5 ms·
Tons of songs are just: Play a bass note, play it an octave higher, lower, higher, with a 4/4 beat. Then there's a note, play a note higher, one note higher, b
by zandorg 17y ago
Tons of songs are just: Play a bass note, play it an octave higher, lower, higher, with a 4/4 beat.
Then there's a note, play a note higher, one note higher, back to the first note.
For instance, The Music Sounds Better With You by Stardust, Drop the Pressure by Mylo
[Edit addition] I should also point out that in a big way, modern music is about the clarity of the production, and not necessarily the melody or lyrics.]
- patio11 17y agomodern music is about the clarity of the production It is also, in a big way, a function of the tribal effect of being part of a mass-media phenomenon, something which the labels are all-but-essential for. Disney could make any of a hundred thousand girls into the next Britney Spears. (Typically folks recoil in horror at the notion that their enjoyment of music would be affected by this. What can I say... branding works and is not evil?)
- jamesbritt 17y ago"Typically folks recoil in horror at the notion that their enjoyment of music would be affected by this." Any links to support the claims that branding works, and that modern music is a function of the tribal effect of being part of a mass-media phenomenon?
- patio11 17y agoIf you want academic work, look at anything by Merry White about Japanese children -- she covers the phenomenon of how Japanese record companies do it, and why, in detail. (Short version: the fantasy that you are just like this pop star and that they are part of your life sells records.) If you want more informal analysis, look at anything in the press about Disney Music in the last 10+ years. It is crazy how much of American pop has come out of The Mouse -- not because they have superior access to talented teenagers but because they know what to do to craft, develop, launch and manage a brand which just happens to center around an actual human being. (They're seriously ambivalent about that, actually -- if they could do it without the human they would.) http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1564394,00.html http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1564394,00.html I also love the Onion's take on it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZgXg_7kVI8&feature=player_embedded http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZgXg_7kVI8&feature=playe...
- jamesbritt 17y agoThanks for the links. I've gotten the impression that creating hits is a complete black art, whihc is one reason companies are so keen on blatant copies and minor variations. It was also my understanding that most acts fails, even those pushed by major media; people are fickle about what's trend-worthy.