From the course: The Songwriter's Toolkit: New Perspectives

Unlock the full course today

Join today to access over 22,600 courses taught by industry experts or purchase this course individually.

Melody that defines song form

Melody that defines song form - Sibelius Tutorial

From the course: The Songwriter's Toolkit: New Perspectives

Start my 1-month free trial

Melody that defines song form

“

- [Instructor] Because the melody is such a powerful piece of information, it can be used to establish the different sections of a song's form. This sounds like an obvious statement. Of course we want the melody of a song's verse and chorus to sound distinct. But when you start to examine pop music this isn't as common as you would think. Often songwriters use tools like harmony and especially production to make the sections of a song sound different. But there are a lot of great songs that keep the same chords throughout and use the melody to show us which part of the form we're in. Some examples of songs where the form is defined by the melody are Gloria Gaynor's "I will Survive," Radiohead's "High and Dry," Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks," Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream," and The Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face." Writing a melody that leads you through a song's form is not something you can learn to do overnight. It's a skill that takes a long time to perfect. That said, here is…

Contents