Why am I finding it hard to come up with a catchy vocal melody for this?

[Andrew Fernandes]

I think I did ok with the guitar but with the voice, I am so unsure. Is it because my chord progression is too complex I thought this would make the song easier to be more catchy and perhaps unique. Perhaps I'm getting too "arrogant" or confident and getting deluded in my ability. The songs demo has just had 2, 1-hour sessions of recording.

 

[William B.]

Maybe try to sing the guitar line as a start or sing opposite like a duet

 

[idssdi]

So catchy is something different from a melody. Catchy tends to make a hook and some people have a feel for it (John Mayer, Paul McCartney, Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes or abba are examples of people really good at writing hooks). One of the most important things to keep in mind is to use repetition and keep it simple, repeating the same note in your melody is completely fine (it happens a lot in catchy music actually)

Hopefully this helps a bit

 

[Calvin Phillips]

I listened to a bit and I think its workable. But then again my melody may not be the same as yours.

 

[Chris Johnston]

There could be many reasons why you're struggling with the melody, but it usually comes down to overthinking it. I don't think your progression is really complex either, so it should be easy to write! Also, nothing wrong with confidence, man. It's only arrogance if you can't back it up

If it helps, here's the quality control I put every vocal melody I write through, as I write a tonne for my band:

1. Is it clashing with what's underneath? - For example, is there a lot going on rhythmically, musically underneath, counter melodies on other instruments? If so, you'll want a vocal melody that gives the ear a break from that, so it can be heard clearly and the listener can latch onto it easily without having to listen hard. (An analogy for this would be going out to dinner wearing a really funky patterned shirt - you probably wouldn't choose a striped tie and polkadot jeans with it, you'd likely simplify the rest so that it's not sensory overload) - So basically, if the instrumentals are busy, then the vocals usually work better simple & vice versa.

2. Is it easy to sing/Fun to sing? - Do you struggle to pronounce the syllables? or do they flow well together? This is always something to think about that a lot of people overlook - catchy hooks tend to be really easy to sing so that even the casual music fan could sing them, which gets you more ears & makes it more memorable. This is the make or break part for me.

3. If you were to sing it without the song to a friend that had heard the song, would they be able to tell it was from your song? - This is where the catchiness factor is really put to the test - Think of how any one of us could hum a verse or chorus line from an A7X song and be able to know exactly which song it came from. Their verse/chorus melodies are clear cut & they repeat often, so that there's a clear verse melody & chorus melody - this is definitely something to strive for too.

My advice would be to leave the song playing and hum random lines/words over it until something natural comes out that you like, then record it and see if it works with you being the listener

Hope this helps!

 

[William B.]

If it bothers you not getting it right away you can always leave it alone for a few days then try again.
Sometimes I put my music loud, step into the other room and I'll hear stuff differently.