петък, 30 март 2012 г.

Composing Song Melodies: Taking Advantage of Pattern Recognition


For most animals, pattern recognition is a survival tool, an ability to make sense of the surrounding environment. But we humans have an ability that most other animals lack: the ability to recognize and make sense of sound patterns – musical patterns. In a very real sense, when we compose music we’re taking advantage of our audience’s desire to recognize, and be drawn to, musical patterns. As a songwriter, you want to be sure that you’re tapping into that innate part of the human psyche.

We quite instinctively use patterns in music, doing so almost without realizing it. For example, verse-chorus forms are designed to allow people to hear repeating melodies, lyrics and chord progressions. Even the fact that most songs establish and keep a beat is playing into people’s ability to recognize aural patterns.

Pattern aren’t just things we recognize. We’re attracted to them. We want to experience them. We like when we perceive a pattern because of the predictability they offer. Too much of a repeating pattern, with nothing new happening, can quickly become boring to human. We like patterns, but we also like to hear things change. So it’s a bit of a tight-rope act to get that balance right.

So when it comes to things like chord progressions, lyrics and rhythms, we understand the value and importance of patterns. But often, with regard to song melodies, we don’t use patterns enough.

If you find that your song melodies are missing the mark, the most likely culprit is a lack of motifs and patterns within the melodic structure. Like all aspects of music, good melodies make use of repeating motifs. That repetition, like any pattern, is attractive to listeners, and keeps them returning to experience it again.

There are 2 crucial ways that repetition makes song melodies attractive:

Melodic hook. A melodic hook is a short, catchy melody that gets repeated over and over again, usually without change. Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” is a great melodic hook. We like to hear it repeat, and that short melodic fragment would be far less effective if he only used it once.Melodic motif. A motif is a short (usually 2- to 6-note) melodic fragment that gets used and repeated as a song progresses. A motif differs from a hook in the way that it’s used. While a hook repeats without change to its basic form, a motif gets repeated in different ways, serving as a building block for other musical ideas. A famous example is the “da-da-da-DUM” motif from the start of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. That motif gets repeated starting on different pitches, and eventually using different rhythms. Hooks are unchanging entities; motifs are building-blocks. Hooks are immediately noticeable and upfront; motifs do their work in the background.

Whether we’re talking about a hook or a motif, it’s essential to remember that all melodies need something that repeats. Repeating patterns are immediately recognized by listeners, even if that recognition happens in the subconscious. Without patterns to recognize, listeners get bored.

If you find that your melodies just seem a bit random or forgettable, the reason is very likely related to a lack of patterns. Most good melodies (and especially chorus melodies) use a minimum of melodic ideas, and repeat them often, taking advantage of the basic human attraction to recognizable patterns.

As an example, check out Imogen Heap’s “First Train Home” from her excellent “Ellipse” album of 2009. As you listen, make note of how much direct repetition (i.e., exact repetition) you hear, and how much approximate repetition (i.e., motif) you hear. It’s part of what makes good melodies work so well.

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Getting Song Lyrics Right, And In the Right Order


Everything you do in music communicates something to the people listening to it. It goes almost without saying that it’s the words you use, and the way that you sing them, that make the greatest contribution to communication with an audience. Most songs have at least two types of lyrics: 1) lyrics that describe things, situations or people, and 2) lyrics that describe emotions. For a song to be successful, it’s important to get the lyrics right, and in the right order, or you’ll miss a vital opportunity to connect with your audience.

The most common error I see with song lyrics is the describing of emotions before properly establishing a storyline. If you start verse 1 by telling everyone how unhappy you are, you have nowhere to go with your chorus except to tell them more about how unhappy you are.

The result is that your song will sound like a 4-6 minute complain-a-thon. And no one will connect. Why? Because in order for emotional responses to work in music, they need to be first supported by a story or description of a situation that warrants the emotional response.

That’s not to say that your verse can’t be emotional. For some song topics, it’s impossible not to let a bit of emotion come through the story. But that initial setting-the-stage is vital. If you’ve written lyrics that start with, “You’ve broken my heart, you’ve left me high and dry…”, there’s just not enough of a story there to have audiences say, “Hey, I’ve been there, I know how you feel.”

