How to Write a Pop Song: Understand the characteristics of pop socngs; how they differ from other genres. Find useful tips, techniques and strategies to use to come up with great songs when writing for this style of music.
This style of playing simply means playing the songs that you like the most. In fact, whenever you refer to pop-music, it would normally mean a song which is in the Top-20 or Top-40 of any TV/Radio channel.
Tune into your favorite radio station and you would most likely be listening to a pop song.
All these songs would normally be sung by your favorite singers like Elton John, Billy Joel, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Don McLean, Adele, Kate Nash, Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Paul Simon, Tom Jones, Celine Dion, Sting, etc. (just to name a few) – you can pick up any song of these great singers and that would be a pop song…great for learning on the piano or any other instrument.
You will notice that most of the popular songs are Ballads, which is nothing but slow, sentimental songs.
How is Pop Music Different from Other Music Genres?
Most music styles differ from one another depending on – things like scale, rhythm patterns or instrument used. In case of music like Jazz, the chord progressions are very different.
Pop music is usually written and structured in an easy flowing way, using simple “rules”, features several repeating sections and uses simple harmonies.
So its comparatively easier to play on the piano (or any other instrument).
Having said that, you can play a pop song in different ways (for example, “Your Song” played by Elton John, Ellie Goulding and many others on YouTube).
Even if you pick two pop keyboard parts (at random), you’ll notice that they use different techniques. One might use long chords of synth strings, another might have boogie-woogie-like piano rhythm.
How to Write a Pop Song: Top Tips
Have you ever tried to answer these questions?
- What makes a hit song?
- What makes a song stick in the minds of a listener?
- What makes people call their local DJ’s begging them to play the same song time and time again?
- Have you ever tried to write a pop hit?
Obviously it’s not easy to write a pop song that becomes popular but then are certain things that seem to make them click.
- Learn how pop songs are structured
- Write a catchy chorus
- Use pop hooks, write down ideas for your own hooks
- Use pop chord progressions (use three- and four-chord progressions)
- Write your opening chord progression
- Create chords for your other sections
- Write strong opening lyrics
- Make a story with your lyrics
Strong Melody
Now there are some who might argue that a catchy rhythmic line or groove can do the trick all by itself. Even though that’s true, it applies more to other genres such as Rap, Dance, Electronica, etc.
There are several songs in this style that have become immensely popular just because of a catchy musical rhythm, lyric, sound effect or some sort of effect or production technique.
But when it comes to pop, it has always been a strong melody which seems to make it click.
And it applies to the most popular forms of music such as Pop, Ballads, Country, Rock, Funk, and others.
Create a Hook
The purpose of this part of the song is to “hook the audience”; you want to capture the attention of the audience in a short time. Most songs begin with a hook, but it can also be used throughout the song. And the hook doesn’t have to be the same as the melody or the rhythm.
To create a hok, just play some riffs on the piano (or the guitar), and alter some to suit your song.
Example: The “Satisfaction” song by the Rolling Stones starts with a hook and uses it throughout the song.
Chord Progressions
In pop music, it’s common to see both three and four-chord progressions being used. In four-chord progressions, you usually start and finish on the same chord.
Simpler three-chord progressions that you may use include:
- I-IV-V (C, F, G)
- I-V-IV (C, G, F)
- I-II-V (C, Dm, G)
- I-VI-V (C, Am, G)
Common four-chord progressions include:
- I-IV-V-I (C, F, G, C) “Basket Case” by Green Day, “You’re Beautiful” by James Blunt.
- I-V-IV-I (C, G, F, C) “All the Small Things” by Blink-182, “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga.
- I-V-VI-IV (C, G, Am, F). “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper, “Someone Like You” by Adele.
- VI-IV-I-V (Am, F, C, G) “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne, “What If God Was One of Us?” by Joan Osbourne.
- VI-V-IV-V (F, G, F, G) Linkin Park – “In The End” intro and verse. (sounds dark)
Fee free to use any of the chord progressions listed above.
