Songwriting: Chords first

So you have a chord progression that you think sounds awesome and maybe you even have a rhythm. Despite that for some reason you can make a good melody. The easiest answer is to just listen to the chords and hum a melody.

Here is an example of a melody I came up with by humming over a typical chord progression. 

chords only

 

with melody

This is so easy you I imagine most of you have already thought of it. Don't worry I'm not going to waste your time by only giving you that. 

Another option is to look at the chord tones of the progression and then choose one note for each chord. That note will be you main melody note over that chord. When picking these notes it's usually best to pick notes that flow smoothly into each other rather than jump around although some jumps can make a melody interesting. Then embellish the main notes with shorter notes to add some interest. Also remember that you don't have to start on the 1 of every bar. Remember that even though this method is more mechanical than just humming you still need to let taste be the ultimate judge.

Just the chord tones

 

With some short notes added

  

Now with some rhythms changed 

 

I hope this gave you some ideas on how to write a melody when all you have is some chords. Of course there are some other techniques you can use to develop the melody, but hopefully this will give you a starting point.

Next time I'll go over how to start from a melody and then add chords to that.

 Which comes first: Melody vs Chords
Songwriting: Melody first