How to Write Melodies

Rikky Rooksby

Jul 2023 · Rowman & Littlefield

About this ebook

Melody is the true heart of music—the identity of a composition, the vessel that carries the lyrics, the tune that you keep whistling on your way home from a concert. Composing melodies is often thought of as a mysterious process—a lightning bolt of inspiration delivered by the songwriter's muse—but in fact melody is an art that can be learned, honed, and perfected. This book teaches that art in an engaging and thoroughly accessible fashion. Starting from basics, it covers the essentials—rhythm, intervals, scales, and harmony—and builds on these simple principles to offer a wealth of advanced techniques and tricks. Every musical example in the book is accompanied by a downloadable audio track, allowing songwriters to increase their understanding of melody through both sight and sound.

How to Write Melodies is the only guide you’ll ever need for demystifying and perfecting the art of melody writing.

About the author

Rikky Rooksby is a guitar teacher, songwriter/composer, and writer on popular music. He is the author of How to Write Songs on Guitar (2000, revised 2009, 2020), Inside Classic Rock Tracks (2001), How to Write Guitar Riffs (2002, revised 2010, 2021), How to Write Chord Sequences (2003, revised 2011), Chord Master (2004, revised 2016), and countless other books. He has written entries on rock musicians for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and published interviews, reviews, and transcriptions in many music magazines. He is a member of the Society of Authors, Sibelius One, and the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society. Visit his website at www.rikkyrooksby.com for more information.