Lyrics
While there are some rules on writing lyrics, you don’t have to strictly follow them (remember, rules are meant to be broken). Having said that, here are some suggestions.
- Depending on the song, lyrics may be written before or after writing a pop song.
- Lyrics should ideally convey one topic/message throughout the song.
Listen to Your Song
Once you’re happy with what you have written and composed, record it on your computer and hear it back several times.
Does everything sound right – the words, structure, how it flows?
Like most other songs, these aren’t going to be perfect the first time itself; you will have to edit/rerecord the song a few times until it sounds right and generates the right emotions.
Name the Song (Title)
The last step is to think of a title for your song. In most pop songs, you will see that the title uses the words from the chorus; it makes it easier for the audience to remember the name of your song.
However, if your song is very metaphorical (for example ‘dark sky’ could mean sadness), you can think of a more obvious title for your song. So, if your song is about sadness, but you never explicitly use that word in the song, your title should reflect it.
Other Things
Here are a few other things that you should keep in mind, that will help you come up with a better final product.
- Always keep it simple
- You can use three chords, as opposed to using say eight or ten
- Most pop songs just use a I-IV-V progression
- Adequate hooks (including an instrumental hook)
- Chorus has to be addictive
- Some spoken words
As you can see, the melody is an important part, but then there are other bits and pieces that you need to keep in mind. This is how to write a pop song that has a good chance of becoming successful.
Is pop music really rejecting the piano?
Acoustic piano’s warm tone is increasingly rare in the industry, experts say that the piano is evolving, not dying out.
A search for the sound of acoustic piano in Billboard’s current Hot 100 yields few results. Although the piano has not been consigned to history yet, the piano makes only fleeting appearances in most pop songs.
So has the use of keys gone out of fashion?
Not really! Experts say its more about convenience today, professional musicians prefer a pro keyboard than a huge piano. Songwriters are composing more on laptops.
So basically, its a rejection of the piano’s size, and not really its sound.
Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Billy Joel and Freddie Mercury each made the piano a star in its own right.
Here’s some more good news for piano lovers.
- “Music industry is on the cusp of a new era of human evolution, wherein musicians may embrace old instruments in new ways,” says Sampha, a British singer and producer.
- Benmont Tench, the keyboardist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, incorporates his Steinway acoustic grand piano into the keyboard and organ rig he takes on tour.
- “If everything on a recording is engineered down to the millisecond, it takes the human out of the music,” says singer Howard Jones who prefers the piano’s personal touch. Howard Jones uses Apple computers, key-tars and traditional pianos in his live shows and recordings.
While the pop songs of today may be using programmable electric pianos and organs, or the intimate and personal style of songwriting, the acoustic piano is still the best suited, and prominent pop artists such as John Legend and Adele are ensuring that it still has a place on the airwaves.
Pop songs getting faster as listeners’ attention spans diminish
As streaming booms, pop songs are getting faster, thanks to the diminishing attention spans of listeners.
Instrumental openings of songs have shrunk dramatically over the years, and the average tempo of hit singles has become faster, says a study.
Hubert Leveille Gauvin, a doctoral student in music theory at the Ohio State University, analyzed the year-end top 10 on the US Billboard chart between 1986 and 2015.
In 1986, it took roughly 23 seconds before the voice began on the average hit song. In 2015, vocals came in after about five seconds.
With streaming sites like Spotify allowing users to access millions of songs, artists want to try to grab your attention as quickly as possible, says Leveille Gauvin.
The study has been published in Musicae Scientiae, the Journal of the European Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music.
Here’s what one musicians had to say about the trend.
Streaming services are killing creativity in favor of practicality in music. As a musician and composer I have no interest in crafting my art to fit a corporate paradigm. So I have zero chance at fame. But so do many other artists I know. So we play directly to people around us and in communities who don’t want junk music. We will never be wealthy from our art, but we will be remembered by those we touch with it. That is far better. To hell with streaming services and their artist assassinating policies and trends.
Despite the overall trends, the researcher says that there was still diversity in song structures.
KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.
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