Hack Music Theory

How to Write a Mixolydian MELODY • Music Theory from Sigur Rós "Klettur"


Listen Later

 

How to Write a
Mixolydian Melody.

 

 

 

Free PDF Tutorial
includes multitrack MIDI file

 

If the link above does not work, paste this into your browser:
https://hackmusictheory.com/album/2525831/mixolydian-melody

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intro.

 

Music in a major key is uplifting, but the downside is that it often sounds childlike.

 

This is because the major scale is the most predictable scale. Predictable things are comforting and reassuring, so it is indeed used in almost all children’s music. The ease at which children can sing along with melodies in the (predictable) major scale is one reason, but an equally important reason is its innocent and naive sound. This is due to its consonant intervals, but that’s acoustic science, so I won’t bore you.

 

Here’s the problem so many producers face when trying to make uplifting music: How do you write a song that’s happy but not childlike? Or, far worse than childlike… Cheesy. Urgh! And yes, it’s scary/funny how many songs we hear that were obviously intended to be uplifting, but just ended up sounding cheesy instead.

 

So how do you make uplifting music that sounds beautiful and mature? Just ask Sigur Rós, as that’s exactly what they did with their song “Klettur”, from the beautiful new album “Átta”. This song has a wonderfully uplifting melody, but instead of sounding like children’s music (or cheese), it sounds solemn.

 

In case you ask Sigur Rós but don’t get a reply, here’s the answer: their secret is the Mixolydian mode. There’s a few other brilliant tricks they use as well, like the two different ways they deal with tension and resolution, and you’ll learn all these in our 4-step method for writing Mixolydian melodies.

 

But first… Tea!

 

 

 

Step 0. Canvas

 

As is often the case, before we start painting our melody, we need to prepare the canvas, i.e. the accompanying music upon which we’ll write our melody. So, set your tempo to 70 BPM, then create an eight-bar loop on your bass track.

 

For almost two minutes, Sigur Rós has the bass guitar pounding away on the root note (with the ♭7 thrown in for spice). This droning bass is their blank canvas over which the lead melody is sung. So, draw in a simple bass line that mainly plays 1/4 notes on the root (G in our example), but with the occasional 1/8 note on the ♭7 (F in our example).

 

Bass line droning on root note, with occasional ♭7 (highlighted) for spice

 

 

To thicken up the accompaniment, you can load up a pad (or strings) to play the root (G) and the 5th (D). Add a few octaves of these for a fuller texture. We’ve got three Gs (G2, G3, G4) and two Ds (D4, D5). Don’t play the 3 in your pads/strings, though, as you want this to be a background track, and the 3 has way too much emotion - we’ll save that special note for the melody!

 

Background pads on root note octaves (highlighted) and a couple of 5s

 

 

 

Step 1. Aaah

 

We gave away Sigur Rós’ secret in the intro above, so it will come as no surprise that your melody is going to be in the Mixolydian mode. So, let’s turn our attention now to exploring this mode, and most importantly, the note that makes it unique.

 

All modes can be divided into major or minor, based on whether their 3rd note is major or minor. Mixolydian is in the major family, i.e. it has a major 3rd (3).*

 

So, what makes Mixolydian different from the major scale? It has a minor 7th (♭7).

 

While the 3 makes it major, the ♭7 stops it from actually being the major scale. As a result of this unusual combination of major 3rd and minor 7th, we have a mode that sounds simultaneously uplifting and slightly solemn. It’s a beautiful combo!

 

 

*To learn all the modes and how to use them, read our Songwriting & Producing PDF.

 

 

 

Mixolydian Mode:

1

2

3

4

5

6

♭7

G

A

B

C

D

E

F

 

 

Right, now that we know the unique characteristics of the Mixolydian mode, it’s time to put that unusual combination of 3 and ♭7 to use in your melody. So, create an eight-bar loop on your melody track, and set your grid to 1/4 notes. As the ♭7 is already being played in your bass track, and your pads are only playing the 1 and 5, there is currently no sign whatsoever that your melody is actually going to be in the major family, i.e. contain a major 3rd (3). In fact, with the 1, 5 and ♭7 as your backdrop, you’ve created the very real expectation in your listeners for the ♭3, not the 3. If you jump right in with a 3, you ruin that wonderful expectation.

