Chords or Melody, What Comes First?

     Considering that melody and chords are one of the great building blocks of songwriting, one can wonder where to start first: chords or melody? Each approach can bring something different to the table so, read on: Melody-First Approach      A melody-first songwriting process implies that the first step in our music composition is to compose a …

How to Harmonize a Melody

     To be able to harmonize a melody you first need to have a melody and/or know how to make one. The next piece of knowledge you must have is about chord formation; and finally, the experience of how each chord sounds and feels to you. The more you are comfortable about these three aspects …

How to Develop Your Musical Ideas

     Most likely, you don't have any problems with coming up with a basic idea for a beat, melody or some chords. What may happen is that you might not know how to go from there and consequently turn those ideas into a full fledged song.      What you need to know is that even the …

8 Practical Tips to Make a Melody

     There are lots of ways to approach this process, probably as many as there are musicians. It is up to you to find out what suits better to you, considering your working process, the way you think and how you hear music in your head. That said, I will be making some suggestions that you …

How to Make Simple Chord Harmonies Sound More Interesting

     Simple doesn't have to be boring! In fact, it can be fresh and uplifting. Even the most complex things usually sound better when presented in such a way that all seems logical and make complete sense - complex and yet, simple... The ones that can do this are the true masters.      But also, it …

Polytonality and Polymodality

     It is the use of two or more distinguishable key centers, simultaneously. However, the term bitonal can be used instead of polytonality, referring to the use of two key centers in the musical composition.      One of the most important aspects to consider, when composing in a polytonal context, is the choice of key relationships and …