Melody: How To Write Great Tunes

by Rikky Rooksby

(Book). Melody is the true heart of music, often inspired by nothing more than the songwriter's muse. Yet melody can be learned. This book teaches the art of melody and how to write effective tunes. Starting from basics, it covers the essentials rhythm, intervals, scales, and harmony and builds to offer a wealth of advanced techniques and tricks. Every musical example in the book is also on the CD, allowing musicians to increase their awareness of melody through both sight and sound.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2004

Reviews

[AP]

I was very excited to read Prof. Rooksby's many books on songwriting & guitar. I read the ebook and found multiple typos. None of the sound links worked. Thankfully I can read standard notation & can play the simple melodies inside my head or on guitar, piano, as needed. I was so exasperated by the typos that I finally gave up.

I'm trying to read the author's other book, How to Write Songs on Guitar (2nd Ed), which I also find a painful slog. After reading three of the author's books, Prof. Rooksby's books simply grate on me, in spite of the author's knowledge of the topic. The books get bogged down in terrible minutiae, without any reward for making a reader trudge through such minutiae. If any music professor can make a musician/ songwriter despise learning music theory, the craft of songwriting, Prof. Rooksby has that unfortunate distinction.

[Richard Pohl]

Few useful tips, but overall not enough value for the money.