 

So, begin your melody with another note, or even another two notes. And only then play the 3 (B). To heighten that expectation even more, Sigur Rós plays the 4 before the 3. The 4th note in a scale always wants to resolve down to the 3rd note. So with the ♭7 in your pads (making the listener think you’re in a minor key), along with the 4 in your melody, they’re definitely expecting the ♭3 next. So, when they hear that happy major 3rd (3) instead, it’s hugely uplifting. Aaah! This is a brilliant trick, so we used it in our example too. If you don’t want to create that much tension though, play a different note before the 3. The 2 is a good option.

 

After you’ve written the first two or three notes of your melody, copy them into your third and seventh bar. The reason for doing that is because we’re going to be repeating the melody four times, but the third time will be different, which is why we’re going to leave that blank for now.* This is a great way of structuring a melody, as the first two repetitions get the melody stuck in the listener’s head, so by the third repetition they’re expecting that same melody again, but now you give them something different. This keeps them intrigued and wanting to hear more. After this variation they’re not sure what to expect, which is why you then give them the original melody again. That fourth repetition is deeply comforting, as it’s familiar to the listener.

 

*To clarify, your melody will be two bars long. That’s why you’re leaving all those bars blank for now (see MIDI below).

 

Each repetition of melody begins with 4 resolving to 3 (highlighted), other than third repetition

 

 

 

Step 2. Oooh

 

Now that you’ve used the uplifting note in the Mixolydian mode, i.e. the major 3rd (3), it’s time to use the solemn note in Mixolydian: the minor 7th (♭7).

 

Whenever you play the seventh note in any scale/mode, it always creates tension, as it desperately wants to resolve up to the root. As the root is the foundation and strongest note in any key, it’s like a massive magnet trying to pull the seventh note up to it. So, the tension you create from playing the seventh note is a big deal.

 

Remember though, just because your listeners are expecting a tense note to move to the predictable resolution, doesn’t mean you have to give them what they’re expecting. In fact, it’s a powerful technique to use both of these within one melody.

 

In other words, set up an expectation (like we did with the 4), then resolve it to the expected note (i.e. 4 down to 3). Then somewhere else in the same melody, set up another expectation (like we’re doing in this step with the ♭7), but this time don’t resolve it to the note they’re expecting. This is another great trick Sigur Rós uses.

 

Now, there are two ways to handle the situation of not resolving a tense note. The one way is going to make your listeners even more tense, while the other way will hopefully make them go “Oooh”. As always, it’s your music, so you decide.

 

If you want to make your listeners even more tense, then after you play the ♭7, play another tense note, like the 6. This is an effective way of prolonging the tension. If you do this though, then give your listeners some relief afterwards by resolving to the expected note, e.g. if you play the 6, resolve down to the 5.

 

Now onto the other way of not resolving a tense note (which we’ll use) that will hopefully get a nice “Oooh” from listeners - if not out loud, at least in their heads. In this way, we relieve the tension without resolving to the expected note. Oooh!

 

So, while we’re not going to resolve the ♭7 (F) up to the root (G), which would give listeners what they’re expecting, we’re not going to give them any more tension either. In our example, after we play the ♭7 (F) we move up to the 5 (D). The 5 is a stable note because it’s part of the root triad (G B D), so it relieves the tension of the ♭7 without resolving up to the root.

 

Right, now that you’ve got your listeners going Oooh and Aaah, you can fill in the gaps with a couple of other notes. We played the 5 (D) before the ♭7 (F) as well, but the D that’s an octave lower. By doing this we create even more comfort for the listeners, as by the time they hear the high D (after the F), D is a familiar note to them.

 

After you’ve filled in the gaps of your two-bar melody, copy and paste the notes you’ve added in this step over into the other repetitions of your melody (see MIDI below).

 

By the way, don’t use any note values shorter than a 1/4 note, as this example is really slow and peaceful. In fact, Sigur Rós are even more chill than us, as they don’t use 1/4 notes in the intro melody, they only use 1/2 notes. However, they do use some shorter notes values in the vocal melody that follows their intro.

