# Theory side of writing melodic death metal.



## nrwoodman (Apr 21, 2010)

Hey guys, i just started up a new melodic death metal project and need some pointers on how to go about writing melodic death metal effectivly, i was in a tech death band for two years and i seem to be in a rut for writing more melodic music. 

Main influences in writing are bands like old in flames, dark tranquillity, insomnium so on and so forth. 

What im asking is what cord progressions, tempo ranges, and song structers are generally good for writing an effective heavy, yet melodic and catchy melo death metal song?


----------



## scottro202 (Apr 21, 2010)

I kinda feel like melodeath follows more of a poppy format as far as song structure goes (verse-vhorus-verse-chorus-bridge, etc.)

As far as chord progressions, try more major-scale based stuff. 

Good luck, hope that helps!!!


----------



## CVSlash1490 (May 6, 2010)

use wider intervals. try to avoid chromatic riffing. use major scales as scott here said but use minors as well. Also...im just assuming you played fast death metal...slow it down a bit.


----------



## Uncle Remus (May 6, 2010)

nrwoodman said:


> Hey guys, i just started up a new melodic death metal project and need some pointers on how to go about writing melodic death metal effectivly, i was in a tech death band for two years and i seem to be in a rut for writing more melodic music.
> 
> Main influences in writing are bands like old in flames, dark tranquillity, insomnium so on and so forth.
> 
> What im asking is what cord progressions, tempo ranges, and song structers are generally good for writing an effective heavy, yet melodic and catchy melo death metal song?


 
To make something catchy and memorable you've got to use your ears. Find all the melodies you've got stuck in your head, don't rely on theory to come up with something catchy


----------



## blackseeds (May 8, 2010)

hmm i think that it would be good to find kinda like a theme for each song 
and in my opinion, if you try to write something catchy and memorable, i'd try to not make 15 minute long songs  (btw dream theater can pull it off)


----------



## Mr. Big Noodles (May 8, 2010)

scottro202 said:


> I kinda feel like melodeath follows more of a poppy format as far as song structure goes (verse-vhorus-verse-chorus-bridge, etc.)
> 
> As far as chord progressions, try more major-scale based stuff.
> 
> Good luck, hope that helps!!!





CVSlash1490 said:


> use wider intervals. try to avoid chromatic riffing. use major scales as scott here said but use minors as well. Also...im just assuming you played fast death metal...slow it down a bit.



To add to this, melodeath tends to make more use of the natural minor scale. Also, the chord progressions tend to be somewhat melodic. Try linear, scalar, chord movement, like A5 B5 C5 D5 C5 B5, etc.


----------



## Stealthdjentstic (May 8, 2010)

Try not to pretend your playing metalcore and use your lowest note to bounce off all the time.


----------



## Nights_Blood (May 10, 2010)

One of the biggest, and in my opinion THE biggest defining attribute of melodeath is a lot of dual-guitar harmonies, harmonized in 3rds. 

In my opinion, the Jester Race is pretty much definitive of the "Gothenburg sound". Every song on that album has at least one key melody which contains the aforementioned harmonization.

Of course, Dark Tranquillity, the other heavyweight from the Gothenburg scene (as well as At The Gates), doesn't use this kind of harmony nearly as upfront or as much as In Flames does, but it is still found in a lot of their music, even if it is done with a subtle keyboard part.




scottro202 said:


> I kinda feel like melodeath follows more of a poppy format as far as song structure goes (verse-vhorus-verse-chorus-bridge, etc.)
> 
> As far as chord progressions, try more major-scale based stuff.
> 
> Good luck, hope that helps!!!



I don't think it necessarily has to be more major and less minor, but more major AND natural minor (being that they are relative to each other) vs. other things like harmonic minor, locrian, etc.


----------



## Mr. Big Noodles (May 10, 2010)

Nights_Blood said:


> I don't think it necessarily has to be more major and less minor, but more major AND natural minor (being that they are relative to each other) vs. other things like harmonic minor, locrian, etc.



Yarp.


----------



## Sang-Drax (May 20, 2010)

What the previous 2 posters said. 
Dark Tranquillity sometimes makes some good use of other scales whose names I don't know in English (mixo b9 b13? Someone told me the name in English already, but I keep forgetting). 

