Melody & Hook Toolkit

The Hook Recipe

1. Find a rhythm you can tap. Tap it on the table over your loop.
2. Put it on 2–3 notes. That's all you need.
3. Repeat it. Two, three, or four times.
4. Change the ending the last time. Go higher, or land on the home note.

Many famous hooks use only two or three different notes. The rhythm is what makes them catchy.

Six rules for a melody people remember

1. Repeat. Repetition is catchiness.
2. Keep phrases short. 2–5 words, then a breath.
3. Mostly steps, one leap. Move to neighbor notes most of the time. Save one big jump for the most important word.
4. Chord tones on strong beats. On beats 1 and 3, use a note that's in the chord. It will sound "right." (Chord notes are on the Chord Cheatsheet.)
5. Chorus higher than verse. Higher = more energy.
6. Leave space. Rests let the listener breathe and remember.

Catching ideas

• Loop your groove and hum over it. Use "la," "na," "oh." Words come later.
• Record everything on Voice Memos. Ideas vanish in minutes.
• Do three takes without stopping to judge. Then listen and pick.
• No singing? Find the melody on your instrument, one note at a time.

Writing it down (おんぷノート)

1. Make a chord chart on paper: bar numbers, the chord for each bar, and its three notes. (The app can't show chord names.)
2. In the app, set the key signature and 4/4.
3. Handwrite notes one bar at a time. Zoom in; a stylus helps. Play back after every bar.
4. Check beat 1 of each bar: is the note on your chord chart for that bar?
5. Sour note? Move it one step up or down.
6. Try different playback sounds. Which one sounds like your song?
7. Export a PDF before you finish. The app keeps only one score.

More tips: Using おんぷノート

The One-Listen Test

Play your chorus for someone once. Can they hum the hook back?

• Yes → you have a hook.
• No → simplify the rhythm, repeat more, or use fewer notes.

Level 2 tricks

• Question and answer: first phrase ends "up in the air" (unfinished); second phrase ends on the home note (finished).
• Pickup: start the melody just before beat 1.
• Anticipation: land an important note half a beat early (on the "&" before the beat). Sounds modern and groovy.
• Displacement: repeat the hook but start it one beat later.
• Air pocket: a moment of silence right before the chorus.

My hook

Hook words (or syllables): ___________________________________

Rhythm (tap it, then write dashes for each note): ___________________

Notes it uses: ______ ______ ______

Passed the One-Listen Test? yes / not yet