Why is it best to choose a major scale for writing a melody

We can choose from many scales and modes, and each of these different scales will give your melody a very different characteristic.

But let me tell you why it’s best to choose a simple major scale for writing a melody.

1. It’s the most popular

After analyzing more than 2000 songs, I realized that most songs are built on a simple major scale. And there is a reason for that. It just looks like it’s the most popular mode amongst the average music listener, and people can resonate easier with that mode.

You can always experiment with other modes (like the Myxolidian mode), but the more exotic the scale you use, the more “risk” you take. But if your goal is commercial success, you should stick to the regular major scale.

2. It’s easy

It’s much easier to create songs with a simple major scale. Especially if you are a beginner songwriter. Creating songs with different modes is a little bit tricky. In fact, I saw some articles about songwriting, where they were completely confused about how to write a song in the Lydian mode.

As I explained in my previous article, there is no such thing as “Lydian chord progressions“, yet I saw some people posted a few chord progressions stated that it’s Lydian.

So the easiest way to go is sticking to the good old major scale for start.

2. It’s positive

People like to listen to music to have fun and to get away from everyday problems. It can lift their mood, and give them extra energy.

We all know that a major chord evokes “happiness”, and a minor chord evokes a “sad” mood. If you are using a regular major scale, your song will be more positive. Again, there is a reason why most songs are written in a major key, using the major scale.

Of course we use minor chords even in a major key too, but I wrote a complete article about how to write a happy song.