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David Owens - Asleep Again

Pop Songs That Will Make Your Car Audio Burst With Life

When it comes to writing pop songs, there's a general formula that's used for the song structure. However, before we approach the particular arrangement of a pop tune, it is important that you know the purpose of a pop tune because it assists in making the most of the construction.

Goal of a pop tune

The purpose of the pop song is to get the song hooked to listeners whenever possible and to keep the listener stay interested as long as possible in a period of about 3 to four minutes. This is the age of consumerism in which people purchase, then get exhausted, then buy , then get bored again, and so forth etc. It's a cycle. The same goes for pop music today. Folks listen from finding exceptionally ear grabbing music, then get bored, so they hear new songs, they then get bored . Hence that the pop song basically requires three things: familiarity, variety, and a hook.

Structure

So with understanding that we need the tune we all write to hook onto listeners, how does that translate into the structure of a pop song? We must figure out what doesn't work first, then lead up to what works and what works well.

Here's a question. Would a song that was all verses work as a pop song? I don't think so. Why wouldn't it work? It wouldn't work since you would get bored of the David Owens - Asleep Again song quickly. The verses could be catchy, but if there isn't anything to change this up, it is going to get old quick. So what do we do? Add another section.

So the lesson here is to bring variety to the song and stray away from having the song too mundane.

But on the flip side, having too much variety wouldn't work either. For instance, if you introduced a new section every time without repeating a section, it would be hard to take in the song. Let's say I had a song that had the structure A - B - C - D (each letter represents an individual section.

For the listener to acquire some feeling of familiarity, he or she will have to hear the song again probably for a couple times even if each section was catchy. But if you had a song that reintroduced sections like A - B - A - B, the listener can gain familiarity within one or two listens. But keep in mind that the song has to keep the listener interested with the hook.

The general structure of a pop song is A - B - A - B - C - B aka verse - chorus - verse - chorus - bridge - chorus. This works so well because not only does it add a feeling of familiarity by repeating sections A and B, there is a sense of variety with the accession of section C. Then familiarity is reinforced with keeping a feeling of freshness by ending the section with B. This structure of a pop song is effective when the hook is carried in the chorus section where lyrics stay the exact same each time the section is sung.

A pop song comes from pop music which is typically understood to be a commercially recorded music. It is frequently driven towards the youth and it is composed of relatively short, simple songs but with eccentric technological innovations. It's Meant to encourage listeners to dance with the music or it uses beats, percussions or rhythms that are dance-oriented.

The goal of songwriting is to make listeners get hooked to the song as much as possible in a span of 3 to 4 minutes. A pop song basically needs familiarity,variety, and of course, a hook.

The critical elements to keep in mind in writing a pop song are melody, chord progression, beat and rhythm, genre and fashion, concept, "hook", lyrics, song sections, arrangement, and length. These are the common threads that make a song successful.

In the making of a song in this genre, a pop songwriter ought to be able to bring in variety to the song but being conscious not to put too much selection. If a song had a structure, A-B-C-D, with each letter representing an individual section in the song, the listener should find that familiarity as the song progresses. However, the song must also get the listener's attention and get him hooked.

The general structure for a pop song which is verse - chorus -verse - chorus - bridge - chorus or A - B - A - B - C - B. Even though the repeating sections A and B increases the listener's familiarity of the song, the addition of C section gives variety to the song. The structure is quite effective since it has been test-proven by many great pop icons like Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince. The hook is carried since the lyrics remain the Exact Same whenever a Specific section is sung from the singer.Other Kinds of pop song structures are:

If you would like to know how to write a pop song, let me first tell you that there's not one single set way to writing a pop song. I am pretty certain that the songwriters who've had their songs played on the radio did not write their songs with the exact same exact strategy. If that was the case, we might get a deeper "every song sounds the same" problem.

The following is just one of numerous ways in which you can write a song.

1) Song Structure

The very first thing you might want to start off with is the song structure. For instance, a number of pop songs use the format verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus or even a variation of the pattern. A variation could be necessary in case you have a essential lyric that should be fit into the song to complete it or maybe you feel like the song is too brief. An illustration of a variation is Jay-z's 'Empire State of Mind' where an additional verse and chorus is included. The song arrangement goes verse-chorus-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus.

When adding additional verses or choruses, make sure that the song does not get too long. I count any song over 5 minutes as a long song.

2) Lyrics

Lyrics in pop songs should be relevant to popular culture. What's popular in our culture? It's whatever you see on TV, movies, and even in other songs. Songwriters are definitely influenced by other songwriters' songs.

There's really an unlimited amount of themes you can use. Eminem raps about his real life experiences, Lady Gaga sings about the celebrity life, and everything else is about sex, drugs, and rock & roll :)

When writing a pop song, the lyrics should fall into a general structure. You want to set a specific number of lines for each song section. As an Example, you can set your verse to have four lines, the chorus to have four lines, and the bridge to have six lines. If you would like, you go as far is setting the amount of syllables.

