Songwriting Chord/Melody Question

[Jack Q]

Is it better to voice a melody note in the chord AND vocal, OR add the

melody note in the vocal ON TOP of the chord (for example, in order to

play a C7 chord, you play a simple C chord and sing the b7 note in the

melody to create the TOTAL of a C7 chord, OR play a C7 chord and ALSO

sing the b7 in the melody). What is the best way? I assume both ways

can work and there is no

[c+t in b]

this is really an arranging question. it depends on what you're doing. is it purely guitar and voice?

 

you want your chord progression to be voice led, so dropping notes sporadically when they appear in the melody may sound a bit odd.

 

putting the melody on top of the chord is a very specific effect. your honestly better off keeping your original melody in the vocals and using the progression to create a new voice led melody that balances everything out

[sfarfsky]

dude, you don't have to press enter. It starts a new line on its own

 

I would just play the chord and sing the melody. It sounds cheesy when you're only singing notes you're playing imo

[Poparad]

Either way is fine. The one thing that you want to be careful about is putting a note in the top of the chord that might clash with the vocal melody, but most of the time that's not an issue.

[Jordainyo]

This kind of discussion about the structure of music really interests me. Where can I read more?