Week 3: The Push to Start Songwriting
Maya P -
Hi y’all! Welcome back. Since progress has been slow but steady, I don’t have much to report back regarding further research (the research-focused blog posts are on their way though, promise). So instead, this week’s post is about the art and science of songwriting specifically (my favorite!).
Last week I spent time going over different elements of music in general, describing melody, timbre, pitch, texture, time, harmony, and more. I went over DAWs and their purpose in my research as well. This week is all about writing songs. I consider songwriting an art form and a difficult one at that. Lyrics in top pop songs tend to be extremely relatable for a wide audience, and easily repeatable and catchy. Now what topics do the top hit songs even write lyrics about? Studies show that the predominant topic of pop music remains romantic and sexual relationships since 1960. References to lifestyle issues (dancing, alcohol, drugs, status, wealth) have also increased substantially, largely due to culture shifts among younger populations. I guess some things never change, do they? Humans have always been creating art about connections and love.
Song structure (verses, choruses, outros/intros, bridges) also plays a key role in successful pop songs, with many following typical ABABCB structure (intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, final chorus, optional outro). There are many variations to song structure as with any art form, and if you’d like to hear more details on some different styles and other song structures let me know! For my final song product, I will likely follow this standard ABABCB structure since many hit pop songs feature this structure, but I will keep my eyes peeled for the deviant successful pop songs that go against the grain throughout my research.
Songwriting is certainly deceivingly easy. It sounds like there is an easy formula and topics galore, with it all laid out you would think it’s impossible to write bad pop lyrics! Unfortunately, there is a reason top pop hits often have many songwriters and ghostwriters behind them. Lyrics, song structure, and songwriting are crucial aspects of a song that can make or break the experience for the listener. I hope you learned more about songwriting and structure today and if you have any questions feel free to comment down below! See y’all next week.
Song of the Week: Push 2 Start – Tyla
Data on the trends of top-40 song topics:
Christenson, Peter & Haan-Rietdijk, Silvia & Roberts, Donald & Bogt, T.F.M.. (2018). What has America been singing about? Trends in themes in the U.S. top-40 songs: 1960–2010. Psychology of Music. 47. 030573561774820. 10.1177/0305735617748205.
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