Writing Singable Melodies

The importance of singable melodies cannot be overstated in music. When we are instrumentalists we often try to add too much to a tune, to make it complicated or impressive to the potential listener. The reality is that most listeners do not care if your tune is impressive, and if they do it’s from a novelty standpoint, like something you’d find in a curiosity shop.

Iconic melodies are simple and memorable.

Think of the Disney theme song, or Take Five, or almost anything from Roger Miller. So many great melodies exist out there, and the ones that stick are simple and memorable.

Now sing Eddie Van Halen’s Eruption. It’s a really impressive track but it exists to showcase Van Halen’s prowess on the guitar. This kind of composition has its place, but for my taste I’d rather write simple and beautiful melodies than groundbreaking technical exercises any day.

Now, this piece is in no way a particularly great or beautiful melody to my ear. What I like about it though, is that it really demonstrates how different I write when I’m not sitting with the banjo trying to plunk out a melody in banjo licks and rolls. I wanted a hummable melody, and I accomplished that in the “A” part of this tune at least!

Anyway, this is a tune that I wrote by singing a melody first and constructing it on the banjo afterward. If you haven’t tried doing this, it’s a great way to break out of the boilerplate banjo lick realm and find melodies that are singable.