I spent a good portion of Friday night working up an audio sketch for my latest composition, laying down vocals, adding guitar tracks, and even selecting some tasteful EQ and reverb to give it a hint of polish. I listened once, and again, and a third time, adding touches of nuance with each pass. With a stiff neck and tired eyes, I saved my work and climbed out of the basement.
My wife has the privilege (or duty as she might view it) of hearing my creative prelims before they are released in any form. Aware of my addiction to affirmation, she will often extend words of encouragement that stem from the blind love of a spouse but still mean the world to me.
As is her custom at the end of a listen, she removed the headphones as the scratch track concluded, cocking her head one degree to the side in the name of contemplation.
"Here comes the sugar," I mused silently as I smacked the lips of my soul.
"I don't know. It's fine, it just isn't outstanding. I mean, the song is nice, but I can't really remember anything specific about it."
Ouch. Not what I anticipated. However, as I listened from the vantage point of her comment, I quickly realized that she was dead on. My song lacked character and dynamics, but it was largely devoid of a memorable melody.
A melodic line is the essence of a song. The average person singing along to a piece of music on the radio will not connect with a bass line, guitar riff, or a unique texture element. People gravitate toward a good melody because it is something accessible, a point of entry into an art form that can be esoteric and intangible.
Today, I scrapped nearly all of the original audio sketch, commencing work instead on a new treatment to the same set of lyrics. Though yesterday's efforts initially felt like wasted time, the process presented a good reminder for today and the rest of the Redline Project. I am grateful for this opportunity to consider anew the importance of melody.
Thank you Margaret for the remarkable insight you shared. Your gentle honesty opened my ears.
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Punkazoid. Awesome word!
ReplyDeleteVery true. And one of my greatest fears in songs I write- the melody might not be original. But again- I often get caught up on how the chord change isn't original. I'll have to work on that!
ReplyDeleteBy the by, maybe you should have a status update on these posts- like, the day(x/365), your money spent over your budget ($x/$1000), it'd be neat to watch the progress like that!