Transform
A strong motif is the core of many great themes - and a surprising number of famous tunes are nothing more than a few bars of one small idea, repeated and varied. In this worksheet you'll follow the same simple steps we use in the course to create a memorable 4-bar melody.
So, what does it really mean to know your idea? Let's get started.
"Just because the tune fits over the chord doesn't mean it's a melody… There's no heart to it. I have no idea what the idea was."
Having heard the work of hundreds of students, we are clear about the most common fault in tune writing: the composer doesn't know what their central idea is. The result is a melody that wanders - it fits the chords, it sounds perfectly pleasant, and yet there's nothing you could hum back afterwards.
What we look for instead is a small, compact phrase with an identity - something so recognisable that it can be transposed, moved over different chords, or played with no chords at all, and it's still unmistakably your idea. Three things give a motif that identity:
| Ingredient | Description |
|---|---|
| Rhythmic identity | A rhythm you can tap on the table before you even think about pitches. |
| A signature interval | A recognisable interval, often a large leap. Large intervallic leaps are often followed by stepwise movement in the opposite direction. |
| Compact size | A seed short enough to develop, but recognisable on its own. Three to six notes is enough, and often fits within a single bar. |
Let's put it this way: if you don't know what your core idea is, the listener certainly won't. Keep that in mind as you compose, as it's very easy to wander off and forget where you started.
In the video we mention "a little machine built into your course" for exactly this moment - and here it is. Choose a scale, key and tempo, keep the length short (a compact idea is the easiest to develop), and generate until something catches your ear. Most results won't be quite right, and that's fine: you're listening for the occasional "Ah yes! I can work with this!"
Try the Invert and Retrograde buttons too - they flip your motif upside down or play it back to front. Composers have used these two transformations for centuries, and they're a small preview of the melodic development toolkit you'll build later in the course.
These steps sound simple (and they are), but the goal is to end up with four bars that introduce your core thematic idea with some repetition and variation - the two most powerful tools in melody writing. Without repetition, your ideas won't stick in the listener's head. Without variation, it'll get boring quick.
Don't put pressure on yourself to write a world-class tune on the first go. Like all skills, writing great melodies comes with practice. What we've shown you here is of course not the full picture - it's just a set of tools to get you started.
This free worksheet encompasses the core teachings of Module 1 from How To Write A Great Melody - but there's a lot more to learn. Click below to explore the full course.