 

Two-bar melody copied and pasted, with ♭7(highlighted) that doesn’t resolve up to root

 

 

 

Step 3. Surprise

 

Right, now it’s time to turn our attention to those blank bars. That’s where you’re going to write a variation of your two-bar melody. This is an essential step in transforming your two-bar melody into an eight-bar melody. You don’t want your melody to sound like a two-bar loop, as that’s going to be way too repetitive.

 

So, you’re going to write a variation of your melody in the fifth and sixth bars. Now, there’s many ways to write a variation, but here’s a fun and easy method: Keep the rhythm, but change the pitches!

 

This results in a variation that sounds both fresh and familiar. You can even create a similar contour with your pitches, like we did (see MIDI below). By using a similar contour, even your pitches will sound familiar despite being different.

 

Variation of melody in third repetition, i.e. fifth and sixth bars (highlighted)

 

 

 

Step 4. Smooth

 

Now that you’ve created a variation in your fifth and sixth bars, you may find that the interval in to it and the interval out of it may sound a bit odd.

 

If that’s the case, you’ll need to smooth out those transitions. So, move the note at the end of your fourth bar, and/or the note at the beginning of your seventh bar. If this still doesn’t make the transition smooth, you may need to add in an extra note.

 

In our example, it sounded a bit odd going in to our variation, but it sounded good coming out of it. So, we changed the last note in our fourth bar (see MIDI below).

 

Smoothing the transition (highlighted) into our variation

 

 

Lastly, to end the melody and give the listener closure, we shortened the last ♭7 (F) and resolved it up to the root (G). This is the resolution we’ve been denying our listeners since the first bar, so it’s kind to give them that gift of complete resolution and closure at the very end of the melody. This ending also completes the transformation of our melody from a two-bar cycle into an eight-bar cycle.

 

Final melody with ending resolution (highlighted)

 

 

 

 

Make Music You LOVE.

 


I know you want to be a confident producer who finishes songs, and loves the results. In order to become a confident producer, though, you need decades of knowledge and experience. To gain that knowledge, you need a good teacher. To gain that experience, you need decades of practice. That’s overwhelming!

 

I understand that searching for a good teacher is frustrating. Most courses are taught by YouTubers who are not qualified in music, and are not qualified teachers either. The few who are qualified in both, have no industry experience. I feel your pain. Truly. Most of my music teachers were bad. That’s why I studied music and education in order to become a lecturer, and why I created Hack Music Theory.

 

Also, over my 30+ years of composing, I developed a unique method called Song-Whispering, which I’ve used to make music with multiplatinum Grammy winners. In my one-of-a-kind online apprenticeship, you’ll learn my method and turbocharge your music with my decades of knowledge and experience.

 

Enroll Now and stop wasting years of your life learning from bad teachers and trying to get better through trial-and-error. Transform into the confident producer you would be in 10+ years now, and start loving your music!

 

Ray Harmony
Multi award-winning college lecturer, teaching since 1995

 


 

“Song-Whispering may be the single greatest concept ever!”
–Glynne Owen (Japan)

 

“I followed their YouTube for a while before taking their course. I wish I'd taken it sooner!”
–Sagar Saluja (India)

 

“I wrote the first song in my life that I actually like!”
–Anastasia Lucas (USA)

 

 

 

 

Free PDF Tutorial 

 

 

 

 

Lastly, are you new to music theory? Or are you experienced, but you want a refresher? Then download our FREE BOOK (link opens in new tab). It only takes 30 minutes to read, then you’ll have a solid theory foundation that you can instantly apply to your songwriting and producing. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If the FREE BOOK link doesn't work, just visit our BOOKS page:
https://hackmusictheory.com/books

 

 

 

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Hack Music TheoryBy Kate & Ray Harmony

  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8

3.8

50 ratings


More shows like Hack Music Theory

View all
The Joe Rogan Experience by Joe Rogan

The Joe Rogan Experience

226,088 Listeners

Music Student 101 by Jeremy Burns, Matthew Scott Phillips

Music Student 101

226 Listeners

The Ancients by History Hit

The Ancients

3,013 Listeners