How to Craft an Unforgettable Melody

Save 50% on my courses & products from now thru Dec. 2nd:

► Get weekly emails for deeper creative growth:
▶ Join the channel on desktop for members-only bonus content:

⎯ Products & Courses ⎯

► Learn how I perform and program realistic orchestral mockups in minutes:
► Get a clear roadmap to land paid composing work in weeks:
► My Logic template, harp VST, and TouchOSC template:

⎯ Free Resources ⎯

► Free Film Scoring Guide:
► Music Pricing Calculator:
► My Gear List:

⎯ Connect with Me ⎯

► Business Inquiries:
► Direct Mentorship:
► My Instagram:

[ZachHeyde]

Want more free music tips? Check out my 5-step film scoring guide here!

[nooffencebut]

1. Short motifs repeated at different points
2. Rise and fall strategy
3. Start with an interval that inspires you and repeat it in different parts
4. Make a melody then walk away and try and recreate it the way you think it went and what you change it to naturally

[MCGA]

“Misremember and adjust accordingly”, nicely done.

[jakegearhart]

I've been using that remembering trick for years and always wondered how often other people came up with and used that same technique. It's simple but very effective.

[conradolosada]

5:23 man improvised the most perfect and soul-wrenching melody and thought we wouldnt notice

[disskuss]

I noticed that the melodies I like the most have a lot of the time a special tone that goes out of the standard minor or major scale. Williams does it almost all of the time with using the lydian mode for example. It helps to memorize the melody too because it sound less generic and more surprising in a good way. Especially when that "special note" hits on an accent or has some kind of an important place inside the melody.

[Tenpete]

I've been trying to "learn" how to create my own music lately, and as someone who spent most of my life playing music by others, but never learning music theory myself... I'm incredibly jealous of anyone who can do what Zach did while giving this tutorial. It felt very, "Oh, this old thing?" *Proceeds to ad lib an homage to Howard Shore* "That'll just end up on the cutting room floor." Meanwhile I spend 3 years playing audio garbage on my keyboard because creating music might as well be developing a practical theory of time-travel as far as I'm concerned. Anyone who has ever produced anything that could be considered music within a DAW; You have my undying respect.

[clementcomposer]

"Use your [own] memory as a process of extracting what is memorable about your melody." Fantastic, Zach. Succinct, intuitive, and powerful. I'd love to hear your thoughts on development and building out larger forms! Keep up the excellent teaching!

[timetrack_music]

Wow! The third part, "misremember and adjust" is really mind-blowing. I find it particularly useful and would definitely keep trying it in my futuring song writing.

[forcedemodo]

I never thought to try to re-create a melody from my own memory to highlight the memorable parts more! It's ingenious and so out of the box I've never considered it.

[juleleleldilla]

the memory trick is how I make songs. I intentionally dont record or write it down I trust that when I have an idea and I still have it a while after without noting it down its good. Works every time

[TheUPwner]

5:43 the aboslute excitiment at his creation when he looks up, smirks, and giidly saids "so i changed it a little bit" good energy + passion

[Robinexs]

Zach, I wouldn’t leave the idea with the interval of a 7th as a mere example for this video. It’s astonishingly beautiful, please use it!

[sirmrs]

Zach you not only lecture but you also demonstrate wonderfully. Thank you for posting these videos they’re very helpful.

[pradeepnair]

I am so grateful to these times when we can learn so much, free of cost. All it requires is genuine gratitude to the tutor and willingness to apply his teachings.

[JimiWaggs]

After hearing you play that ET harmony a couple times across different videos, I realized I’d never thought about the chords of that tune which I’d heard a million times as an 80s kid. But man…gosh that’s so pretty… so happy you shared this.

[TheUKMikey]

I found myself humming your #2 melody after the video ended, so I guess... mission accomplished. Very clever tips Zach and misremembering seems like a good way to impart soul into what at first seems like a clinical process.

[Diggo]

9:32 According to your watch, you were gone less than 2 minutes, not 30 minutes. Got you 🤘🏼🤣

[sophiapaulekas]

The whistle factor. I love it. Your piano playing is on hit too.

[mpolier]

Zach you have the heart when you touch the keys…my brother was a prodigy and I know a natural when I feel one. The notes are the vehicles to the spirit energy-