3) Chords

Many pop songs share the same chord progressions or patterns. A very popular one is I - V - vi - IV. (If you want an explanation of the Roman numeral numbers and examples of popular chord progressions and popular songs that use them, you can find an explanation at songwriters123.com) This pattern in the key of 'G Major" would look like this: G - D - Em - C.

You can use the exact chords for your verse and chorus if your melody and lyrics contains enough variety. If you feel as though your melody and lyrics of your verse and chorus are too similar using the same chords, you should change the chords to one of the sections so the song may breathe with a feeling of variety.

4) Melody

You can now write your melody to your lyrics. When you're coming up with a melody for a pop song, you want to make sure you have a 'hook'. A hook is a melody line that is painfully difficult to get out of your head. Usually, the hook is used in the chorus.

One word of advice- do not make your entire song the hook. When you start off with a really catchy verse, it actually takes away the bang from your chorus. It's like that saying "You know what is good only because you know what is bad". I sort of reworded it, but you get the point.

These four steps aren't the "standard" of writing a song. It's just 1 way. It is possible to start writing a song by having a random melody stuck in your head (which could potentially be the hook of your chorus). Or maybe you wrote what you thought a brilliant set of lyrics that may be a prospective verse to a song and you build from there. Be creative and have a blast writing your song.

Among the greatest ways to understand how to play easy pop songs on guitar is to simply make a list of some of your favourite songs which you think might be within your grasp, then find out the chords. It really is as simple as that to get going.

The internet is an amazing tool and takes a lot of the hard work out of trying to figure out the chords. All you need to do is Google the song you'd like to play and see what comes up. Chances are you already know all the chords, but should youn't it's no huge thing. The whole point about learning an instrument is to improve. If there are some chords you've not come across before then have a go at learning them.

If you're a bit impatient and can't quite get the hang of them, just move onto the next song on your list. You can always come back to the tricky ones later. I often discover that things that seem difficult the first time you try them, somehow seem easier the following day. It's almost as if your hand and brain take in the new shapes overnight and the next time you try it, things seem much easier.

You will be amazed by how easy many songs are. There are plenty out there which have only 3 chords. Sweet Home Alabama is a clear one (D, C and G all the way through). Lou Reed apparently once said "One Chord is fine. Two chords is pushing it. Three chords and you are into jazz." Now that may not be wholly accurate but you can really go a very long way with just a couple of option chords under your belt. Pink Floyd's 'Wish You Were Here' has 5 chords, but they are all simple to play open chords without needing to use barre chords. (C, D, Am, G, using a little Em in the middle)

If you're able to master most of the simple open chords (C, D, G, F) and their minor versions, you are going to be in a great place to begin. You then are able to explore 7ths, minor 7ths etc.. Barre chords are a bit tricky when you first start but when you've built up some strength in your hand they will become easier. What's more, they'll open up a whole new world of chords to you and allow you to play pretty much any song you can think of. There are so many easy pop songs to play on guitar that you ought to be able to build up quite a repertoire in no time in any way.

When you get going, the next step is to play together with your chosen song. This can either be the original version of the song or among the many 'learn to play' videos out there online. In the event you chose easy pop songs to play on guitar you'll also develop your ear the more songs you learn. After a while you might find that you could work out the chords yourself as you start to recognise familiar chord sequences that are used over and over again in countless songs.

The very first time you hear it, it's fantastic. Even the third time and the seventh. But after twenty-two times? This little song has come to be the annoying repeating track in your head as you wheel the trash to the curb or go to pick up your mail. Come On! Can't you guys play anything else? They're playing it in Walmart. And if it comes on the radio now, you change the station. You're embarrassed that you actually downloaded the cd. The Pop Song.

Did the audio change? Did the lyrics change? Nope, still the same little song. It's just become Common.

So let's say you're a painter. You've just had one of those great experiences where the painting painted itself - you were in the flow. You nailed it. Terrific composition. Values and color are perfect. You know from experience that it's very likely to sell readily. All of your painting buddies assure that this one is as good as sold. And you're considering making a print of this puppy. Scan it and print on demand... No telling how many you can sell...

Now let's say you're a collector. You've been around art. You've bought quite a bit. You've developed a good eye. You see a painting in a gallery window - great composition, values and color are perfect. Well done. Price is inside your comfort zone. You go inside - and there's the exact same darned image hanging on the wall! One of them is a reproduction and it makes no difference which one. As a collector you don't spend buy an image to get exactly what anyone else can have, too. Imitation may be flattery, but reproductions would be the kiss of death. For all you know, Walmart might have some of these in their dorm room furniture aisle.