-vi-IV-V, I-vi-ii-V7-ii, IV-I-IV-
V, and ii-V-I.
Exercises