Why Your Melodies Sound Boring (Fix This)
44sThe relatable frustration and the specific 'root note' diagnosis create an instant aha moment for songwriters.
▶ Play ClipAI Summary
In this short coaching clip, a mentor helps a songwriter named Alex fix melodies that feel boring and stale. The root cause: all melody notes were tracing the root notes of the chords. The video explains why this pattern isn't inherently bad, and how adding variation and contrast — especially by moving off the root note in later lines — transforms a flat melody into something compelling.
Chapters
[00:03]
Alex's frustration
Mentorship student Alex felt his melodies were boring, boxy, and stale, but didn't know why. Listening to his song together revealed the cause.
[00:18]
Cause identified: root note tracing
All melody notes were tracing the root notes of the chords he was playing. This is a very common songwriting pattern.
[00:31]
Common songwriting approach
Songwriters often start with chords and let the melody arise from them. That becomes a problem when every melody note simply follows the chord's root.
[01:02]
Root note melodies aren't inherently bad
Having a root-note melody is not a problem by itself — it only becomes a problem if that's the only approach used throughout the whole song.
[01:18]
The real key: variation and contrast
No initial melody idea is inherently interesting or boring. What matters is how you create variation and contrast around it.
[01:34]
The fix applied
They kept Alex's original melody for the first two lines, then created variation in the third line by moving the melody off the chord's root note. The song suddenly sounded great.
[02:15]
Mindset shift for songwriters
Stop judging initial ideas harshly. No idea is good or bad by itself — it's about what you do next with that idea.
A boring melody is usually the result of relying on a single approach — like tracing chord roots — for the entire song. By identifying the pattern and deliberately adding variation in specific sections, any melody can be transformed, and songwriters can learn to stop judging their initial ideas so harshly.
Study Flashcards (5)
What was the cause of Alex's melody feeling boring?
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What was the cause of Alex's melody feeling boring?
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All of his melody notes were tracing the root notes of the chords he was playing.
00:18
Is a root-note melody always a problem?
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Is a root-note melody always a problem?
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No, it's only a problem if that's all you do for the entire song.
01:02
What is the key to making melodies great according to the video?
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What is the key to making melodies great according to the video?
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Creating variation and contrast with the initial melodic idea.
01:18
How did they fix Alex's melody in the third line?
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How did they fix Alex's melody in the third line?
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They kept the melody for the first two lines, then moved the third line off the root note of the chord.
01:34
What mindset advice is given to songwriters about initial ideas?
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What mindset advice is given to songwriters about initial ideas?
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No initial idea is inherently interesting or boring; it's about what you do with the idea next.
02:15
💡 Key Takeaways
💡
Root note tracing diagnosis
Clearly pinpoints a common, overlooked cause of dull melodies — tracing chord roots.
00:18
⚖️
Root notes aren't inherently bad
Shifts perspective: the melody itself isn't wrong, it's the lack of variety that kills it.
01:02
🔧
Variation fix applied
Concrete example of editing the third line to move off the root note, producing immediate improvement.
01:34
⚖️
Stop judging initial ideas
Encourages a healthier creative mindset: no idea is inherently good or bad, only what you do with it matters.
02:15Full Transcript
[00:03] in our mentorship program. Hi Alex. Who came to me with the frustration feeling that his melody in his song and generally in his songwriting is a bit boring and a bit stale and a bit boxy and he wasn't quite
[00:18] sure why that was the case. And when we listened to the song that he had brought listened to the song that he had brought in, what we identified together as being the cause of his frustration, the cause of this feeling that his melody was just
[00:31] a little bit boring was because all of his melody notes were tracing the root notes of the chords that he was playing. So, it's very, very common for a songwriter to start with some chords and then let the melody arise out of those
[00:47] chords and it can be a problem if all of our melody notes are just tracing the root notes of the chords. But, let me tell you a really important thing about what makes melodies great. It's not actually a problem at all if we have a
[01:02] root note melody, a melody that is just coming out of the chords and the notes of the chords themselves. It's only a problem if that's all we do in the song. So, it's really important because no initial melody idea that we have is
[01:18] inherently interesting or boring. It's all about how we create variation and all about how we create variation and contrast. So, we stuck with that melody. We kept that melody for the first two lines, but we worked together to create
[01:34] some variation in the third line of that section to identify that what the characteristic was of those first two lines was this root note melody and to say, "That's fine. It creates a nice vibe. It's a really happy feel." But, if
[01:48] it's just that way through the whole song, it is going to end up feeling stale. So, we worked together to create some new interesting ways to approach the melody in the third line that just did something different, that moved the
[02:01] melody off that root note of the chord, and suddenly the whole thing sounded really, really great. So, it's so important, I think, when we're thinking about melodies and thinking about songwriting, to understand, particularly
[02:15] when it comes to melody, that no initial idea is good or bad, is interesting or boring. You know, there are some melodies that immediately catch the ear, and it's worthwhile chasing those melodies, but it's more helpful for
[02:30] songwriters, I think, when we're in our initial stages and maybe struggling with melody a little bit and judging ourselves too harshly, to take the judgment out of any initial idea and really say, "It's not about that idea.
[02:43] It's about what I do with that idea and what I do next."
