Solos I kind of [couldn't] care less about. I know most people probably think that's what I care most about, but it's really the melody playing that is the cornerstone of what I'm working on.
I think the melody is the first time I hear in a song and if I like the melody, then I'll pay closer attention to the lyrics.
Doing the instrumental thing, you're really looking for the power of the melody to carry the record.
We really like having songs where we think the arrangement is just as important as the melodies, even though they're typically not.
Melody is the single most important thing to any song, period. I don't care what anybody says, it trumps everything. Not because that's my opinion but because I think it's actually indisputable fact. The human brain retains melody easier than it retains words. It's that simple.
If you listen to a lot of the songs that are popular now, there's very little melody in there. People love the beat. But to musicians, it's melody, because we understand how elusive it is and how hard it is to hold.
I'm a very melody-driven writer and I have a rule that I don't write anything down because if I can't remember the melody than it wasn't worth remembering. So it's my way to test myself in the studio. When I was a kid I could sing pretty well so melody always made a lot of sense to me.
I believe that melody is such a lost part of music and country music. People are either scared of it or not using all the colors that are available.
If I play the melody, even if I play it in an abstract manner, it's instantly recognizable. Even when I was studying to be a classical percussionist, I think I was a more lyrical percussionist; melody is the heart and soul of the music.
Most people don't really need to hear a six-minute guitar solo that modulates between five keys and time signatures. What they want is a good song.
Melodies are important. I always kind of pride myself on my melodies.
I would literally never think about melody. I never thought people listened to melody because I listen to words.
It's really important to me that my sound is a combination of beats and melody.
