Transcription
A lot of producers struggle to make melodies, so they rely on loops to make beats. And I don't think there's anything wrong with using loops. But making good melodies can really set you apart from the rest. The problem is people overthink them because they don't understand music theory or can't play instruments.
Well, in this video, I'm going to show you a clear system that changed the way I think about melodies and got me landing placements with some of my favorite artists. And by the end, you'll be able to make endless melodies, too, without any classical theory knowledge. So, let's get straight into it.
Okay, so my default BPM is 143 because I make a lot of dark drill influence beats. I make trap, good trap, jerk, and just most of my melodies tend to be around that 140 range. But I don't worry about it too much because it's easy to change at any point. Now, let's just start off with any sound we like. I usually start with a key because it's a bit easier to hear the notes. Like this sound sounds pretty good to me. And we'll set a scale so you can see what I'm doing. We'll just choose any minor scale. Again, don't worry too much because you can always change that. Let's go with B minor.
So when people first start making melodies, they usually learn basic chord progressions. So they'll start with a note, skip a note in the scale, and add another one to get a chord like that. And then they'll just follow that with different chords. So it might be something like this. Then they'll take the bass notes, copy those down an octave, and have something a bit more full. And that's the basics of building chord progressions. And it's a good way to start melodies. But when I first learned it, it kind of boxed me in because I thought those were the rules. For example, I thought anytime I saw a chord like this, I could only use the bottom note for the bass. So my melodies just started sounding a bit too basic.
And then over time, I learned that all melodies revolve around a progression code specifically with the bass. For example, if we look at the scale, we can see that B is the first note in the B minor scale. Then we have C sharp which is two, D which is three, E four, F sharp for five, G six, A seven, and then back to B. So all progressions have a number system. For example, a really popular one is 165. So if we remove the other notes, bring these out and we can bring those down. Then that would be the progression. But then I used to think that if we had those as the bass notes, the chords would have to look something like this. just skipping a note in the scale, skipping another one. So again, my melody started sounding too predictable and basic when really you have a lot more flexibility.
So then instead of just focusing on chords, I started thinking about the main melody. Cuz when you think about it, the main melody is the thing that really sticks in your head. Most popular songs out there have a main melody that you could play easily on a piano or you could hum. So then why not start with that melody and build a progression around that? For example, we could just click in some notes and see what sounds good. Let's copy this. Bring that one down. So there's a little bit of variation. So even if you took that and copied it, kind of easy to remember. And then we can use that same progression system but just with the bass notes. For example, we could use that same one 65. Use that note again.
Now, the progression you decide to use is going to change the whole vibe of the beat. And I'll show you some examples. Let's find a different sound. As another example, we could go just down five. 1 2 3 4 5. So another one would be six five and then maybe up to the root note one. You could do 6 4 1. You see how all these different progressions change the emotion of the beat. If you're going for some hard trap, then maybe you wouldn't change the root note. You just do something repetitive. You could do 6 7 1 and then maybe add a passing note at the end. And you don't always have to start at the beginning of a bar like this. Like we could bring this one back and do this another passing note. These are really simple examples, but I'm just trying to get you to understand that the whole vibe of the track revolves around the progression. And you don't have to just use chords to get that progression feeling. And even when you've chosen the progression, you can build chords on top of that easily. For example, we could skip notes. Maybe bring these ones up. And then we could bring these up, too. Really simple one, but you get the idea.
Let's try something like this, but with the bass. Let's put that in a different preset. Let's try another one. We'll start with a pluck. That sounds kind of hard. Let's copy this. Bring the attack up though so we don't get that click. And then we'll choose a different progression again. Maybe this. Feeling that. So, we're starting with 65, going to the root note. Could bring this down and then add a passing note right at the end. Let's try this. There we go. See how the progression just changes everything.
