[Lcjones]

As we all know very well, the Internet has given musicians from every walk of life a completely open, and truly, a listener driven venue in which to ply our trade. Make no mistake, and even though AM/FM frequencies will continue to play music, the real channel to listen to is the "Network Channel". The Inter"Network" Channel. Today, everyday, there are literally thousands upon thousands of new songs and lyrics we can listen to. Some good. And some, well, not so good. Every genre and every style is represented. Even genre and styles that haven't been labeled yet are available with a little "google intelligence" and reconnaissance. You as a singer/songwriter or lyricist today have an incredible opportunity to get your music/work heard.

OK, OK. You've been beaten over the head about it. I know you already know it. Really. I do! So why am I writing this? Here's why. It's very simple. It's fundamental. It's Song Writing 101. As you click through all the music at your finger tips, notice I said "click through", a very important piece of information, what are you looking for? Rather, what is it in a tune that catches your attention and causes you to download a particular or only a single song from a commercially successful or a virtually complete unknown musician/artist? You can probably answer that in several different ways but the essence will be, you like the music. YOU like the music. In other words, the author(s) of the song did something right to grab YOU from the thousands of listeners that happen to "click through" to or from their song.

But why? But why did it grab your attention?

The answer is ......

A) Hooky Intro's, B) Hooky Melodies and C) Hooky Chorus.

It doesn't matter what genre or style. All that matters is that "it", a song, caught your attention. And that is exactly what a song is supposed to do. Catch your attention in hopes that you will return to find even more music to fix your habit. And face it, we are all addicted to music! We can't help it. Music is *the* most pervasive drug of mankind.

So. You. As a songwriter/melody-maker. Your job is to hook listeners into your drug. Of course, the drug being music. And how do I do that you ask?

Here's how.

The first 30 seconds of your work makes or breaks it. Just like in the old days. Just like Elvis pitching a song. Just like Aerosmith pitching a song. Just like Ho-Rappa-Rappa pitching a song. It isn't enough to just write and/or compose an interesting piece of tune. It isn't enough to just throw your tune out on the Internet. Because! Because! Listeners have the attention span of a gnat. They change what they listen to in mere seconds of the first note of a song. It is paramount for your success to nail down your listener quickly! When you put a song on the Internet, you are essentially turning your work over to judge and jury AND they are all gnats! You are at their mercy. Period. It is incumbent on you, the author of a piece of music, to grab and nail down a listener. It is up to you to grab their attention. Grab their emotions. Grab their ear.

And guess what? You have 30 seconds to do it in. OK! Remember what I said, "clicky-clicky"? Click through is killer. Click through can, for lack of a better word, "kill" you and all the music you make.

So.... having made it this far and I thank you for that.... here is the payoff. And, it doesn't matter if the song is for public or private consumption or commercial in nature. You must,

A)
Musically grab the attention of your listener with a great introductory "intro".

B)
Lyrically nail down your listener within the first two lines of the first verse.

**
Keeping in mind you have 30 seconds to accomplish A and B in order for listeners to hang around long enough to get to
**

C) The chorus. The verses must build up to a great Hooky Chorus.


Ok. From the cheap seats. That's me.

**
LC

[carol m]

Good info Les. Any tips on how to musically grab the listener in the first few seconds? I kind of get how to do it in the lyrics, but with the music does it hinge on a good drum pattern/interesting combo of strum/picking and chord progression? I realise that talented musicians do this unconsciously, but if you want/have to learn how to do it, is that the sort of thing you need to listen for in other peoples music?

[allthumbs]

Hi les. Thanks for the info.

[Lcjones]

Hi Carol,

Originally Posted by carol m

Good info Les. Any tips on how to musically grab the listener in the first few seconds? I kind of get how to do it in the lyrics, but with the music does it hinge on a good drum pattern/interesting combo of strum/picking and chord progression?

What a great question!

Well, yes. All of the above! But here. Here's an experiment. This is the first 30 seconds of a tune I'm working on. What catches your attention?

http://chapmanjones.com/gfbb/Demo_30_Seconds.mp3

What, if anything, is going to make that 30 seconds memorable or interesting enough for a listener to listen past 30 seconds?

If you look at the musical history of any artist, and again it does not matter which genre it might be, a successful artist follows a fairly well straight musical line. What I mean by that is the artist ultimately finds his or her particular style and maintains that style through their career. In essence, the artist figured out what he/she was going to do and then went after the most audience that would listen and appreciate their particular style.

You've heard me mention it in the past, the "artist must learn who their audience is". What their audience likes. And then continue to write music that audience will listen to. So if you're a musician who plays acoustic music and favors Celtic style songs then, your target audience is those who appreciate that type of music. And you write your music to entice that audience to listen. Whether the intro is percussion, a simple guitar riff or a finger picking sequence isn't going to matter as much as whether what ever was chosen as an introduction to the song is "memorable" enough for a listener to continue listening.

I realise that talented musicians do this unconsciously, but if you want/have to learn how to do it, is that the sort of thing you need to listen for in other peoples music?

OK. Yes. You are absolutely right. There are some musicians who have such talent that the entire process of music making is a natural extension of their mind. But in reality, they are few and far between. All the rest of us have to work at it!

You absolutely must listen to other artists works. The other artists are your markers. As you create your own style or signature, you must A B their work against yours. In other words, you must learn what has made their work successful and compare it to your work. Now, let's not get all out of whack here. The point is, regardless who the artist is, every successful song has certain qualities that make it a great song. Now whether is the music itself, the lyrics or a combination of both, the student of song writing or musical composition must understand what made that piece a great tune and then learn how to incorporate those successes into their own works. But lets not confuse copying someones work or style with learning what made a work successful and creating your own work based on your own knowledge.


**
LC

[carol m]

Here's what caught my attention (a personal thing):
Guitar - tick
Acoustic guitar (with the added extra of a bit of jangle) - tick
The rhythm/beat (catchy but not frantic) - tick
The best bit.......the bass line!

That's what had me hanging on to hear how the lyric went - it lead me in and made me want to know what came next.
(This is fun!!)

[knight46]

Great thread Les, super information. We can alway count on you to jog our perspective of how we see things. And I couldn't agree more, this is the age of 'click-click'. When I was coming up you bought records (those round plastic things with holes in the middle) because you liked the artist and when you played the song you listened to it all the way to the end. Now with so much material at your finger tips it is easier to check out hundreds of songs in a short time. Sort of instant gratifications for the senses.
The first thing that caught my attention on the clip was the beat and the bass line and then the guitar.

[X4StringDrive]

Originally Posted by knight46

Great thread Les, super information.

+1 Les, Thanks!