# A foolproof way to know your melody is good...



## tokatila (Jun 15, 2016)

1) Put a six-year old to do a puzzle (or other mental activity she/he needs to concentrate in) in a room next to your "composing area". Maybe 5-or 7-year old will do too.

2) Start composing with piano or your chosen instrument.

3) Keep short pauses after each new melody.

4) When the kid starts to hum your melody unconsciously you are golden.

I have always wondered a logical reason why we have children, not anymore.


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## wst3 (Jun 16, 2016)

Love it!

And concur on both


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## RiffWraith (Jun 16, 2016)

tokatila said:


> I have always wondered a logical reason why we have children, not anymore.


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## Rex282 (Jun 16, 2016)

tokatila said:


> 1) Put a six-year old to do a puzzle (or other mental activity she/he needs to concentrate in) in a room next to your "composing area". Maybe 5-or 7-year old will do too.
> 
> 2) Start composing with piano or your chosen instrument.
> 
> ...




I use this exact same method except I rent the child.


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## mverta (Jun 17, 2016)

Works on all ages!


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## Markus Kohlprath (Jun 17, 2016)

Rex282 said:


> I use this exact same method except I rent the child.


I didn't know there is a "rent a child" service for composers


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## maro (Jun 17, 2016)

When my children went to school, I put grandpa and grandma on crosswords puzzle.


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## Daryl (Jun 17, 2016)

I guess lot depends on what sort of melody you are writing. See from around 1:21



A very strong melody, but not something I would expect a 5 year old to be humming.


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## Zhao Shen (Jun 17, 2016)

Daryl said:


> I guess lot depends on what sort of melody you are writing. See from around 1:21
> 
> 
> 
> A very strong melody, but not something I would expect a 5 year old to be humming.



If your children don't hum that on a day-to-day basis, then there's definitely something wrong. Take them to a doctor or something.


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## Leeward (Jun 17, 2016)

I'm not trying to blow my own trumpet but I played something to my dad the other day and he called me up yesterday to tell me he couldn't get the tune out of his head.

I personally thought it was rubbish and can't even remember what it was but it's always a good sign.


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## mverta (Jun 17, 2016)

It's a sign of pattern recognition, which means a deeply satisfying connection has been made with the brain. It's why most people can hum and embrace simpler tunes, and why the Romeo and Juliet excerpt above enjoys a billionth of the love that Ode to Joy does. When a tune is simpler and somebody makes a connection with it, they can carry it around and relive it as they hum it and give it to other people; all of those interactions are deeply powerful for people.

Obviously if you listen to more complex music and you begin to develop your skill for absorbing complexity you have a wider range of pieces with which you can connect, like Romeo and Juliet, which has strong melodic ideas but not particularly simple ones.

But in the meantime, it's good to first learn to write simple, effective, memorable melodies before you graduate and start thinking you're Prokofiev.


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## Baron Greuner (Jun 17, 2016)

One thing I learned recently from Steve Morse, was bite sized chunks when it comes to lead or melody lines. Or put another way, writing music in fairly short sentences with gaps and pauses before the next. Or if you prefer, try to eat your food slowly and give it time to digest. Audiences, myself included, like to be able to digest and almost learn what they are hearing as they go.


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## Vik (Jun 20, 2016)

tokatila said:


> 4) When the kid starts to hum your melody unconsciously you are golden.


This mainly means that the melody is easy to remember or appeals to a six year old, doesn't it? 
People keep defending the religion/nation/diet they were "given" as children, but that doesn't mean that that it's something it's any better than other nations etc. Kids (and adults) tend to like what they are used to/what they have heard many times.


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## Living Fossil (Jun 21, 2016)

Maybe the best piece of music ever written. According to children younger than 4 years:



The great part kicks in at 1:22


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## thov72 (Jun 21, 2016)

1:22 reminds me of John Williams


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## Rex282 (Jun 21, 2016)

Markus Kohlprath said:


> I didn't know there is a "rent a child" service for composers



....Children should be rented and not heard.


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