Why Leon Bridges’ Powerful New Song “Sweeter” Works on Every… Single… Level
We break down the devices that help Leon Bridges and Terrace Martin’s song, “Sweeter,” function on every level, musically, poetically, and emotionally.
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We Analyzed Every Dang Song That Cracked the Billboard Top 5 in 2018
Welcome back, pop music scholars, and Look Alive… because we did it again. That’s right — we sent an even Better Now, out-of-this-WRLD probe past all the FEFE’s and ZEZE’s that were Meant to Be in the Top 5 of 2018’s Billboard Hot 100 charts, and what we got back was a tally of data and stats…
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Lots and Lots of Colored Dots: A Fretboard Explanation of Pop Tonality
Using the guitar fretboard as a template, music theorist Dean Olivet has redesigned harmonic notation in a colorful, intuitive methodology for learning.
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Chartmania!! I Broke Down Every Song That Reached the Billboard Top 5 in 2017
Alright songwriters and song-guzzlers alike, strap on your boots for a knowledge voyage with more divergent rectangles than the NYC skyline: that’s right, the top pop charters have now become 2017’s top pop graphed. The Top 40 song charters that is, but why 40? Well, besides this number’s significance in pop music as a result of…
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Longing for Simpler Times? Why the ‘Good Old Days’ Ain’t So Simple This Time Around
Have you heard Macklemore and Kesha’s recent duet, “Good Old Days”? It’s got a main theme everyone can relate to: “why, oh why, did I take those days gone by for granted?” The video features some pretty universal moments as well, just driving through the woods in a van at various states of chill along…
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Where Have All the V Chords Gone? The Decline of ‘Functional’ Harmony in Pop
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. So there I was, doing research on topics such as “summer 2017 songwriting trends,” when it hit me. You guys, this is getting ridiculous — where did…
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‘Double Basses, You Know What You Must Do’: Breaking Down Ben Folds’ 10-Minute Song
A little over a week ago, the Kennedy Center uploaded a video of a concert in which singer-songwriter and composer Ben Folds creates an orchestral piece of music in under 10 minutes and performs it with the full participation of the National Symphony Orchestra. The video, which has since been shared over 100,000 times, is a…
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The Statistical Analysis of the 70 Most Popular Disney Songs You’ve Always Wanted
+ Welcome to Soundfly! We help curious musicians meet their goals with creative online courses. Whatever you want to learn, whenever you need to learn it. Subscribe now to start learning on the ’Fly. Have you ever wondered if there was some kind of magical formula to all those memorable Disney movie songs you grew up with? I always did, because they…
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Are There “Happy” Blue Notes? Well, Maybe…
Okay, so there’s no such thing as a “happy” blue note, I made that up. But if you’re curious as to why I did that, read on. To start, if you don’t know what a blue note is — or what the difference is between a “blue note” and a “blues scale note” — you should…
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Funk School: Breaking Down the i-IV Tritone Flip in “Uptown Funk”
“Perfect – fourth / Perfect – fourth / Tri – tone / Tri – tone” “Perfect – fourth / Perfect – fourth / Tri – tone / Tri – tone” Can you hear it in your head? If you did, you’re funky enough — go do something else, smarty. If not, feel free to help me…