A good analogy is building a fire in a fireplace. What you really want is the flame (i.e., emotion), but you can’t get flames without something underneath, something that can ignite to cause the flames (i.e., the story).

Here are some quick tips that will give you something to think about as you craft your song’s lyric.

Use simple, everyday language. Use the kind of words that you’d use in casual conversation with someone.Tell the story first. A story, by the way, may not necessarily be a fact-by-fact kind of story. Most lyrics don’t have a “first-this-happened, then-that happened” kind of approach. But your verses should definitely focus on some kind of setting a stage by describing events or people as a primary task.Describe universal topics and emotions that people, regardless of culture, would identify with. No matter what you’re singing about, you ultimately want whoever’s listening to be able to connect with your topic and its accompanying emotions.Bridge lyrics should move rapidly back and forth between describing situations to describing emotions. That’s why a song bridge is so good at building song energy.Avoid clichés, forced rhymings, and other lyrical faux pas. You’ll find that most great song lyrics don’t sound like poetry when you read them aloud. A good lyric often sounds like a simple story being read aloud, using words that have an easy, natural rhythm. Be sure to preserve the natural pulse of the words when you sing them.

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Connecting Verse and Chorus Chord Progressions


Some songs use the same melody and chord progression for the verse and chorus. But those songs are in the minority; for most of the songs you write, you’ll be composing different melodies, and creating a different chord progression. In a way, it’s because of those differences that you’ll want to find ways to make those two major sections of your songs feel connected. In other words, though the chord progressions will often be different, they can’t be so different that they feel completely unrelated.

So here are some ideas for making a verse progression and chorus progression sound properly connected to each other.

Opposite-moving bass lines. Create a chord progression for your verse that requires the bass to move in one direction (upward, for example), and a progression for the chorus that moves the bass line in the opposite direction. EX: VERSE: C  Dm7  C/E  F  G  Dm  F  C.  CHORUS: C  G/B  Am  G  F  C/E  Dm7  G  CPalindromic chord progression. Try creating a chord progression that works well in both directions, frontward and backward. Then use one for the verse and another for the chorus. EX: VERSE: C  F  Dm  Bb  Am  F  G  C. CHORUS: C  G  F  Am  Bb  Dm  F  C.Move the progression to a new key. This is a great solution for a song that uses an identical (or almost identical) progression for the verse and chorus. Simply move the chorus to a new key. Because the chord progression will still be the same, but starting on a new tonic, there’s a sense of recharged energy. EX: VERSE: C  F  C  F  Dm  Am  F  A. CHORUS:  D  G  D  G  Em  Gm  G  G7..Move from minor to major. Try creating a minor key progression for your verse, and switch to the equivalent (or almost equivalent) major progression for your chorus. EX: VERSE: Cm  Fm  Cm  Bb  Cm  Eb  Bb  G. CHORUS: C  F  C  G  C  C/E  F  G.Use identical progressions, but with pedal point bass in the verse. A pedal point bass simply means that the bass stays on the same note (usually the tonic note, but try experimenting). So try a simple verse progression that uses pedal bass, and then the same progression in the chorus that has the bass finally moving. It’s a great effect. EX: VERSE: C  Dm7/C  C  F/C  Bb/C  G/C  F/C  G/C. CHORUS: C  Dm7  C  F  Bb  G  F  G.

There are lots of other possibilities. What you’re trying to do with these progressions is create a sense that even when verse and chorus progressions are different, there’s something similar that makes them feel connected – that makes them sound like they each belong to the same song.

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How to Analyze Hit Songs, and Boost Your Own Songwriting Skills In the Process


Is it possible to analyze music without having strong music theory skills? I strongly advocate the learning of music theory as being hugely beneficial when analyzing songs. That being said, however, there are things you can learn about the songs you’re listening to simply by using basic powers of observation. This kind of simple analysis will help you improve your songwriting skills. If you’re not learning from past hits, you’re missing out on the best way to better yourself.