So, we've got this top section. We've got the bass, which is defining the progression. Now, what I want to do is take that up and copy into another preset. Let's pitch this one up an octave and we'll add halftime. Okay, from here now we can add the chords. I just want to find a nice pad. And if you look, just cuz we're starting with G for the bass note doesn't mean we have to build the chord around that. What we could do is just use the root note and have this chord playing throughout the whole thing. Then maybe some kick start. Yeah, just to give it some rhythm or some pulsing. So even just by starting with a simple repetitive app and some bass notes, you can get a really good melody. And I didn't have to come up with any complex chord progressions and know a lot of music theory.
And then once I have my foundation, I like to add things like textures, accents, maybe some phrases, and just little bits that are going to spice up the melody. And a lot of people use kits or banks for phrases, but one plugin I really like to use is co-producer by output because this is going to listen to what we've made so far and then make recommendations based off that. But it's going to fit sonically and rhythmically. So if we click this and let it listen to what we've made, we'll set the key cuz we're working in B minor. Feel like it's missing some type of lead. So we could type in dark simple lead. And now anything that I play, it's going to match the BPM and the key. So it's really good for getting quick ideas rather than dragging something in and trying to stretch it to fit. Something like this. That's the type of sound it was missing. Might even pitch that up an octave. Cut it here. And then I think we should add something here. Let's fade that in. I'll find the sound soon. Let's add some reverb to that. And we'll also get some delay. Maybe when that one stops, we could add a vocal. >> This one could work. or same again. We'll add some delay to this one. Just add a simple one with the time set to 16. Something like this.
Okay. So, I think I've got enough melodic elements, enough melodies going on, but I want co-producer to listen to it one more time. And then I think just some accents here. Let's try piano accent. Yeah. See, like that one there. So, I like to drag it in, but then just take a few parts. I think just this one. Yeah, just right at the end. So now all these extra layers and sprinkles of melodies just make all the difference. That's who none of them. And this is with just completes the melody. So I treat co-producer the same way I'd use accent or phrase packs, but it's just way better because it's going to be in key. It's already a lot to the project BPM and it's taking the context of what you've made. So it's really good for giving you quick ideas. And output have sponsored this video, but I've been working with them for a long time now because I genuinely love their products. And if you want to try Core Producer completely free and get 50% off your first paid month, make sure you use the link in the description. Just plug into Lifesaver, man.
Okay, next thing I'm going to do is split the pattern with this app. I'm just going to add a layer using Layerizer. I'm going to use this pad me up preset just to get this nice texture layer and just record it into Edison. Now we can drag this into the playlist, then layerize it off. So, I'm thinking this will be a nice verse section. Okay, when it drops into the verse, I'm just going to add this halftime layer. I feel like it might need something else, but I'm going to get the drums in for now. Of course, we're going to use Pyro verse and a magnet kit. Let's make this a bit faster. Let's go to switch all audio clips to stretch and then we can bring the BPM up. And then I think let's find a different snare for that first one. All right, we'll bring this clap in. Alternate it like that. Let's copy that. All right. Then we're going to grab some open hats. This one's different. See some old books. I think we'll just have that 88 for eight bars and then we'll swap it for something else. I'm also going to add some of these hat rolls. But with these, I just want to use them sparingly for some bounce. I might just take that one. We can take a few more from some other ones. Take those out. And then we could add this scratch. And if we split these drums now, when that scratch comes in, I just want to mute all of the other sounds. Yeah, just a nice transition to the next part. Actually, I think the scratch is going to sound better here. And then I might add a fill for this section. Yeah, there we go. take this and bring it over here. So, I want two sections with this one. But the second time around, we'll add another eight. These three sound crazy. And then I'm going to start adding my signature sound again. All right. Then we could take this section, copy that one more time. Just bringing these up in our two. Now we can just bring the main instruments back in for this hook section. And we'll just mute where the piano comes in again. Then all we need for the intro is a section like this. All right, I think that might be it. Let's have a listen from the beginning. J cactus. J captain. >> Yeah, I think this 88 just sounds more unique, man. Instead of the spins all the time. Low jumps, too. So, just got 16 bars of each just going back and forth. So, I hope you guys are feeling this one. If you want to check out Co Producer, the link's in the description. Or if you want more videos just like this, then click up here. Hey, hey, hey.