Gospel artists: you know that creating music that touches the heart and soul requires a special combination of moving melodies, inspiring lyrics, and uplifting chords. MelodyStudio is an essential tool that can help you with all of these components, making the songwriting process smoother and more efficient. With MelodyStudio, you can generate melodies and chords that capture the essence of gospel music, so you can focus on sharing your message of faith and hope through your music. So if you’re ready, let’s jump into this guide and see how to use MelodyStudio to create soul-stirring gospel music that will move and inspire your audience.
1. Get Familiar with MelodyStudio
The interface of MelodyStudio is designed to make it easy for artists to create melodies and chord progressions, even if you don’t have a ton of music theory knowledge. Take a moment to explore the melody and chord generations as well as the timeline below the workspace before you get started. Also, notice where you can change the key and tempo to fit your gospel style. The more you play around, the more you’ll be comfortable with the settings once you start writing.
2. Bring in Your Lyrics
Once you have gotten comfortable with MelodyStudio, it is time to bring in your gospel lyrics. If you’re struggling with lyrics, LyricStudio is here to help you. Once you get started with LyricStudio, you can input keywords related to your song’s theme, and LyricStudio will provide you with a variety of suggestions. Use these suggestions to jumpstart your song or gain inspiration from.
3. Consider the Key and Tempo
Gospel music is often characterized by its powerful vocals and moving melodies. Some popular keys gospel artists use include AB, Bb, and Eb, while the tempo is often around 60-100 BPM. However, the tempo would depend on whether or not you’d want a slow or a fast-paced gospel song. Your key is also not limited to the above keys. Choose the key and tempo that work best for your gospel style.
4. Write a Chord Progression
Chord progressions are an essential part of gospel music. They create a sense of emotion and convey the message of the song. MelodyStudio’s chord generation feature makes it easy to create chord progressions for each section of the song. Some common chords and progressions used in gospel include I-vi-ii-V, I-V-vi-IV, and ii-V-I which is often used as a transition as well as an ending.
5. Experiment with Gospel Melodies
When it comes to creating gospel melodies, the emphasis is often on powerful and uplifting tunes. Gospel songs are characterized by their strong melodies and harmonies, often with call-and-response sections that encourage audience participation. MelodyStudio’s melody generator can help you get started but don’t be afraid to experiment with different melodies to create something that strikes a chord. If you need help, you can use the melody generator feature to get started. Then you are able to change the melody in the timeline to your liking.
6. Experiment with Complex Melodies and Chords
Unlike pop music, gospel artists often use more complex melodies and harmonies to convey the message of the song. These intricate arrangements add depth and emotion to the music, making it more impactful for the listener. Gospel artists use extensions such as 7ths and 9ths generously as well as augmented and diminished chords. MelodyStudio has a menu in the chord generator where you can access seventh chords. You are also able to add “aug” onto any chord to turn it into an augmented chord, and “dim” to turn it into a diminished chord (for example Baug, and Cdim).
Note: While you are free to add 7th’s onto most chords and 9th’s after that, augmented and diminished chords tend to be used more so as a transition from one chord to the next.
By following this guide, you can create gospel tracks that capture the essence of the genre and convey your message of faith and hope in a powerful way. Experiment with different chord progressions, melodies, and lyrics until you find the perfect combination that resonates with your soul. With MelodyStudio as your guide, the possibilities are endless. Go forth and create gospel music that uplifts and inspires your listeners!