This One Melody Tip Will Make Your Melodies GREAT

This is why I record every second of jamming/songwriting that I do. Often you get a rhythmic improvisation that works so, so well that it makes the entire melody, but the thing is it's very hard to actually remember such subtleties. If you don't have it down, you'll probably remember a more 'square' version of what you did and wonder why what seemed to exciting suddenly feels lame and stale. It's also why it's so important to rehearse a lot and play in front of people a lot. When you get stiff and scared, your rhythm is the first thing to suffer. When you're comfortable, phrasing flows.

I’m a vocal coach. This topic is something I spend so much time on with my students. Starting the vocal either a beat early or a beat late, can really push and pull a song. To me, it’s the difference between good and great singers.

Kurt Cobain was the master of melodic phrasing.

I have watched hundreds of videos of music. This is the first time I was given permission to start off beat. THANK YOU!!!!

Makes the difference between what you might hear in coffee shop and what might hear on the radio

Neil Young started his phrases just after beat one of bar one in so many of his songs because he knew the ear-catching effect of it!

Most of my songs get like a few dozen views on YouTube. I watched your video here, changed the beat where I put the lyrics of this children's song I wrote so that the emphasis for the first word of each phrase is on the off-beat (actually beat 3.5 of a swing beat) instead of on the more predictable pickup beat, beat 4, and it made the song so much more fun. It is now by far my most popular song with more than 5,000 views in just one week. Is that the reason? I don't know. But you have a great idea here. Thanks!

Pls, make a video on how to write songs with musical note rather than mere words 🙏

aside from accent structure's "body language" which is an interesting way of putting it, I like the phrase "downbeat headroom." Accenting a melody on the downbeat is very strident. it's like a splash of cold water in the face. "cause this is THRILLER" "STRUMMING MY PAIN with his finger" etc. In both of those examples, the verse in Thriller starts on the and of 3! "it's close to midnight." "you start to scream" has a long pickup and accents on the "a" of 4. There is so many dynamics in the accent structure, that there is still oodles of headroom left when that big accent on 1 "THRILLER" comes in. hits you like a truck. Same as "killing me softly." on the verse "I heard you sang a new song" it's accented on beat 2, and other weak "ands." There is no downbeat accent until you get to the chorus "STRUMMING MY PAIN." again, hits like a truck. there is a DISEASE these days of singer-songwriters spamming accents on every downbeat. Every 2 bars. New chord, NEW phrase, new chord, NEW phrase, all on beat 1. By the time you try to take a big beat 1 swing in the chorus, it already feels like i've been bludgeoned to death with a hammer. phrasing is an extremely important and robust topic andthis video only scratches the surface!

A perfect example is The Searchers' Needles And Pins, in which the lyric starts on the 2nd beat and continues this way, (even through the Bridge) throughout the song.

I always struggle with melodies, thanks for making this video!

This is so great. Thank you for another fantastic video Keppie.

I really enjoyed it❤

I love your channel! This is so practical and it really makes a difference. Thank you very much!

Excellent advise. Thank you!

Great tip Keppie, your teaching is tremendous!! Thank you.

I've discovered this channel recently and definitely is one of my top discoveries of the year, and we are still in february! Thanks for your priceless content (:

Absolutely golden insight. Shed light on so many questions I've had for so long. Cheers!

Great lesson and lovely singing!

Your insights are fantastic, accurate and immediately applicable