What do we mean by song analysis? Analyzing a song is a 2-step process. In the first step, you’re simply noting what’s going on. This is easily done by creating a map that accounts for most of the musical elements you’re hearing. In other words, you’ll want to know the chords and lyrics inside out, as well as knowing the basics of the melody – where it goes up, where it goes down, and so on.

In the second step, you’re actually analyzing the impact of those elements. You’re figuring out why the song works.

As I say, the good news is that even though music theory will help your analysis skills immensely, there is still much you can do to analyze music by using whatever rudimentary knowledge you already possess.

So let’s practice some song analysis. Choose a song that you really love; the kind of song you wish you had written. There are always reasons why great songs are great, so once you’ve got that song firmly in your musical brain, try the following activities:

With your guitar or keyboard nearby, figure out the highest and lowest note of each melody. For example, you might write Verse: Highest: C; Lowest: E. Chorus: Highest: E; Lowest: G. If there are other melodies (pre-chorus, bridge, etc.), do the same.Do a line drawing of the melody. Here’s an article to describe what I mean. A line drawing shows the ups and downs and general shape of the melody.Come up with a chord progression. Some online chord resources can help, but keep in mind that the vast majority of chord progression sites get the chord progressions wrong. But such sites can at least serve as a guide.Write out the complete lyric. Again, online resources can help, and are easy to find.

Those 4 steps cover the “what’s going on” stage of songwriting analysis. By the time you’ve completed those 4 tasks, you should completely understand the structure of your favourite song.

And now for the analysis. Proper analysis doesn’t just tell you what’s going on; it tells you why the song is working so well. And this part is harder to define. Analysis usually means discovering how the different elements interact with each other. For example, if I were analyzing The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”, I would probably make note of the following:

The song is in AABABAC form. In other words, there are mainly 2 melodies (a verse and a bridge) that comprise the entire song, with a “coda” (“tail”) at the end.The verse melody is shaped like an arch. It starts in the low-middle range, then works its way upward to a high point before ending at a low point.The verse melody consists of 4 short phrases.The 3rd phrase shows more rhythmic activity (syncopations, shorter note values, etc.) than the other phrases.The verse melody is in F major, while the bridge melody feels like it moves to Bb major.The bridge melody sits a little higher in pitch than the verse melody.There are more vocal harmonies toward the end of the song than at the beginning.All the verse and bridge chords are diatonic, meaning that they all belong to the key of F major. The “Coda” introduces an altered chord: Eb. That Eb gives a nice “edge” to the end repeats.

In a way, there’s a 3rd stage beyond this “analysis”, which is to draw specific conclusions as to why the song works so well.

For example, in a 4-phrase melody like this one, it’s good to have the 3rd phrase stand out a bit, and perhaps show more rhythmic activity and perhaps harmonic complexity. You might try to draw some conclusions about that: that the increased rhythmic complexity goes hand-in-hand with what’s happening with the lyric, for example.

Other conclusions: It works well to add vocal harmonies and instruments later than earlier, as it builds energy. Also, the coda melody works its way upward while the chord progression moves downward.

The conclusions you draw can be up for debate. Others might argue with you about why a song works or doesn’t, and that’s all part of good analysis, too.

Once you’ve got a good handle on how to analyze songs, it’s a good idea to try analyzing your own. You can discover ways to improve your own music. So in the end, that’s the real benefit of song analysis: your own improvement as a songwriter.

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How Song Tempo Affects Chord Choice


Back in the early days of the existence of chord progressions, composers discovered (or at least instinctively knew) that the tempo of a piece of music greatly affected how listeners perceived and reacted to chord progressions. It should be no surprise to us that all the various elements of a song are closely tied together. We know, for example, that melody and lyric are strong partners: placing strongly emotional words in at high points in a melody will enhance the impact of those words.

And here’s what they discovered about song tempo and chord progressions:

The faster the music, the less frequently chords should change.The slower the music, the more adventurous and complex the chords can be.

