Use an anacrusis (starting the melody with a 'pick up') – e.g. the "hey" in Hey Jude. This requires some confidence as a vocalist to pull off. Alternatively start the melody after the 'one' – e.g. Come Together. This is much more common, as hearing the chord before you sing provides a 'safety net'.
Before
A Hard Day's Night
All My Loving
Blue Jay Way
Can't Buy Me Love
Dear Prudence
Don't Let Me Down
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Hey Jude
No Reply
Penny Lane
Strawberry Fields Forever - chorus
Yellow Submarine
You're Going To Lose That Girl
After
Come Together
Here Comes The Sun
We Can Work It Out
You Never Give Me Your Money
also
Before
Angels – chorus (Robbie Williams)
Beauty And The Beast (Ashman/Menken)
They Can't Take That Away From Me (Gershwin/Gershwin)
You Do Something To Me (Paul Weller)
After
Great Balls Of Fire (Jerry Lee Lewis)
Imagine (John Lennon)
See also
Ticket 11: Play The Vocal Rhythm
Ticket 13: Make The Vocals Stay On Non-Chord Tones
Ticket 22: Bluesify Your Melody
Ticket 50: Stay Off The Root Note In The Melody
See the full list of songwriting tips here - Tickets To Write
It seems like Mega City Four are big fans of using this technique!
ReplyDeleteBefore:
1988 Awkward Kid (0:00)
1988 Miles Apart (0:00)
1993 Iron Sky (0:00)
After:
1992 Desert song (0:01)
The pillows:
Before:
1990 Boku wa kakera (0:00)
After:
1999 No Self Control (0:00)
1999 Bran-new lovesong (0:00)
1999 Midnight Down (0:00)
Other artists:
Before:
Johnny Thunder & the heartbreakers - It's not enough (0:00)