Justin Timberlake’s Cry me a River might be guilty of stealing the title of a much better song, and having truly dreadful lyrics but I happen to think it’s an okay little ditty that does some interesting things.

Specifically, it [...]]]>
Here’s a link to the song, which won’t let me embed for reasons I don’t really understand…

Justin Timberlake’s Cry me a River might be guilty of stealing the title of a much better song, and having truly dreadful lyrics but I happen to think it’s an okay little ditty that does some interesting things.

Specifically, it only uses one chord progression. Most pop songs use chord changes to create interest, but here the songwriters have decided to stick with the same 4 chords and create interest in other ways.

Now, it’s a good set of chords – song starts with keybord arpeggios of G# min, D#7, E, D#7/C# which don’t stop until near the very end of the song.

There’s also the countermelody that starts at 13 secs, and is also used as the bridge melody. The rest of the song is all about different melodies and layers – the verse starts with a drum beat, bass line and staccato string pad chords emphasising the chord changes. The strings go legato for the chorus and Timberlake layers up the falsetto vox in his best Michael Jackson tribute mode.

The second verse adds some more interest by putting in a couple of short breaks from the drum beat and adding some extra vocal layers. I particularly like the staccato vocal melodies, eg at 3.28, which are a great example of one of my favourite features of modern rnb.

The whole point of the song is to create interest through the layering of different melodies and loops though, and there are certain points where the lack of harmonic changes starts to drag – essentially every time the song reaches ‘Cry me a river, cry me a river…’  where it sounds like an outro and therefore loses energy. And the ‘jammy jay’s done…’ rap sections are just laughable.

While it’s not a perfect song, and certainly needs some improvement in the lyrical department,  there are some great ideas that I’d steal if I was thinking of writing in this style:

1. Staccato vocal melodies (usually in the natural minor mode) – very RnB but rarely heard in other genres.
2. Complicated chords – that is a good chord progression, I like the D#7/C#. It’s essentially a clever play on the common harmonic minor i IV V7 progression (eg. Am, F E7)
3. Tiny percussion breaks – a second verse always needs something new – why not have the rhythm section drop out for just one bar?

Talking of RnB style vocals, here’s a much better songwriter who does some great vocal stuff: Trouble Over Tokyo

That structure is quite old fashioned, but lots of modern forms developed from it.

 Compound 32-Bar structure.

 The standard 32 bar follows an AABA structure, with B providing a contrast to the A sections. It’s pretty much a ternry structure, with the [...]]]> One of the most popular posts on this site is about the 32 bar song structure.

That structure is quite old fashioned, but lots of modern forms developed from it.

 Compound 32-Bar structure.

 The standard 32 bar follows an AABA structure, with B providing a contrast to the A sections. It’s pretty much a ternry structure, with the first a section repeated.

The usual pop song structure, (verse chorus verse chorus middle 8 chorus) can be seen as a variation on this. Instead of one musical idea in the A section, it can be divided into two, the verse and chorus.

• A Verse Chorus
• A Verse Chorus
• B Middle 8
• A Verse Chorus

You are Not Alone

This Michael Jackson song, while sentimental and a little unpleasant,with a genuinely disturbing video, nevertheless illustrates another way of adapting the 32 bar structure.

It does this by using a 32-bar structure as a verse (nearly. It’s actually 40 bars AABAA).

After the first of these there’s a small interval that uses some chromatic chords. The second verse is then a repeat of the 40 bar structure (with different words). This if followed by a middle section that takes us out of key again, before returning to the main melody, and repeating in ascending keys.

 This too is a compound version of the 32 bar structure.

• A (A’A'B’A'A’)
• Interlude
• A (A’A'B’A'A’)
• B Bridge
• A (A’ section repeated in ascending keys)
• Outro

What should you take from this for your own songwriting? The ternary structure is a basic structural idea, but a very useful one. The basic idea of using one idea, contrasting it with another, then returning to the original idea, is always effective.

Listeners like comprehensible structures. That doesn’t mean they always need the same structure, but it does mean that adapting well known structures a little can be very effective. How could you adapt the 32 bar structure to your own ends?

A Small Aside

You Are Not Alone also uses some interesting chromatic chords. It’s in the key of B and several times goes to a G major chord. That’s a major chord built on the minor sixth, which isn’t part of the key but does contain the root note. Always worth a try.

Martin writes:

Do you write on request?

I sure do

Here’s a topic I’d like to see covered a bit more indepth, but seldom run into, although it’s one of the most important parts of making a song: the Intro.

Do you have any tips on that [...]]]> A few days ago I received an email from a reader named Martin Andersson.

Martin writes:

Do you write on request?

I sure do

Here’s a topic I’d like to see covered a bit more indepth, but seldom run into, although it’s one of the most important parts of making a song: the Intro.

Do you have any tips on that one? I usually have no problem whatsoever writing words and chords, but when it comes to writing intros I more often than not find myself in a state of lack of inspiration. Sure, it’s always possible to vamp for a while, or just play a chord progression that’s somewhere else in the song, but most often that feels like a bad kind of compromise that doesn’t really do the song justice.

