ISearch Draft

The How To's:
of Writing A Hit Song

Nicole Beckwith


Eng. 101 College Comp.
April 14, 2011
John Goldfine
















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Table of Contents

iii... Summary
1... The Background
2... Why I Am Writing This
3... Things I Know
4... Searching
5... Things I Learned
6... Sources















iii
























The Background
Music is my soul now, my life, the air I breath. I can't explain to you exactly why I love music so much, or why I like country as well as pop and hard rock. I really began to immerse myself in music in 6th grade. It started when a new student arrived at my middle school Emma Malay. She was a huge Green Day fan, the biggest I had seen. Her locker, notebooks, binders, pencil boxes, and books were all completely covered with pictures of them. The closer we got the more I started listening to Green Day, and the more I enjoyed their music. After a month, I was hooked, my locker and binders soon were covered with Green Day pictures. I started listening to the radio constantly, I could never turn it off. It helped me study, sleep, wake up, it helped me do everything.
One morning while my mom was driving me to school I heard two new songs. “Dirty Little Secret” by The All-American Rejects, and “Sugar, We're Going Down” by Fall Out Boy. I instantly fell in love with the two songs and kept my radio on at all times so I would never miss them when they came on. Soon after I heard the two songs my mom brought me to Wal-Mart and told me that I could get one CD that weekend. I had planned on getting The All-American Rejects' CD, but they were all out. When I was younger I always felt like I had to spend money whenever I got it, and that I had to buy something whenever my mom said I could. So I decided that if I couldn't get The All-American Rejects CD I would get the new Fall Out Boy CD. When I got home that night I put on my new CD and laid in bed listening to it for hours. From that moment on Fall Out Boy was my favorite band, it still is today. My obsession with them led me to finding many other bands, The Academy Is, Cute Is What We Aim For, and Gym Class Heroes were just a few.
My obsession for music soon seeped into my obsession with writing. I began to write songs, they weren't very good, the chorus' were normally short poems that I had written, the rest of the song was built sloppily around that. I knew that none of them were ever going to sky rocket me into the music industry, and I was okay with that. Song writing was just something that kept me busy at night when I was procrastinating on my homework. But it did lead me to wondering about how all these
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people could write these awesome hit songs, while I could only manage to write good chorus'.
Why I Am Writing This
I am writing this because I want to know what exactly makes a hit song. I want to know why “Tik Tok”, by Ke$ha was so big, while “Nightmare”, by Avenged Sevenfold was never played on z107. I love both songs so I don't understand why one is so much bigger than the other. Is it because “Tik Tok” is a pop song, and “Nightmare” is a hard rock song? I can sing both songs word for word, and I am a huge fan of both artists. So I really want to understand what exactly makes a “hit song”.
What we think of as a “hit song” today is a song that can reach number one on the billboard charts. A song that is constantly played on top 40 radio, and is nominated for song of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards. They're the songs that are on the radio every hour, and are lip synched on YouTube. The songs that are preformed on every morning show, talk show, and award show in the country. They are the songs that you love to hear for 24 hours straight for a week, then you want to shoot yourself in the head whenever you hear it after that week.

