The perfect song

From now on, every blog post will be accompanied by a video podcast. The podcast provides an introduction, whilst the blogpost explores the topic in greater detail. The podcast is in Dutch, but YouTube takes care for a translation on demand.  If you like, you can also watch the podcast on your TV. Simply select YouTube and search for ‘kanaal expeditie muziek’.

Every singer dreams of one day writing the song that will bring eternal fame. That rarely happens, and even ‘perfect songs’ remain on the shelf due to a lack of recognition. That won’t happen to establish artists. Their record labels surrounded with professional teams who know exactly how to write and sell a smash hit. How? That was the subject of some older post, which you can read here.

Meanwhile, the search for the perfect song continues, and in this post I’ll venture a description of what such a song looks like. Of course, there is no such thing as ‘the one and only’ perfect song. The listener’s taste, mood and cultural background play a significant role in how songs are appreciated. The song’s intention (telling a story, making a statement) and the genre, which is intended to be either upbeat, reflective or sad, also has an influence. Yet, some songs are better constructed than others.

How the song ultimately sounds is the result of the way in which you, as a lyricist, composer or producer, turn a series of ‘virtual controls’ and fine-tune them in relation to one another. I’ll mention a few of these knobs:

– rhythm 

– metre 

– tempo 

– volume 

– timbre

– key 

– chord progression 

You’ll also need to consider:

– the structure of the song 

– the arrangement

– and, of course, the theme

– the lyrics

– and finally the purpose of the song

The happiest song

Annaliese Micallef Grimaud has conducted research into the link between the settings of these ‘controls’ and the resulting listening experience. Suppose you want to make your listeners happy.  She found that this works best if you opt for a medium-fast tempo, a mix of short and longer notes, high volume, a major key, a high-pitched vocal with staccato articulation and clear tones. The conclusion was that Pharrell’s song ‘Happy’ is a serious contender for the title of ‘happiest song ever’. Listen to it here:

To write the ‘perfect song’, you need to have gained a great deal of experience. Much has been written on this subject, and I’ll give you a point-by-point summary of it. Whether a song is perfect usually only becomes apparent once it has maintained its popularity for years.

The key considerations when writing a (‘perfect’) song are: melody, harmony, rhythm & form, and lyrics. I’ll go through them and give an example of each.

Melody

Guidelines

– Predominantly small steps within the scale enhance the sense of familiarity

– One or two melodic ‘hooks’ (characteristic combinations of notes for the song).

– A recognisable build-up towards the chorus.

– Easy to hum along to, partly due to the repetition of combinations of notes. 

– Absence of trendy stylistic devices. Here, recognisability comes at the expense of originality.

– Powerful lyrics with an emotional ‘charge’.

By way of illustration

The melody of the song ‘God Only Knows’ by the Beach Boys (written by Brian Wilson) is certainly not simple. The chords at the beginning introduce the ‘hook’ (‘God Only Knows’) and make the song recognisable after just a few bars.

The almost Bach-like composition is accompanied by classical instrumentation featuring strings, harpsichord, horns and woodwinds, which perfectly complement the lyrics.  Paul McCartney called the song the best love song ever written.

Harmony

Guidelines

– Familiar chords with no more than two surprising dissonances.

– A pleasant timbre.

– Captivating combinations of sounds achieved through restrained instrumentation.

– Occasional changes in key and time signature.

– Modulation (shifting up or down the scale).

To illustrate 

‘Let it be’ by the Beatles is carried by a unique and instantly recognisable combination of chords. After a short introduction, the melody gradually swells, but by then everyone can already sing along to the chorus. The simple lyrics constantly feature the mantra-like phrase ‘Let it be’, with the emphasis on ‘Let’ and ‘be’. Lyrics and melody complement each other.

Rhythm and form

Points to note

– Surprising, appropriate, yet sparingly used changes in rhythm, tempo and style.

– Contrast between sections (verse and chorus).

– Melodic and lyrical ‘hook’ within 30 seconds.

– Dynamics: build-up to a climax.

– No longer than necessary.

By way of illustration

Aretha Franklin’s ‘Say A Little Prayer’, much like ‘God Only Knows’, elevates love to an almost religious sentiment. The lyrics draw on the daily life of a working woman and illustrate how thoughts of a loved one arise at every moment of the day. The gospel-inspired character of the song is carried by a clear melody. The ‘call-and-response’ vocals of the backing singers reinforce the contrast between verse and chorus. A few subtle changes in metre are also noticeable here.

Lyrics

Notes

– Simple lyrics with a deeper meaning (suggestive, not banal).

– A widely recognisable theme (love, fear, joy) with a personal touch.

– Singable: vowels on long notes, no tongue-twisters, stress patterns as in spoken language,

– Short phrases, no subordinate clauses or superfluous words.

– Strong ‘hook phrase’ (a phrase that recurs and sticks in the mind (‘Let it be…’).

– The style of singing emphasises the lyrics and the singer’s personal connection to the content.

– The lyrics and melody give the impression of having been created simultaneously and of naturally complementing one another.

By way of illustration

In ‘Ne me quitte pas’, Jacques Brel imbues simple lyrics with emotional depth. As a French-language chanson, the song is primarily literary; it feels more like theatre than song. But it is precisely then that it becomes clear how the melody perfectly supports the lyrics. Not a single word is superfluous, and the constant repetition of the ‘hook phrase’ (Ne me quitte pas) intensifies the emotion. The chorus is a climax; everyone knows it, but no one will sing along. 

Setting existing lyrics to music rarely results in a perfect song, unless the musical accompaniment is subordinate to the lyrics. Ideally, the lyrics and music should give the impression of having been created together, although in practice both will have been carefully crafted over time. This also applies to the song’s structure and its instrumentation (sound palette).

The ambition of many songwriters, however, goes beyond writing a perfect song. They seek recognition as artists, following the example set in the 1960s by the Beatles, the Beach Boys and Bob Dylan, amongst others. In the next post, I will explore what the pursuit of ‘art’ adds to that of perfection.