These two points address an aspect of chord progressions called harmonic rhythm. When we talk about harmonic rhythm, we’re talking about how frequently the chords change. Another way of phrasing the first point is to say: The quicker you change chords (i.e., the faster the harmonic rhythm), the more frantic the music tends to sound.

The harmonic rhythm of any given song tends to be relatively stable for the entirety of the song. For example, Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” has a harmonic rhythm of 4 beats: essentially every chord lasts for 4 beats. Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain” has a harmonic rhythm of 4 beats, which then switches to 8 beats for the chorus. Both songs have a similar tempo (approx. 112 b.p.m).

What you’ll notice (and what composers from centuries ago noticed) is that there is a momentary spike in musical energy every time a chord changes. Fast tempos already have a high energy level. So quick chord changes in fast tempo songs tends to make a song sound frantic and panicky.

Which brings us to the second point. Slower tempo songs are great songs for exploring more complex chord progressions, ones that feature lots of non-chord-tones, mini modulations, and harmonic twists and turns.

An example of this sort of thing from the Classical music world might be to compare Bach’s Concerto for Two Harpsichords (played here by two pianos), which wanders quite a bit harmonically, aided by the slower tempo. The slower tempo gives the listener time to “process” and understand what’s going on. If this piece were played quickly, it would sound unpleasantly worked-up and agitated.

Now listen to the 3rd movement of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto #3, which is usually played at a very fast tempo. That fast tempo means that the chords should change in a very regular way, and should be far less complex. In this example, they rarely stray beyond simple circle-of-fifths type progressions, which are very strong and predictable.

As a writer of songs in the pop genre, you simply need to remember that the more frequently you change chords, the more energy is generated. You can purposely create that “frantic” feeling by doing just that. To see how that works, try this little experiment:

Play the following progression at a fast tempo of 136 b.p.m.: A  D  Bm  E  C#m  F#m  B7  E7. Strum each chord for 8 beats before moving on to the next one. Next, strum each chord for 4 beats, and notice the slight intensifying of energy. Next, strum each chord twice before moving on. As you keep shortening the duration of each chord, the music becomes more and more energetic. There comes a point when the intensity crosses over into the realm of “panicky”, and then you simply have to decide if that’s an effect that you want.

Of course, playing style, instrumental range, and basic rhythm also work to create energy as well, and so all aspects need to be considered together. But if your latest song is giving you that unpleasant frantic feel, try either slowing the tempo down, or simplifying the chord progression.

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Kicking Song Energy Up a Notch- With Rhythm


You’ll probably notice that I write about song energy a lot. For me, energy is what it’s all about. And I don’t mean “Is your song energetic enough.” I simply mean “What happens to your song’s energy over the 4 minutes of its existence?” Even quiet songs have energy that must be carefully sculpted and controlled. Songs where the energy level moves up and down seemingly randomly just don’t cut it. Such songs leave listeners feeling lost.

There are obvious ways you can control the apparent energy level of your music. Singing and playing higher, louder and faster usually does it. But that’s pretty obvious. As a songwriter, you need to equip yourself with tools that can nudge energy up and down with a bit more subtlety. For my money, playing around with a song’s rhythm gives you great opportunities to configure the energy of your music.

Songs should generally increase in energy as they proceed. That’s a basic songwriting principle. But that augmentation of energy is rarely a straight line; usually, energy will increase, decrease, then increase again as the song advances.

Linkin Park’s “Numb” is a great model for the typical way song energy does this increase-decrease pattern. Give it a listen, and you’ll see that the verse is relatively quiet, followed by a chorus that suddenly really pumps it up. The intro that starts the song shows both of those energy traits. As the song moves forward, there’s a typical quiet-verse-louder-chorus pattern.

