Songwriting Saturday: Five Songwriters Who Write Consistently Great Melodies

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As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, melody is an extremely important (yet often overlooked) component of songwriting. A good melody will help relate your central story/message, and will stir up certain emotions relevant to that story/message. It will linger in people’s memories in a non-irritating way, making them feel the need to listen to the song again.

The best way to learn how to write great melodies is to listen to lots of great melodies!

Here are five artists who have mastered the art of melody-writing:

1. Paul McCartney. The king of melodies! He has an amazingly natural knack for making a tune memorable, singable and beautiful.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx_APcTyIUg

 

2. Sarah McLachlen. Sarah was my “Inspiring Artist of the Week” yesterday, partly due to her melody-writing skills.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqps9ZdMxs0

 

3. Jon Foreman. I know I mention Jon Foreman quite a lot, but that’s because he’s such a great writer, who has mastered all three components of songwriting (melody, lyrics and chord progression). His melodies make me go funny inside.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlS7qqMGA98

 

4. Coldplay/Chris Martin. I’m not the world’s biggest Coldplay fan (although I LOVE their first two albums), but they sure do write great melodies. (Their songs are credited to the whole band, so although I suspect that Chris Martin is the main writer, I can’t say this with certainty.)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MwjX4dG72s

 

5. Marc Scibilia. Never heard a melody of his that I didn’t like. Each one is perfectly suited to the song in question.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDos081BP0Q

 

I recommend you listen to lots of songs by the above artists in order to develop a good understanding of what makes a great melody. You can then apply that knowledge in your own writing.

What about you? Which artists write melodies that make you melt? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!

 

Photo courtesy of Trey Jones.

2 Thoughts on “Songwriting Saturday: Five Songwriters Who Write Consistently Great Melodies

  1. Emil Terhoven on 2 June, 2013 at 1:46 pm said:

    What about Gareth Asch? 😉

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