Regarding melodies, motion and variety are In most cases a good thing. A melody tells its own story (whatever the words might be). If it’s too static in notes or rhythm, the ‘story’ can quickly lose the listener’s interest.

As with all generalizations, there are notable exceptions. Let’s think about some examples. Jobim’s ‘One Note Samba’ comes to mind (of course). And Tom Petty’s ‘Refugee’. Also, I recently heard Eurythmics’ ‘Here Comes The Rain Again’ (video below).

The melodies of the main section of all these songs have a lot of repeated notes, usually not a good sign. Yet they all work.

‘One Note Samba’ is a musical fantasia in which the music and the lyric explore the joys of monotony, to delightful effect.

‘Refugee’ is a harsh lyric in which the singer’s accusatory words and tone are well served by a driving melody’s use of repeated notes.

‘Here Come The Rain Again’ uses Rain as a metaphor for pain, tragedy, depression… the melody suits the flat state of mind of the narrator.

But – and this is key – these melodies are not too monotonous. They don’t just have one note over and over (even ‘One Note Samba’ goes up a 4th). They don’t cross the line into stasis. There’s still a ‘story’.

Notably, they all have bridges or ‘B’ sections where the melodies really move, creating a contrast to the darkness of the other, simpler section. Just when the lack of movement is about to stall out the song, you get a break.

Finally, with the exception of ‘Rain’ (for reasons stated above), the main melodies all have rhythmic unpredictability; surprises that keep the listener on their toes even if the notes don’t vary much.

Lack of melodic motion is a common songwriting problem, much more common than too much motion. But in certain cases, and I’ve cited some here in a variety of genres, holding the movement back can be very effective.

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