But those energy fluctuations in “Numb” don’t make great use of rhythm as an implement for shaping energy. For that, check out the following ideas:

Layer syncopation against a beat. Syncopation means the purposeful displacing of the beat. So listen to the intro of “Moves Like Jagger.” The rhythm guitar plays a syncopated rhythm that generates a particular energy level. The energy suddenly increases (but only subtly) when the kick drum comes in with an on-the-beat pattern.Switch from syncopation to on-the-beat. This is a variation on the first idea, and it works really nicely if your verse uses lots of syncopation in the rhythm of the melody. Eliminating the syncopations for the chorus, switching to a more on-the-beat approach causes a nice energy rise.Start a musical phrase on the pick-up-beat to beat 1. This is a favourite technique for choruses, where all instruments will start together on the upbeat to the chorus, rather than right on beat 1. With everyone diving in before beat 1, there’s a momentary energy surge.Drop beats occasionally. This amounts to a time signature change. Most songs will be in a typical 4/4 time signature. It can cause a brief energy rise to eliminate a beat. Listeners often aren’t even aware that the time signature change has happened, but the resulting energy works well, especially in choruses.Shorten one musical phrase, and add it to the next. Listen to the instrumental bridge of The Commodore’s “Easy” (around 3’03″), and take note of the subtle increase of song energy that that kind of syncopation causes.

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Song Structure: When a Pre-Chorus or Bridge Is a Good Idea


The verse-chorus form is probably the most common in pop song genres, songs in the 3-6 minute time frame. Of those, many use bridge sections – that shortish part that usually comes after the second chorus. A certain percentage also use a pre-chorus – the bit that follows the verse, leading up to the chorus. None of these sections are compulsory, as you know. Songs can exist quite nicely in a simple verse-chorus-repeat format. So how do you know if your song needs, or could benefit from, a pre-chorus or bridge?

The short answer (which I’m willing to admit also sounds a bit sarcastic) is: if it sounds like it needs a pre-chorus or bridge. But to be specific, there are things to look for in basic song structure that will help you decide if you should be considering adding a pre-chorus or bridge. Here are some ideas:

When a Pre-Chorus Is a Good Idea:If your song’s verse is very short.If your song’s verse uses a similar short motif over and over.If your verse’s chord progression is unadventurous, moving back and forth from the tonic to one other chord.If the end of your verse melody is quite far away (an octave, let’s say) than the start of your chorus melody.If your verse lyric describes a situation or people, and needs more description before the chorus more emotional lyric.If the verse energy is significantly less than the chorus energy.

In essence, a pre-chorus will allow your verse to connect more sensibly to the chorus. How you know that you need one can be summed up by saying: My verse just seems too short.

By adding a pre-chorus you extend the time between the start of a song and the start of a chorus. You allow for more descriptive lyrics that will allow for a more intense emotional response in the chorus. In that sense, a pre-chorus can be a real game-changer, changing a nondescript song into a more intense musical experience.

For a good example of a short pre-chorus that helps build energy and connects a verse to a chorus nicely, listen to Stone Sour’s “Say You’ll Haunt Me“.

A bridge usually comes after the second chorus. It’s main purpose is to provide a diversion from the verse and chorus melodies that have each happened twice. After a second chorus, your choices are usually to either end the song (i.e., repeat final choruses), or do something different. If your song simply isn’t long enough to end at that point, a bridge is a good idea.

When a Bridge Is a Good Idea:Your song needs a new melody with a new chord progression and a new lyric. In other words, if your song feels too short with a simple verse-chorus design.The new chord progression should ideally not be the same as what’s happened so far in the song. And if possible, the bridge should venture out into a new aspect of the song’s tonality. In other words, if your song is in a major key, try a bridge that focuses more on the minor. A bridge’s lyric should simply build on the story, offering new information for the listener. If you want an instrumental solo.If you need to build energy after a second chorus. Allow this new section to take the energy level to new heights.As an opposite effect to point #3 above, if you need energy to dissipate.

There are a few options to consider for getting out of a bridge. Most commonly, you’ll go immediately back to the chorus, with a few repeats before ending. But you can also return to the verse. That option lengthens your song even more, so be sure that it doesn’t make your song too long.

No matter what sections you add to your song, keep in mind an important songwriting principle: the energy level of your song should basically increase as the song proceeds. A pre-chorus will allow you to build energy easily. A bridge can either build it or allow it to decrease, whichever you need to have happen before those final chorus repeats.
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