Thanks for writing, Martin. A great question that really got me thinking about my own songwriting. I have to admit, I’m often a little lazy when it comes to writing intros.

After a little thought, I’ve come up with four different ways to introduce a song:

1. Establish the groove.

This is very common, and pretty much the same as what Martin says he usually does:- vamping the chords for a while.

Popular song is very often based around a groove or beat, so why not begin by introducing that first? This Sting song has a great groove in five four that emphasises the first beat of the bar and the off beat of the second beat.

2. Build tension.

This Metallica song uses a variation on the main riff as an intro, but instead of introducing the groove straight away, it builds up, gradually adding layers of pounding toms and chugging guitars until the eventual appearance of the groove comes as a relief from the tension of the constant build up.

3. Use middle 8 material

This great indie rock anthem by the Manic Street Preachers has an intro that we hear again in the middle of the song. The middle of a song is where we need a break from the normal groove, harmony or feel of the song. Often we need something similar from the intro too, so why not use the same musical ideas in the intro and the middle eight?

4. Suprise the listener

This song by the prog-metal band Cynic has a great ’suprise’ intro with a huge contrast between the first chords and the groove that crashes in a few seconds later.

I wanted to embed this live performance instead, but I wasn’t allowed so check out the link if you want to hear the live version

In General

The intro is there to get the listener ready for the song, without giving away too much. It should introduce, tantalise, suggest.

A few extra tips:

• End unresolved, for example end your intro on the second or fifth chord in the scale (Dm or G in C major)
• Have less energy eg. slower tempo, lower key, less well defined rhythm or percussion 
• Balance – Longer intros only belong at the start of long songs – don’t build up tension over two minutes, only to go to a song that lasts for two minutes.
• Finally, consider whether you need an intro at all. A lot of the time, launching straight into the first verse can work just as well.

A brief investigation took me to Nick’s websites, and the first thing to point out, as Nick does, is that his analysis is not [...]]]> This morning on the today program I heard an interview with Nick Troop, a songwriter who claimed to be doing a psychological study of songwriting to investigate psychological health or… something.

A brief investigation took me to Nick’s websites, and the first thing to point out, as Nick does, is that his analysis is not supposed to be scientific, and not supposed to be taken to seriously. It’s a bit of fun, although I’m sure it would be interesting to genuinely investigate the interaction between psychological health and songwriting.

His website ‘The Gospel According to David Bowie‘ analyses Bowie’s songs from a number of different angles. Unfortunately where I think he misses a trick is that he’s only analysing the lyrics. He even talks about the difficulty of analysing Low because it has so few words.

When I was still studying I wrote a dissertation on genre in heavy metal, which brought me into contact with a lot of pop music analysis. Almost all of it is useless, for the simple reason that it refuses to engage with the actual music. Sociology related to pop music seemed to have similarities (though I read far less of that), and I can’t comment about psychological work related to pop music, except to point out that lyrics are a small part of popular music, and most certainly not the primary conveyors of meaning.

I’m a little dissapointed that Nick hasn’t teamed up with a musicologist to properly analyse Bowie’s music.

Bowie, as far as I am aware, has written only one song that is directly about his personal life (the excellent Jump, They Say). His lyrics have always been distant, and he has rarely worn his heart on his sleeve. The whole point of Bowie’s music has been to explore the interplay of character, theatre, artifice. He has also often written for other people, with all the implications that might have for self expression, and made use of various word randomising techniques which suggest a minimal regard at times for the literal meaning of the words. He has also referred to his deliberately commercial 80s albums as his ‘pension plan’ and written accordingly. I’m not sure how one could ever tell which of Bowie’s lyrics literally reflect his emotional state, and which are pastiche or parody, or simply far less to do with his own psychology.

And more importantly, lyric writing is not songwriting. If you want to analyse Bowie’s music, and you’re not going to talk about the gospel chord changes in Word on a Wing or Space Oddity, the use of improvisation and the use of the studio as a tool, his showcasing of excellent soloists, the riffs of Carlos Alomar, the tension between Bowie’s and Eno’s approach to arrangement… then really you’ve missed so much I wonder what the point is.

I know, I know, Nick Troop is only having fun and I’m not saying his articles aren’t interesting. I just think Bowie’s songwriting has always been about much more than his lyrics.

PS. Nick Troop is also a pretty good songwriter in his own right. Have a listen to the tracks on nicktroop.com

Song pet hates #1

Martin says his first pet hate in songwriting is rhyming. Specifically:

1. Rhyme is not a substitute for meaning 2. A good, clever or complex rhyming scheme is not a sufficient or necessary condition for a song being good

My own pet hates are Beatles rip-offs and old [...]]]> Great post over at Martin Austwick’s blog:

Song pet hates #1

Martin says his first pet hate in songwriting is rhyming. Specifically:

1. Rhyme is not a substitute for meaning
2. A good, clever or complex rhyming scheme is not a sufficient or necessary condition for a song being good

My own pet hates are Beatles rip-offs and old fashioned harmony. Though I suppose I could have gone for my real big, genuine number 1 hate – Anything Bob Dylan has written. Ever.

