What Makes a Song a Hit

winston · Post by **winston** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 5:11 pm

That was great Bob. Mystery solved...for me at least.

Don't Fear The Reaper was a great tune. It had a hook, the guitar playing was memorable and it was sung well.

telebob · Post by **telebob** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 12:55 am

"Don't Fear The Reaper was a great tune. It had a hook, the guitar playing was memorable and it was sung well."

.........and that cowbell! Man! Just put me over the top!

winston · Post by **winston** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 8:27 am

Hahahaha Obviously!

jdogric12 · Post by **jdogric12** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 1:13 pm

Burt Bacharach said (forgive me if I'm confusing the details a little) when he and Hal David took a song in to sell to a big name artist before they were a well-known writing duo, the artist put the record on, played five seconds, and turned it off. Rejected.

The fun beat and hook are merely your foundation. Hit songs are typically a dance of contrasts and dichotomies. If that were not so, pop music would be even LESS interesting than it is now. And that's pretty bad!

Radio hits are interesting enough to listen to longer than five seconds, but maintain enough cohesion to warrant repeat listens (and COMPLETE listens). The brain likes repetition, but also gets bored easily.

Listen to some of your favorites and you may notice the second verse has a different guitar part than the first, for example. Or maybe after the bridge you get a chorus with only vocals, plus a bass drum kick on beats 2 and 4, for four or eight bars. Of course there is the classic modulation trick, too. Just raise the key in the outro and you've achieved something new, even if only slightly.

J Dog recommends the book Music, The Brain, And Ecstasy by Robert Jourdain, ISBN # 0-688-14236-2. It is fascinating and will teach you all about how the brain understands and processes musical sound, from the very basics of tone and pitch and rhythm to complex orchestral works and so on.

Happy listening! -J Dog

studiotwosession · Post by **studiotwosession** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 12:05 pm

anything one hasn't been able to find on American radio for 25 yrs.

lyle_from_minneapolis · Fri Nov 24, 2006 5:09 pm

This is really a worthy thread, something to be discussed more in-depth.

In the olden days of rock (let's just say 60's & 70's for this point), the most important element was "The Hook." It could be anything from a cool lick (like "Smoke on the Water") or an unforgettable lyric (..."Stuck in the middle with you"...) or a beautiful harmony (Everly Brothers' "Dream").

These days, the Hook is not so prominent. What sells is "The Sound", meaning the sound you just heard on the last hit of a similar kind. Payola really is king here, as well as unimaginative executive decisionmakers calling the shots. Good songs still hit the airwaves, but the rules have changed.

Here's what I say. Most songwriters here on the forum are not getting much radio play--I'm just making a wild assumption here. But there are probably some great songs being written by them. So Eff the radio. Harness the Net and play your songs to those that would appreciate them. Throw some good freebies out there until they catch fire, if they do, then sell them for 2 bucks a pop or whatever.

But more to the point of what makes a hit, I still think that if you want to write a song by the numbers (rather than divine inspiration), then come up with a cool riff, construct a verse and a chorus, repeat it, change up for a different middle eight ('cuz life is very short, and ther's no time...) then bring it all back home and end with a bang.

kenposurf · Post by **kenposurf** » Fri Nov 24, 2006 5:26 pm

As we're dealing with mass appeal....a tune that sounds fresh yet familer goes a long way to that end...it's gotta have a hook!

qmoder · Post by **qmoder** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 3:41 am

A hit is a tune the paper boy hums.
Women are often sold on lyrics whereas men often listen to the music. Women buy a lot of records. So Achy Breaky Heart sold big with women buyers.
One song that my wife and I both like is Paperback Writer. Its got some good lyrics, catchy melody, and for us a lot of layered parts.

lyle_from_minneapolis · Thu Jan 04, 2007 7:58 am

And a bass line that makes me wanna party.

jdogric12 · Post by **jdogric12** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:35 am

I've always thought the beat was most important to most women. But then, I'm thinking of bar music, not sit-down-and-listen-to-a-CD music.

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Fri Jan 05, 2007 6:30 am

Yes, the beat is most important... and bass, too.

But the lyrics are also important. Everything is important - especially a good combination of all.

lyle_from_minneapolis · Fri Jan 05, 2007 9:54 am

Frankly (or Shirley!) I don't buy the argument about what men like vs what women like.

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:49 pm

"I've always thought the beat was most important to most women. But then, I'm thinking of bar music, not sit-down-and-listen-to-a-CD music."

Hmmmm.... For me, the sound and the content of a song are equally important. If the lyrics aren't good, I probably won't like it, and of course it has to sound good, too! I don't care so much about the "beat," although I do like lots of songs that are peppy and upbeat.... As far as "bar" music, I despise those hit-radio repetitive dance-beat tunes that all sound the same, ala Britney Spears--IMO, both the music and the lyrics of that kind of stuff generally STINK!

jdogric12 · Post by **jdogric12** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 10:28 pm

You are right, Melibee, and definitely the exception.

alexrocks · Post by **alexrocks** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:39 am

The 1-5-6-4 chord progression. (sorry to all theory on you.) For example: G-D-E-C. It's also the progression for U2s "with or without you". only they started on D. Any song written after 1987 with that progression is stupid.