Through means of Dancehall rhythms, modal interchange, and ostinato, Michael Jackson gives us glimpses of Black American heritage in his protest song.
Tag: pop music analysis
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.
3 Scale Modes That Will Deepen the Emotions of Your Pop Song
If you’re looking to impart a sinister, mysterious, bittersweet, or jazzy quality into your songwriting, do it using scale modes! Here’s how.
Why Producers Need to Learn to Analyze Common Pop Song Structures
As a producer, it’s essential to have a knack for songwriting structures and forms so your music doesn’t feel aimless.
Exploring Tonal Hierarchies in Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”
In his ongoing attempts to seek out the answers to why we like the music we like, Hunter Farris has uncovered a melodic hierarchy via Whitney Houston.
The Most Poetic Lyrics We Heard in Pop Music in 2018
We’ve compiled some of our favorite lyrics to hit the Billboard pop charts last year and isolated them to give them the attention they deserve.
What Makes a Song “Catchy?”
This article looks at some of the psychological explanations around why songs are considered catchy and how they get stuck in our heads.
St. Vincent’s “Los Ageless” – a Song or a Production?
As an example of a song that could be called both a “production” and a “song”, we look at St. Vincent’s “Los Ageless” to break down those differences.
Our 10 Favorite Rap Beats of 2018 and Why We Still Love Them
We count down and break down our ten favorite hip-hop beats of 2018 to find out what’s going on inside them and why they’re still so good.
How Imagine Dragons Writes Such Memorable Melodies
Imagine Dragons’ “Demons” plays with our sense of memory about how the melody is supposed to play out each time. How does this work?