Of course, I probably shouldn’t admit to disliking Bob Dylan. But I do. Passionately.
Anyway, ignore me and go and read Martin’s blog.

Seriously, Gary Ewer’s ‘Essential Secrets of Songwriting’ is a great blog, with some fantastic posts on the technical side of songwriting. Recent posts that I think are particularly useful include:

‘The Tonic Note – Be careful How You [...]]]> Disclaimer – this isn’t an advert, Gary Ewer doesn’t know I’m writing this. I just like his blog.

Seriously, Gary Ewer’s ‘Essential Secrets of Songwriting’ is a great blog, with some fantastic posts on the technical side of songwriting. Recent posts that I think are particularly useful include:

‘The Tonic Note – Be careful How You Use It’

In this post Gary Ewer analyses a song by Cobra Starship to make the point that the tonic, or ‘home’ note of your key has a specific role in melodies. He gives some great advice on when and when not to use it.

‘Want to Write a Great Melody? Draw a picture’

This post has a nifty technique for visualising your melody to make sure it has an effective pitch structure.

Gary regularly posts on technical songwriting issues, and I would heartily recommend subscribing to his blog.

The Mixolydian is a mode I associate with country, blues, heavy rock and the Beatles. It isn’t the only scale used in those styles, and it isn’t limited to those styles, but with it’s dominant seventh tonic chord and the emphasis on the seventh note of the scale, it always conjures up images of old [...]]]> Character

The Mixolydian is a mode I associate with country, blues, heavy rock and the Beatles. It isn’t the only scale used in those styles, and it isn’t limited to those styles, but with it’s dominant seventh tonic chord and the emphasis on the seventh note of the scale, it always conjures up images of old fashioned, American rock. It’s a beer drinking, gibson chugging, guitar twangin’ mode (or at least, that’s how it feel to me).

Construction

The mixolydian mode is almost the same as the ‘normal’ major scale, except that the seventh note is flattened by one semitone. So in C Mixolydian the notes would be C D E F G A Bb C.

You can do the same to any major scale. For example, G mixolydian is G A B C D E F G (all the white notes on the keyboard starting at G). D mixolydian is D E F# G A B C D.

To generalise, the intervals in the mixolydian mode are:

Tone Tone Semitone Tone Tone Semitone, Tone

It might look like a tiny change but having that flattened seventh creates a very distinct harmony that is miles away from the major scale.

Chords:

The seven chords in those mode are:

I7 iimin7 iii Half-dim IV Maj7 v Min7 vi Min7 VII Maj7

In C Mixolydian: C7 Dmin7 E Half-dim F Maj7 G Min7 A Min7 Bb Maj7
In G Mixolydian: G7 Amin7 B Half-dim C Maj7 D Min7 E Min7 F Maj7

In the major scale, we’re used to chords VI and V being important. Chord V in particular often comes before I to form a cadence. In the Mixolydian mode, the VII chord performs a similar function, as in one of the most famous songs that uses the mixolydian mode, Sweet home Alabama:

What to do if you want that mixolydian sound? Try writing chord progressions that use chords I and VII, eg. C Bb F,    G C  F and work from there.

T.C.Elliot, whose songs can be heard here and here, said:

To me a rock or a carving or a beautiful sunrise [...]]]> After trying valiantly, but only moderately successfully to voice my disatisfaction with songwriting being described as ‘communication’, I feel I’ve little choice but to leave you with the thoughts and comments that other’s have sent me:

T.C.Elliot, whose songs can be heard here and here, said:

To me a rock or a carving or a beautiful sunrise is nothing if it does not communicate something more than what it is…What makes a picture of a sunset art instead of a document of a particular time and place? Does it communicate something more to you than merely a photographer was here at such and such time/place?

You wrote, “but I’m not sure that’s really what art does. ” and I think I agree. The purpose of art is not to communicate. It’s intention is not to communicate. A person does not get on the phone just for the act of communicating. But without communication that phone serves no purpose. For me for an object to be art it must have a message

Neil, who is also known as Lemonstar (listen to his music here) said:

Communication and expression. Thinking about my relationship with the music writing process and my motivation for trying to be creative I’ve come down to the following view. For me, generally, time spent writing music = time for reflection =(i.e. this leads to) therapy ( resolution) = motivation (action) = purpose (happiness). Often I’m helping my self to make sense of what I think or feel – I’m trying to communicate (talk) with myself first.

Nolan from the Charming Youngsters, on the other hand (who by the way have a song that begins ‘I knew a dinosaur that followed me home from the grocery store) said:

Arguments can be made for and against both sides. I know that personally, I’ve written from both approaches. However, the music I record and perform live is there to communicate, whereas the expressive music is mostly for myself.

These replies got me thinking about my own songwriting and why I do it. It’s been a long time since I felt the need to write directly about my feelings or use songwriting as a kind of therapy. However, my music does mean a great deal to me, and I certainly feel compelled to write.

Why do you write? Is it to express yourself? To communicate with others? A mixture of the two?