do you use more than 1 chord in a song?

M

mark1234

Active member
zSHARE - Drums.mp3

i started with a single note melody, than i copied the melody into a higher keyrange, and did that again and once again.
So i had a 4 note chord for the melody.
than i played some notes in a higher octave on top of it.

Is this the right way to create melodies?

Anyway, just give me some advice on how to create melodies that sound professional?
I needed like 1-2 full hours to complete this melody.
 
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"You can't force a melody, you have to hear it." - Utada Hikaru

Also, while this is not what you were asking about, I really like the groove your drums deliver. Keep it up!
 
somehow, i cant play or dwnload the file. but yeah, i've heard a lot of songs that employ what you said, having a melody at lower octave then they are played at a higher octave after 4 bars or so then back on the lower. like what B.Cox or Stargate did in some of their works. but you can always explore the potentials of the melody you already have. point is, if it sounds good, then use it, if not then explore the scale you are in till you find the right chord.

the song you posted, is it the one with vocals and guitars? if it is, then it sounds really good.
 
lol?

meaning; I don't understand the question.. Just make and use as many melodies as necessary for your track. Its generally good not to flood the track with too much stuff tho, cuz every element should contribute fully to the overall sound you're going for.
It's typical for beginner producers to over-make the beat, without really paying much attention to the whole mix and how everything play together.
 
To answer the title: You need to create interest in the song otherwise no-one will buy it. If you only have one chord in the song then the interest has to come from elsewhere - usually it's a very catchy groove. No rules as to how many chords you can have in a song but 3-7 is about where the average is. Enough to provide interest but not too much to confuse the listener. One can work as well as twenty - but it depends on what you are doing. ("Tie a yellow ribbon" had twenty+ if I remember correctly, and I think that was a UK and US No1, whilst "Dreams", also a US No1, had only two - apart from a short middle bit that is.) Interesting to know of a US No1 with only a single chord though - can't think of any offhand.

No real rules for creating a melody either and it is usually down to what works for the individual. A melody is usually quite a human thing though and you don't want to make it too mechanical. (Couldn't get your song to work so I am not judging here, but I'm going down this line as your post sounds like it seeks mechanics for this) An arpeggio is not a melody as it is too mechanical even though it seems to qualify - you need to give the listener more creativity and not just routine. Questions like: is it too boring? is it too confusing? is it too annoying? can help more than any mechanics here.

Still trying to understand what you did - it sounds more like a melody with harmony parts to me. Other people like what you did so maybe you're doing things what is best for you.
 
This is so confusing. A melody meaning a vocal melody? If you are referring to chords then that would be 3 or 4 notes, a vocal tune would be 1 note.
 
Usually, when im creating music, ill just pick 4 different chords,
Like.. B Minor, D Major, A Major, G Major.

Then ill mess around with them, changing some notes in them,
ending up with something like a weird D? im not sure about the chord name.
But ill take the F# and change it to a A instead.

Playing more around with it, and yea..

in the end, i got a result which is:
B Minor, The weird D, AMajor, GMajor, and maybe a Asus2 to end up with.
 
What you are saying sounds to me like arpeggios, if I'm understanding what you're saying. Playing notes found only in the chord, particularly triads, in the melody is by definition an arpeggio.

---------- Post added at 01:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:41 AM ----------

Whatever you do, don't build chords that are all major, all minor, all whatever, because you'll lose your tonal stability quick.
 
lol Im thinking the same thing^^^ The thought is pretty obsurd to me and the fact that only one person picked it up makes me think I've missed something.. but I think I agree when someone said you might be talking about arpeggio. One chord??? Just doesn't sound right to me.
 
RhyanCrisis said:
how do you make a song with only one chord?
Click to expand...

I think "pump up the volume" by Marrs was one chord all the way through. No1 in the uk around 89. (Might have a slight change in harmony at one bit though.) Should be on youtube. The reason it worked is due to the groove, multiple samples and fx.
 
I don't know man, melodies should come naturally. There's no set way; listen to it and if it sounds good, stick with it! :)
 
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