How to Write an Essay about a Song Melody

Step 1

Listen closely to the song until you can identify the melody. The melody is the musical phrase within the song which carries the dominant vocals or the main "tune" you could hum. It's usually the most recognizable part of the song.

Step 2

Replay the song as many times as it takes to have the melody nearly memorized. Determine how the melody makes you feel and jot that down on the notepad. Is the melody happy or sad? Does it create a mood? Does it remind you of something in nature, such as rain or a buzzing insect? Whatever thoughts come to mind when hearing the melody, write them down on your notepad.

Step 3

Determine which instruments, if any, carry the melody. If there are vocals in the song, listen to the instrumentation to see if one of the instruments mimics the vocal melody. Write down your findings. If the song is sung, does the mood of the melody match the mood of the lyrics? Note your observations.

Step 4

Listen to the complete song and determine how many times the melody is repeated before the end. Does the melody change at all? How is the melody treated at the beginning and end of the song? At what point does the melody begin? Write down your answers to all of these questions on your notepad as well as any other thoughts that come to mind about the melody of the song.

Step 5

Read through your notes and circle or mark the ideas you'd like to include in your essay. Determine which would make a good opening point for your paper by picking the idea that you feel you could write the most about, or the idea that seems strongest to you. Decide a basic order for the points of your essay, placing the ones you feel most strongly about, or that you could write the most about, near the top.

Step 6

Write your essay, beginning with your strongest statement. Be sure to include the title of the song near the beginning as well as the composer or songwriter if necessary for your class. Start new paragraphs for each different idea about the melody as laid out in your notes.

Step 7

Write a closing statement that summarizes your findings about the melody, or otherwise neatly wraps up the paper. This gives the paper a sense of closure by briefly touching upon the main points of the article and reminding the reader of your points about the melody.