Both "Dream Oblivion" and "I Am the Void" out of their latest album use some different stuff I'm not sure what it is (I never tried playing either and I can't tell just from listening). I've also noticed recently that Niklas Sundin loves VIm-IVm progression. He's used it in the past in one of his songs I don't remember which one is, and repeated now in "Archangelsk". It's same progression Opeth uses in the mid section of "Serenity Painted Death".

Most of the time, though, melodeath's harmonic structure is quite poppy, as it has being said extensively through this thread. Adding a few odd notes here and there might make you sound more unique, but what defines the genre, I believe, are precisely the catchy harmonized leads, for which there is no known recipe  .


----------



## Deadseen (May 20, 2010)

Mixolydian ? 

GABCDEFG


----------



## Sean Babiniec (May 21, 2010)

> I don't think it necessarily has to be more major and less minor, but more major AND natural minor (being that they are relative to each other) vs. other things like harmonic minor, locrian, etc.


Hmmm, don't know about that. I used to do all natural minor stuff and since I have started using harmonic minor more, the melodies are much more interesting. The As I Lay Dying sounds is too boring now since everybody is doing it. Also, with the harmonic minor, the major 7th in the scale sets up a diminished sound (because of the half-whole pattern between 7-1-2-3 in harmonic minor) that I found you can gravitate to or avoid depending on what sound you want. I feel that it is much more versatile if you want a "death" and melodic sound.

Just my two cents. Everyone writes differently, that is why music is so interesting.


----------



## NovaEraMDM (Jun 22, 2012)

Iunno if I'd be a valid source, but I'm a melodeath musician, I use a ton of Natural Minor, but also use Phrygian and Diminished scales as well. Another technique I use is a TON of economy picking in the riff itself, not in solos or harmonies. It's kind of an emulation of Kiko Loureiro's style, except without the fingerpicking. I also play really fast, which seems to be odd, but it's so much fun :3


----------



## Brill (Jun 22, 2012)

Write death metal song.

Make a catchy melody

Put it over the top of metal song...

profit


----------



## morrowcosom (Jun 28, 2012)

Play some of the songs you like the sound of and you will naturally start playing stuff that sounds more like it. Your influences are going to rub off on you.


----------



## niffnoff (Jun 29, 2012)

I find Melo Death almost in the same vein as metalcore, the only difference being the melodic chorus are less whiny and moar epic. 

We used alot of harmonic minor in our songs especially in our trem riffing sections, added some chromatics now and then and key changes in epic chorus's work a treat. 

But our inspiration fell off from the Arch Enemy song "Nemesis" especially our 7 minute tune. xD


----------



## celticelk (Jun 29, 2012)

I'd think less about writing good melodeath melodies, and more about writing good melodies in general. A strong melody can carry an arrangement in a wide variety of styles (for example: jazz versions of pop tunes; metal covers of 80s songs), but weak melodies are weak no matter what context you put them in. Finding some general composition/songwriters' guides to writing good melodies would be an effective next step. After that, write what you like and make the arrangement brutal.


----------



## Konfyouzd (Jun 29, 2012)

celticelk said:


> I'd think less about writing good melodeath melodies, and more about writing good melodies in general. A strong melody can carry an arrangement in a wide variety of styles (for example: jazz versions of pop tunes; metal covers of 80s songs), but weak melodies are weak no matter what context you put them in. Finding some general composition/songwriters' guides to writing good melodies would be an effective next step. After that, write what you like and make the arrangement brutal.



This. It's actually something a few friends of mine and I are trying to do... Well sort of. I come up with TONS of ideas that I usually end up going nowhere with. So rather than sit around with a bunch of unfinished songs on my hands, I've been working on extracting the melody or the "identifying factor" from each of them and just use that as a rough melodic template then I can move it from style to style (or at least try to) by changing accents/tones/etc. Most of the time people will still recognize it even though you've gone from blue grass to nu-metal (hyperbolic but you know...).

Check out the song Bigfoot by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. They do something similar. It goes from bluegrass to some smooth ass saxophoney jazz... And then back.


----------

