How to write a melody. Learn how to compose your own short piece with these music composition tips and techniques, planning chords, thinking about structure, rhythm and pitch as well as adding musical interest and detail. Originally part of the ABRSM Grade 5 music theory syllabus. Writing a melody is usually quite a struggle for many musicians. Often they have no idea how to write a melody or they find it difficult to hear what they're actually writing on a page. However, in many ways, its one of the most creative topics of music theory, giving you the chance to compose your own short piece of music. Originally there used to be a question asking you to compose a melody on a Grade 5 theory exam, but it has since been removed. Never the less it is still a very useful thing to be able to do, especially if you would like to start composing music. In this music theory lesson, we are going to compose an eight-bar melody in a minor key. Starting with an opening idea we'll develop an interesting melody using some expert techniques. We'll look at rhythm, pitch, structure, musical detail, phrase structure, dynamics, chord schemes and cadences, taking all these subjects into account in order to end up with a finished melody.