What Makes a Good Song?
Anything about MUSIC but doesn't fit into the forums above.
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What Makes a Good Song?
2023-01-04T03:52:28+00:00
I listen to a lot of music and wonder why anyone bothers to make it, much less feels the need to share it with the world. This particularly struck me listening to the Vince Clarke & Martin Gore album from 2012. Those guys can do anything they feel like, so why choose to do minimalist, ancient-sounding techno? It struck me as a strange choice.
So, anyway, for me the most important thing a good song needs is power. Power is a combination of energy and attitude. Energy is the most important factor but it's not usually enough on it's own. e.g. The Pointer Sisters ' hits all have bags of energy, so I don't hate them, but I don't exactly like them, either. OTOH, Icona Pop 's I Love it has both energy and attitude and I quite like it.
Energy is easy with fast songs but much harder with slower material, where the energy needs to come from tension in the music or some kind of build-up and release. My favourite songs all have slow verses and massive choruses at double-tempo. Strangely, though, I've never written a song like that. Dunno why.
Attitude is harder to define. e.g. I don't like Heavy Metal at all, yet it mostly wreaks of attitude. I think maybe I find it hard to take seriously. The other thing is that it tends towards "dark" and "evil", where "anger" works better for me. Minor keys help, too, but attitude is the hardest aspect for me to nail down. I know it when I hear it but that's about it, really.
Good songs also need vocals to anchor my interest. Instrumental music can't generally hold my attention for more than a minute or so. I keep waiting for the song to start, especially with a lot of different Tarnce styles, and lose interest when it doesn't.
Rhythm matters, melody doesn't. Again, my favourite songs all have strong, driving rhythms which, of course, is where the energy usually comes from. OTOH, whilst I enjoy a good melody as much as the next idiot, it's not something I look for.
Anyway, I think it helps your songwriting to analyse what it is you like and don't like about the music you listen to but it isn't something I've ever really put into words before.
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