How to Write a Melody on Piano Using a Motif (Building Phrases)
One simple, catchy motif can carry an entire progression — this lesson shows you how to build melodies from a single phrase on the piano. Jason Zac from Nathaniel School of Music takes a simple, catchy melody and makes it survive the vi IV I V progression, keeping your music neither too complicated nor too monotonous. You'll build the motif, then modify it by changing the landing note, transposing around the chord, and adding or subtracting notes — demonstrated in Bb major (Gm Eb Bb F) with left-hand inversions under right-hand melodies. The vi IV I V progression powers countless songs (Toto's "Africa", Avicii's "Wake Me Up", The Cranberries' "Zombie"), so these ideas transfer everywhere on the piano. 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) ➡️ https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🎹 Piano Courses & Private Lessons ➡️ https://piano.nathanielschool.com ============================= ▶️ Related Lessons & Playlists 🎵 Music Theory lessons ➡️ https://geni.us/PianoTheory 🎹 All our lessons on Chord Inversions (Playlist) ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ygtrGwGFmfyvMyGWH52EC 👂 Ear Training lessons ➡️ https://geni.us/EarTraining ============================= 🎓 Learn Music with Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac ➡️ https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) by skill level, topic & genre ➡️ https://learning-portal.nathanielschool.com ============================= 💰 Donate on PayPal ➡️ https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 📸 Instagram ➡️ https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 Call +91 98454 65411 · 💬 WhatsApp chat +91 77604 56847 📧 Customised & Private Classes ➡️ music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music ➡️ https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #MelodyWriting #MusicalMotif #PianoLesson Chapters 00:00 Build a piano melody from a motif 01:20 The melody and chord progression 01:52 Identify the important landing note 02:43 Change the landing note to fit the chord 03:44 Adapt the motif for B flat major 04:51 Fit the ending to F major 06:19 Transpose the motif around each chord 07:49 Compare small changes with transposition 08:34 End the phrase with a flourish 08:49 Shorten or lengthen the motif 10:36 Recap the ways to develop a motif
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