In order to write a melodic musical phrase it is important to understand the basics of music. First we must go over notes. Notes are specific musical tones used within musical scales. (Each individual key on a piano would be a note). Notes can be used to make up a musical scale, or a collection of seven musical tones. For this purposes of this demonstration we will use what would be represented as only white keys on a piano, the C Major Scale (C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C). Since this scale contains no sharps or flats it will be the easiest to learn the theory of making a musical phrase. Conveniently whatever scale you are using also indicates which the key of your song. Staying in key simply means your notes do not deviate from the original scale you began to work with, in this case C Major.
Now that we have gone over the basics it is time to write a melody. You might find if you play these notes randomly it doesn’t sound very good. This is the very fickle nature of music, however it can be thwarted. It is usually advised when writing music to start on the root note, or first note of the musical scale. In the C Major scale the root note would be C because it is the first not in the scale. As you move away from the root note you must write the song so it creates tension. Tension is the feeling that the melody is unresolved or hanging. Tension is good in music and is created by moving your notes away from the root note. The further away from the root note, the more tension is created within the scale. You can hear the tension effect by singing the children’s tune “Twinkle Twinkle”. When you sing the words “twinkle twinkle little star” and then pause, this is tension. If the song were to end hear you would notice the feeling that it is incomplete melodically. However, once you finished singing, “how I wonder what you are” you will notice that particular musical phrase sounds finished or resolved.
With this knowledge and some perseverance it is relatively easy to write a melody. To practice begin writing melodies that are only twenty to thirty tones, or notes, focusing on building the tension to the middle of the phrase, and resolving the tension down to the end of the phrase. Once you feel that you have mastered this try to double the length of the melody, while always creating and resolving tension. With some practice you can get this down and be playing you self-written song in no time. As you become more experienced you will move to other scales and keys with ease and be off on your way to becoming a music composer.