Best alternative rock wedding songs first dancengs: Songwriting

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

In this article we'll look at some ways to create contrast in your songs by using your melodies.

1. Vocal Range

This is a big one, because it's so effective. It's pretty common in many popular songs to have their verses in a lower register, and then choruses sung close to the top of the singer's vocal range. It's a great way to let you know when one section has ended and another has began. Also, when the chorus is sung higher than the verses and bridge, it's a great way to make your chorus stand out, which is what it's supposed to do.

Another way to incorporate vocal range as a way to distinguish one section from another is to keep a very tight vocal range in your verses, but then use a much wider vocal range of notes in your choruses. A good example of this can be heard in the song "Brighter Than the Sun," by Colbie Caillat.

2. The Rhythm of the Notes

Melody is composed of rhythm and pitch. So while changing your vocal range from section to section is a way to achieve contrast with your pitch, you can also change the rhythm of your melody from verse to chorus to bridge.

If you have short choppy notes in your verses, you can use longer more drawn out notes in your choruses. If you have a lot of space between the phrases in your verses, you can use almost no space between your phrases in your choruses. If you establish one idea in your verses, by simply changing it to its opposite in the choruses, you'll be creating a nice contrast for your melody. A great example of changing the rhythm of each section happens in the song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by REM. The melody in the verses is very quick, and choppy, while the chorus melody is much more drawn out.

This same idea is used in the song "Over the Rainbow" as sung by Judy Garland. The verses have very drawn out melodies, while the bridge has much shorter choppier notes, starting on the line "Someday I wish upon a star." It makes for a very effective contrast.

3. Start the Melody on a Different Beat

This is a good one, that's hardly ever considered. The beat you start your melody on can affect the mood of your song. A lot of times songwriters write their melodies starting on the downbeat (or beat 1) of a measure, because it tends to come more naturally to do so. If you do that all the time, it can become tedious, which is why if your chorus starts every melodic line on a downbeat, it can be an effective strategy to start your verse's melodic lines on a beat other than the downbeat.

It's also important to note that whatever word lands on the downbeat will tend to be the most highlighted. Which is why if the title phrase of your song falls on beat one, it can be an effective move for highlighting your title.

To learn more, download my free EBook here:
http://www.SuccessForYourSongs.com/freeoffer/

Anthony Ceseri is the owner of http://www.successforyoursongs.com/, a website dedicated to the growth and development of songwriters of all skill levels. Anthony's writings appear as examples in the book "Songwriting Without Boundaries: Lyric Writing Exercises For Finding Your Voice" by Pat Pattison, an acclaimed lyric writing professor at Berklee College of Music.