Instrumental songs and Cues

[gvksounds]

Hi guys,

I've been going through several listings searching for instrumental tracks in a number of styles - mainly acoustic - and cues for TV. None of these listings addresses the melody aspect, I know there may be no "rule" but insturmentals and cues are an unusual kind of "genre" for me. I've got a number of arrangements to songs with vocals that would match the style requested for cues/instrumentals. Scratching my head right now... I'm wondering, can it be simply the instrumental track to a song with vocals? basically just taking the vocals out? Or do they expect an instrument to play a specific melody?

gvksounds

[andygabrys]

Generally the “melody”comes from a combo of little fills, riffs, question and answer ear candy from different parts of your ensemble.

It’s rare to have an acoustic guitar ditty with a melody that runs the whole way through. That either sounds like bluegrass or smooth jazz depending on the particular style.

Solo guitar tracks would have a little more. More than just an acoustic guitar track without the vocal - but not a lot of melody.

Best thing to do is search for examples of production music on the web and listen to what is typically done. There are lots of libraries out there which post their collections. It will help you get in the zone mentally to see what you need to do.

[VanderBoegh]

Definitely heed Andy's advice. It's solid.

I'll add on to his words slightly... A full-song with the vocal tracks muted will sound like a vocal song with the vocals muted, which is definitely not what you want. And simply replacing the vocal passages with an instrument playing the same melody will sound like a vocal song with a lead replacement. That's also not what you want.

Instrumental cues are a different beast with their own set of nuances, structure, and flow. Their overall time is much shorter. Their approach is totally different. And while it would be possible to re-purpose a full vocal song as an instrumental cue, it would involve so much work that you might be better off just starting a cue from scratch.

Your best bet is to do a Google search for production music libraries and see if you can access their catalog to listen to high-level cues. Or, you could go to SoundCloud and type in the names of frequent Forum members. Search for guys like Andy Gabrys, Russell Landwehr, Keith LuBrant, Seth Littlefield, etc... Heck, just peruse these forums and click on the SoundCloud link many members post in their signature lines.

~~Matt

[gvksounds]

Thank you soooo very much for this valuable advice, guys!!! I totally will do as you suggest, thanxxx!!

[Len911]

Your question seems to get asked a lot lately. I think the answer is the arrangement. you can't just drop the main melody, it's no longer the song. Every instrument is a voice, and even though you can scat a trumpet, it's not the same voice as a trumpet, and neither is a trumpet scatting the voice of a human. Here is an example of an iconic classic with different arrangements: Georgia on my Mind

Vocal arrangement:
https://youtu.be/glggureA_Kk

Trumpet arrangement:
https://youtu.be/dIv9K5KY7oE

Saxophone arrangement:
https://youtu.be/uqXkcPH4teo

Guitar arrangement:
https://youtu.be/KTnIM5TlfAM

Flute arrangement then switches to piano arrangement:
https://youtu.be/C3qoS031cWo

[jazzstan]

I love melody, but if it's too interesting and might pull the listener out of the scene, it's too much. So where often I start from ... is along the lines of what I would play (I'm a guitar player) if I were a sideman backing up a singer or another melody instrument, but in the places where the melody would be. I aim for simple, unobtrusive, harmonically relevant, short phrases. And playing two strings at a time helps. So it sorta sounds like a melody cuz it has a harmony with it. And that helps me keep things simple, too.

Just my 2 cents, and worth every penny.