As a publisher, I’ve heard countless songs by new writers that sounded pretty good, but I still passed on them because they lacked that something extra that makes a song stand out as a potential hit.
In many cases, the absence of that ‘special something’ was down to the writers not paying enough attention to the dynamics within their songs.
The writers may have come up with an interesting title, a nice melody and good lyrics, but they made their song weaker by not making full use of techniques such as contrast, tension and variation—all key elements in the craft of successful song- writing.
The effective use of contrast is all about making each section of your song sound different from the other segments.
These differences hold listeners’ attention and help them to distinguish between the verse, chorus and bridge. The changes also enable you to surprise listeners and stimulate their interest at crucial points in the song.
Try analyzing some current hit songs and you’ll hear how the writers have increased the impact of their songs by using contrast and tension to make certain sections stand out.
The simplest way to add contrast, and keep your song sounding fresh, is by making sure the melody line (and chord progression) in the chorus is different from the verse … and different again in the bridge.
It is essential for the chorus—and its all-important melodic hook—to stand out from the rest of the song to make it memorable, and so increase the song’s commercial potential.
This can be achieved by starting the chorus melody higher than the last note of the verse—or even in a higher key—to set it apart. A chorus rhyming pattern that is different from the verse will add extra contrast, as will a change in the rhythm of the words—such as a shift from staccato lyrics in the verse to stretched-out words in the chorus (or vice-versa).
Tension is another element that can give a song extra character.
You can build tension melodically within the verse by starting on lower notes and then making the melody climb higher and higher as the verse unfolds—before re- leasing the tension in the chorus. Tension can also be created lyrically by building up the song’s story—perhaps changing the lyric meter from line-to-line as the verse progresses—until you reach your punchline (usually the title) in the chorus. Unless you find that ‘special something’ to make your song stand out, there is al- ways a danger that you’ll have a boring song that stays on one level and sounds the same all the way through—like a damp firework that burns half-heartedly for three minutes but never ignites enough to display its true beauty.
# # # #