Your 8-Bar Masterpiece

An 8-bar melody is a complete musical thought — long enough to tell a story, short enough to memorize. Plan your structure: bars 1-2 introduce your motif (A). Bars 3-4 repeat or vary it (A or A'). Bars 5-6 go somewhere new (B). Bars 7-8 return home and end on C (A). Choose your scale, plan your rhythm variety, and decide where to place rests.