With These Tips, You Can Compose Songs That Will Appeal To Mainstream Music Fans

 

Songs today must attract listeners’ attention in a time when attention spans are shorter than ever before and people are more distracted than ever before. The song’s opening is the best spot to start. In order to get your listeners hooked right away, use these suggestions.

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Introduction should be straight to the point

A few years ago, I was backstage at a music conference and happened to overhear two panellists discussing something before they went on stage. One of the panellists had been to dozens of conferences, while the other was a first-timer. As a first-time critic, the new panellist inquired of the more experienced panellist what he should do. If you’re stuck for something to say, urge them to chop their introductions in half, remarked one of the more knowledgeable panellists.

To put it another way, a common mistake is to over-extended your song’s opening. When writing a song, songwriters want to make every note count. The best way to achieve this is by using as little space as possible while still creating the desired mood and keeping the audience’s ear tuned in to the key, which will keep them engaged and ready for the verses.

Find a good riff

The intro to “Layla” by Eric Clapton comes to mind. It is instantly recognisable from the opening riff notes. This is a great method to not only get your listeners’ attention, but also make your music memorable so that they can almost instantly understand it when it starts playing. There are few things in music writing that are more challenging than coming up with an instantly memorable beginning lick. Use your chorus melody as a compass to guide you through the song’s composition process. It’s important to keep the riff interesting without becoming repetitious. When the riff returns, you can avoid this by changing one or two notes so that it is recognisable without being overdone. Avoiding repetition can also be accomplished by saving the riff for the turnarounds and removing it from the verses and choruses.

Intro riffs, like melody and lyrics, exist in a grey region between songwriting and production, and are therefore crucial to your song’s overall identity. The bottom line is that when you’re working with session musicians that know how to produce the sound you’re going for, it’s definitely worth your time to remember these things.

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Use dynamics

While outstanding recording quality and performances by the bands and vocalist are important for a polished song demo, it’s the dynamics that really set it apart. Songs that use volume and intensity changes to expand and contract are much more effective at grabbing and holding the attention of their listeners. If you want to catch your listener’s attention right away, start off with a big, splashy intro. But don’t forget to take a step back into the verse to emphasise how dramatic/memorable the intro actually was. Think carefully about the instrument(s) you’ll use to convey your introduction. Having many lead instruments or even just one, depending on the music, can be effective. Experiment with different instruments on separate tracks and see what works best for you.

You just have a few precious seconds to make an impact on your listeners with your song’s intro. In order to get the full picture, play your song for anyone you might be bouncing your ideas off of before pitching to decision makers in the music industry. If you can make your song’s intros memorable, you’ll have come a long way toward your goal.

Wishing you the best of luck!

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