Making Pop Radio Melodies and Chords

C

caycay

New member
I've been producing for a while and think I can do most things somewhat well. I am trying to get more into Pop music. However, when I listen to some of my tracks they don't neccesarily sound like a song that would be on the radio.

I think my drums are good, I can make the mix sound good, but the melodies/chord progressions/bassline don't always sound Pop-ish or like a commercial melody you'd hear on a pop song or on the radio. Should it be less melodic, should there be certain progressions?

If anybody has any tips on making the melodies/chords/basslines more Pop-ish, radio sounding I'd appreciate it. thanks
 
One thing you could try is just building around the I-V-vi-IV (1-5-6-4) chord progression. It's used in a LOT of pop music. And of course... study the top 50 global charts on spotify and just try recreating the melodies, basslines and chord progressions you're hearing - note for note. Not to use in your own beats, but to get an idea of how they work.
 
Melodies are tough. There are some basic ideas you can follow, but even so it's pretty tough to create a truely amazing melody.

The basics are:

- Important notes (long notes, notes at the end of phrases, notes on strong beats like beat 1 and 3) should be part of the chord.

- You shouldn't make leaps of a seventh (10 or 11 semitones) of an augmented fourth (six semitones)

- Big leaps should be compensated for by the next note being in the opposite direction

- Have a balance of moving up and down the scale 1 note at a time and moving by leaps
 
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