

Lyrics devoid of any substance will turn people off, no matter how catchy the melody might be.

One of the biggest mistakes you could make as a top-liner is assuming that your audience doesn’t have an imagination. A lack of shape could lead to a forgettable melody, while dynamic or surprising melodic shape can embed itself in the minds of listeners forever. The point here is that audiences recognize melodic shape, whether or not they’re consciously aware of it. While “Halo” never made it to the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, it stayed parked on the charts for thirty weeks, and is currently her most-streamed song on Spotify.
#MELODY ASSISTANT ADD LYRICS TO VOIC FULL#
“ Halo,” on the other hand, is an extremely rich melody that’s full of shape. After “Check On It” left the charts, Beyoncé began phasing it out of her live show, and it hasn’t made a live appearance since 2010. This melody focuses less on shape, and more on rhythmic cadence. Melodically, the chorus of the song is extremely repetitive. In 2005, Beyoncé released the single “ Check On It,” which at the time found commercial success on the pop charts-it stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks. Let’s look at two popular songs from the pop diva to see how melodic shape comes into play in terms of a memorable vocal. It’s what causes us to recognize the subtle leaps and dips in melody when we bust out the anthemic chorus of Whitney Houston’s “ I Will Always Love You” at karaoke night ( And AYYYEEE-EEE-AYYYEEE will always love YOOO-HOO-HOO-OOOOWAHH!).īeyoncé is a master of melodic shape, though not all of her melodies withstand the test of time. A successful melody will jump out to a listener and stick in their brain afterwards, and melodic shape plays an important role in achieving this effect. Melodic shape is crucial to crafting a memorable melody-but what exactly is it? Melodic shape refers to the overall rising and falling motion of a melody that creates a curve when viewed as a whole. An unconventional musical approach can create a motif that’s unforgettable-don’t be afraid to throw in something ear-bending to grab the listener’s attention! Take Billie Eilish’s “ bad guy” for example: the instrumental hook in the chorus isn’t exactly a “pretty” melodic line, but its use of accidentals creates a spooky melody that’s both striking and unique. This concept also applies to instrumental melodies. Look at Lil Nas X’s recent mega-hit, “ Old Town Road.” A bit of absurdity goes a long way conceptually, and a hit song about rapping cowboys proves this point. In short, beware of thinking too conventionally in your quest for simplicity. When writing a compelling topline, simplicity is a double-edged sword: you want your hook to be simple enough for mass appeal, but not oversimplified to the point of being uninteresting. So before you get started as the world’s latest and greatest top-liner, let’s go over a few common mistakes to avoid when writing your toplines. Using some of the most-and least-recognized pop songs as references, we’ve compiled a list of things to avoid when composing and tracking your ideas. We’ve covered toplining in the context of recording to show you how easily it can be done using Spire Studio, but today we’re focusing on a greater sense of conceptual awareness in your toplining approach. Expediency, creativity, and technical ability are essential qualities of a great top-liner. With the unrestricted use of catchy hooks in hip-hop and pop music today, toplining has become an extremely popular occupation.
