Thursday, July 3, 2008
It's Easy to Create Melody!
Some consider melody the most important aspect of music making. Of course, there's harmony and rhythm, but melody is the one part that listeners hold to memory more than any other, and, it's also the easiest part to create!
For example, in the lesson Oriental Sunrise, we have two chords. Now if we just play these chords, if we just fool around with them, we get textures and whiffs of sound that drift away and do not hold. But, as soon as we add in melody, the whole piece becomes alive and discernable.
To create a melody really requires nothing more than playing around with the right-hand. The left has the chords and creates the harmonic background - an aural canvas if you will. Now, we can add in highlights to our sound painting using melody.
We improvise and are amazed at the fact that just a few notes is enough to create a wonderful sound - especially since you use the pentatonic scale. You can't go wrong by playing on the black keys. Every note you produce will sound "good." We let go and allow our intuitive mind to come up with the melody and the music pours out of us.
Once you know the scale you'll be playing in, (in this case, minor pentatonic) you are free to play any note you want from it to create your melody. The focus is now on making music and not on choosing melody notes - a very freeing experience!
Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music's online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Visit http://www.quiescencemusic.com now and get a FREE piano lesson!
