Melodic Range
Melodic range is, to put it simply, the distance between the lowest and highest notes in a melody. If you read standard notation, a quick glance through the sheet music is all it takes to find the highest and lowest notes in a melody. You can also measure melodic range by picking out the melody on an instrument.
Don't confuse the melodic range with actual range in the written key. If you're a baritone, don't worry that your melody is too low for Celine Dion. As long as the melodic range of the song is within the singer's melodic range, the song can easily be transposed to the right key for that singer.
If you are writing with a specific artist in mind, you will want to pay special attention to that artist's vocal range and style of singing. Mariah Carey might not be interested in a song that has a driving rock-n-roll melody and Mick Jagger will probably pass on a power ballad that requires a four-octave range, intense yodeling, and the lung capacity of a small whale.
To determine the melodic range, tonal palettes, vowel sounds, trills, glides, and intervals that the artist or group favors, simply listen to previous releases. Not only will it help you make your song more appealing to a particular artist, it will also help you decide if any of your existing songs might be appropriate to pitch to that artist. In addition, you'll discover that some kinds of melodies can be pitched to multiple artists. For instance, a song that is well suited to Reba McIntyre might also be good for Dolly Parton or Aretha Franklin; a song that's just right for Bob Seger might work just as well for Travis Tritt or James Otto.
Exploding the ChorusThe chorus usually contains the title, the motive, and the central theme of the song. More than any other part, the chorus should stand out and be memorable. For this reason, professional songwriters often raise melody, simplify meter, use dynamic shifts, and add instruments or harmonies to explode the chorus. Reserving the upper part of the melodic range for chorus is a good idea.
