Vocal Melody

[vierge99]

Is it common to have a vocal melody using so few notes in a scale?

Example:

Under the sun
F F     Db  Fb

Over the sand
F F    Db  Fb

Across the sea
F F      Db  Fb

And  a   thousand miles away
F     Db  Gb  Fb    F      Db F

[henwrench]

The fewer notes a melody contains, the easier it is to remember it. The easier it is to remember a melody is directly proportional to the 'catchiness' of song. She loves you, yea, yea, yea.


                                       henwrench

[Bluesberry]

The fewer notes a melody contains, the easier it is to remember it. The easier it is to remember a melody is directly proportional to the 'catchiness' of song. She loves you, yea, yea, yea.


                                       henwrench

Hey thats good advice.

[Greeny]

I don't care about notes and scales - just sing it until it sounds right!

[vierge99]

I don't care about notes and scales - just sing it until it sounds right!

Whenever I just try to sing it, even after 20 repetitions it just seems kinda flat. I wonder what kinda music conflict that is that I need to focus on.

[henwrench]

Whenever I just try to sing it, even after 20 repetitions it just seems kinda flat. I wonder what kinda music conflict that is that I need to focus on.

    If you are singing flat, you are not filling your lungs with enough air before singing. Usually, when a singer is flat, unfortunatley, the singer is both 'mic shy' and not trying hard enough. I know this sounds mad, but believe me, it's true. When a singer is sharp, it is usually a sign that he/she is trying too hard, putting too much effort into what they are doing and therefore 'pushing' the note sharp. It is a lesser problem if you are flat, as only hard work is needed. Sharp? It's even harder to dampen one's enthusiasm.

                                             henwrench

[RMO]

I don't care about notes and scales - just sing it until it sounds right!

That

[T.C. Elliott]

The best advice isn't always easy to follow through. But a melody does not have to be wide ranging in order to be effective. However, it does need to be interesting. Usually repetition, used sparingly, is good. But go overboard and it'll get old quick. By the second verse of 'row row row your boat' most people are ready to go to something else.  Simple melodies tend to start sounding like nursery rhymes or kids songs if you aren't careful. That being said there are examples of very limited melodies out there that work very well.

Try a simple melody, then in the second or last verse expand a bit on it. Add some passing tones or what not. And generally speaking the chorus should be higher in center than the verse to imply more energy. But with all rules, this one can and should be broken when it sounds good.

[Nelson]

Man is this a great thread.
Though I'm more in line with Greeny's thinking when I'm actually writing and recording vocals, I find Mr. Henwrench to be right on point.
"Usually, when a singer is flat, unfortunately, the singer is both 'mic shy' and not trying hard enough. I know this sounds mad, but believe me, it's true." As my confidence grows so does the strength of my vocals. I'm often flat but so excited to sound half decent, I usually let it stand and keep moving. Slowly I'm revisiting old songs and trying to improve the vocals a bit. Trying to add a bit more dynamics without taking away from the honesty of the performance. 
I also keep my melody really simple and I repeat them quite a bit and my fear as T.C. Elliot says is that my songs may " start sounding like nursery rhymes or kids songs."
To avoid that I'm attempting to expand my musical horizon, by rehearsing a lot and adding embellishments to my simple progressions and melodies.
It ain't easy but when I come across something new, it is very exciting.

[shadowself]

When writing a vocal melody, you should concentrate more on what will fit will the song well as opposed to how many or how few notes it has.  Listen to "The End of the World as We Know It" for instance.  Stipe hangs on one note for bars at a time.  Reading that on sheet music would look monotonous as hell, but in the context of the music, it works perfectly.

If you question how a melody sits in the song, don't settle for something you are undecided about, it will haunt you later. Trust me, I have several ghosts myself.  Change it to something that fits better.