A melody is a run of notes that the listener hears as one thing: the tune you hum on the way home. It is pitch and rhythm together, and it sits in front of the accompaniment. Lesson 1 gave you the chords; this one puts a line over them.
Phrases and motifs
Melodies are usually made of one or more phrases, built from motifs: short fragments that come back in different forms. The four-note opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is the classic example. Repetition is the point: a motif heard twice is remembered; heard three times with a change, it starts to tell a story.
Steps and leaps
A melody can be described by how it moves. Conjunct motion goes by step, to the next note of the scale; disjunct motion leaps. Most singable tunes are mostly steps with a few leaps for effect. Range, tension and release, and how a phrase ends (its cadence, see Progressions and cadences) shape it too.
Writing over C, F and G
Take the progression from lesson 1: C, F, G, C, one bar each. A simple rule gets you started: on the first beat of each bar, sing or play a note that belongs to the chord. Between those landing notes, move by step.
| Bar | Chord | Chord notes | A landing note to try |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | C E G | E |
| 2 | F | F A C | F |
| 3 | G | G B D | D |
| 4 | C | C E G | C |
E, F, D, C: connect them with passing steps and you already have a phrase that closes on the home note.
Sources
Every date, name, tempo and origin on this page comes from these pages, read on 2026-10-24.