How to write a pop song
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Hi everyone!
If on the one hand this format is aimed at those who are beginners in the field of musical writing, or who is interested in its “behind the scenes”, on the other hand I invite those who are already familiar with the information provided in this article to open constructive discussions and insights. Here I present my ideas, but music is not purely maths and therefore for each topic there are various interpretations, all equally interesting.
But now enough with the chatter and let’s get to the point.
How do you write a pop song?
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Pop is not a genre!
First of all, a brief but important clarification: what does pop mean?
The term Pop encompasses all music that have achieved a certain fame at a popular level. This therefore leads to a first conclusion: pop is not a musical genre, but changes and follows people’s taste and fashion. There is a core made by culture and history, but no specific structure typical of pop music – as instead happens for genres such as opera or blues. Pop can be rock music as well as dance.
That said, the ultimate goal of pop music is to be appreciated by as many people as possible.
If you’d like to learn more, there is an interesting article by Joe Bennet entitled Collaborative Songwriting – The Ontology Of Negotiated Creativity In Popular Music Studio Practice showing the fundamental and constant elements of successful hits. I leave you the link below.
https://joebennett.net/2011/07/07/collaborative-songwriting-academic-paper/
Now let’s see some tricks to keep in mind when writing a pop song.
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Structure
As for the structure we can have various concatenations, but if I had to choose the main one, I would say:
Introduction – Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus – Bridge – Chorus
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You can add other parts, such as a pre chorus and a post chorus; sometimes the bridge or the introduction are removed; sometimes there’s a final coda acting as a climax. In short, the possible variations are many, but the basic idea is the one shown above.
An important element to always keep in mind is the dynamic function of the various sections: the introduction is in most cases instrumental and gives the listener an idea of the general mood of the song; the verse usually has a medium-low dynamic; the pre chorus rises slightly and serves to prepare the listener for the chorus, which is the part with the highest dynamic and the most immediate melody. After the chorus there can be a post chorus with the function of expanding it through a usually instrumental part; the bridge aims to introduce new elements to create a sharp contrast with the rest of the song; these changes are “denied” in the end by the final refrain, which “reassures” the listener by making him feel the part already memorized.
Here are some songs and their respective differences from the model I indicated at the beginning of the paragraph:
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A structure from the past: the Beatles
The Beatles, which we can define as the best example of a Pop band, used for example a very particular structure for their songs, different from the one I showed you before: they tended to put the chorus as the first part of the song.
Why did the Beatles songs start with the chorus?
As the members of the Liverpool band said, the structure was dictated by a commercial idea: since the main mean of promoting music was the radio, the aim of the band was to immediately capture the attention of the listener, so that he did not change station. And what better way to attract attention than to start with the chorus?
Now, however, the digital era changed the way to promote music, making this technique no longer needed; in fact, most of today’s pop songs start with an instrumental introduction.
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The power of numbers
Let’s go back to the characteristics of current pop music.
One thing to keep in mind is that the structure must have repetitions based on numbers: lines, number of verses; everything revolves usually around 2 and its multiples. The same happens for the rhythm, that is a 4/4.
Another important statistic to keep in mind if you want to write a successful track, it’s to stay under 4 minutes, with the introduction lasting about 15 seconds.
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Harmony
Show your personality. Obviously it’s better not to exaggerate with the number of “chords” present in the song (usually 4 or 5), but basically there is no particular obligation.
If looking for some evident recurrence, I would say to exploit the sixth degree and leave out too dominant sounds. The important thing is to keep in mind that harmony must sound “good”, it must not be too “difficult” for the listener (even if in reality it can be quite complex) and must repeat itself a lot, in order to be easily remembered.
Another thing I would like to tell you is that often harmony reflects the “mood” of the song: cheerfulness and lightheartedness are often conveyed by a diatonic harmony in a major key, if the song is melancholic the maj7 chords work very well, as well as, if you want to create a dark atmosphere, a more chromatic approach can help.
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The Melody
Here you have to give your best. Pay attention to rhymes, alliterations, internal rhymes, word accents, metrics. These elements make the difference.
The themes are less important; usually these are troubled love stories or feelings that most people can identify with.
Generally the refrain has few words, ideally three, marked by a longer melody, with few notes.
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Rhythm
The important thing in this field is to have a particular accent that catches the attention, such as a reggaeton – which is immediately recognizable – or an upbeat accent from the bass or drums (central technique in genres such as trap). In short, something that identifies the song.
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Conclusions
Obviously these are characteristics not to be taken as rigid categories, but as ideas to be customized. The best parts of the music usually coincide with breaking the rules.
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I hope you enjoyed this brief analysis. If you would like further information, clarifications, or would like to propose interpretations, write below in the comments!
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In the meantime, good day to all of you and see you next time!
(Photo: Free-Photos from Pixabay)
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