Video – Making Easy Motif Based Melody

Below is a short video with some tips on how to take a motif

“Motif: a short succession of notes producing a single impression; a brief melodic or rhythmic formula out of which longer passages are developed”

… and make a few simple changes to expand it into a verse or chorus. The idea expressed in this video is to come up with a small melody idea and be able to repeat it 3 times but each time changing it just enough to keep it interesting. This strikes a good balance between something familiar for your listener while at the same time, providing something new with minimal effort.

There are many methods for altering a motif that I won’t list here, but this video shows 2 examples that should be easy to re-use in your own composing efforts.

Method 1

  • play the motif
  • repeat the motif but add a different ending to it
  • repeat the original motif with the original ending
  • play the motif a 4th time with another new ending.

Method 2

  • play the motif
  • repeat the motif unchanged
  • play a shortened version of the motif twice (in the time allotted for the first version of the motif)
  • play the original motif again.

How to Easily Write a Strong Melody – by Success For Your Songs

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