Things I Know
I know what people classify as a hit song, it is typically a song that has placed in the top ten in a popular, national music chart, like Billboard. I know that this time in 2010 the top ten songs on the Billboard Hot100 were, “Rude Boy”, “Nothin' On You”, “Hey Soul Sister”, “Need You Now”, “Telephone”, “Break Your Heart”, “Imma Be”, “Baby”, “In My Head” and “BedRock”. I can tell you that I could sing the chorus of 8 out of the above 10, even a year later.
I know that the top 10 songs on that chart this week are, “E.T.”, “S&M”, “Just Can't Get Enough”, “Forget You”, “Born This Way”, “Look At Me Now”, “Down On Me”, “On The Floor”, “Perfect”, and “Rolling In The Deep”. I can sing the chorus of 8 out of 10 of these songs as well. I know that of you search “how to write a hit song” on the internet, you are swarmed with tons of sites on the subject. There have been books written about writing his songs, and you can find many interviews with artists about the popularity of their song and how it has become a hit.
Searching
When I first decided on this topic for my ISearch, I sent a message to my close friends on Facebook, asking what their favorite song was, who their favorite artist/band was, what was a “hit song” out today that they loved, what they believe makes a “hit song” and why did they like that song and artist. After reading all the responses I got, I saw that pretty much everyone had said they liked a song because it was relateable and catchy.
I won't copy down what everyone's response to the first 2 questions were, because I believe that they have no real interest to the paper now. But the following were everyone's responses to the last 2 questions I had asked, what was a “hit song” out today that they loved, what they believe makes a “hit song”.
What is a hit song from today that you love?
Bethany Ward: “I love the song Super Bass by Nicki Minaj. I like it so much because it's fun to try to rap with her, and I can sing along and it's got really cute/cool lyrics.”
Kacey Beckwith: “ back to december is one of my favorite songs out right now by her, and it's a song that a lot of people can relate to. if a person can relate to a song, chances are they will like it. it's also important for there to be a hook in the song.”
Taryn Lane: “My favourite hit song right now would have to be "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga. And not just because I love absolutely anything Lady Gaga even spits on, but because those lyrics really made me realize that I am who I am, and no stupid boy is ever gonna mess with that. I love listening to it. (Oh yeah, and a background beat stolen from Madonna's "Express Yourself" also helps! Haha.)”
Melissa Trotter: “On the song "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked" by Cage The Elephant it has a lot to say. How the world is cruel and people will do anything for money to get by in our cruel world. Plus it tells of people who you can't blame for the things they do to get money like a hooker and a crimmal. And these people say "I got bills to pay, I got a mouth to feed and there ain't nothing in this world for free. I can't slow down, I can't hold back. But you know I wish I could. Cause there ain't no rest for the wicked till we close our eyes for good." That lyric is my favorite because it's the truth of life that people seem to ignore and/or deny. “
A hit song from today that I like, is “Firework” by Katy Perry. I love it becaause it is really fun to dance to and it has a fast and fun tempo, but it also has a really strong and heartfelt message to it. The song is all about being yourself and not getting down just because you aren't necesarilly one of the “popular” girls, or because not every guy you see throws themselves at your feet. We're all human and we all have insecurities and problems that we have to ever come. Life isn't a simple walk in the park for people and no matter how bad things seem to be you have the power to ever come it all and show the world your spark.
What do you think makes a hit song?
Bethany Ward: “I think songs that are on the radio and become hits do so because they are relatable to every situation, are really upbeat, or are really catchy. Also if the artist does something weird or cool to go along with the new song, they usually seem to catch on and be hits more.”
Kacey Beckwith: “ the chorus or some part of the song needs to be catchy, something that will be remembered outside of the song. if a person can make a song that many people can relate to, and also make some aspect of it catchy, then chances are good that it will be a hit. “
Taryn Lane: “I believe what makes a hit song is a perfectly blended combination of a catchy rhythm, attitude, and lyrics that speak to you. You have to be able to relate to the lyrics to love the song. (Well, mostly. With a few exceptions...and just about every ke$ha song [: ) Which would lead me to why some people don't like songs: the lyrics mean nothing to them, so they can't make a connection.”
Alissa Toner: “a hit song would have good music in the background, voices that AREN’T auto-tuned, and good lyrics. A good beat helps, too. I like Lady Gaga a LOT because she doesn’t sound auto-tuned and her music makes even me want to dance and she is just amazing."
I think that a hit song, today, absolutely has to be something that a majority of people can relate to in some way. Whether it reminds them of something that happened to them, or if it is just talking about something they wish they could experiance, it has to make a connection with people. You can't just write down a few random verses and chorus' about something that few people care about, the message behind the song has to be strong. “Tik Tok” had catchy lyrics and melodies but at the same time it talked about having a good time with friends and doing whatever you wanted to do. That's something that speaks to a lot of teenagers and young adults because you are in that stage of your life where you don't wanna do things for other people.
Now that I know what I believe makes a hit song, and what some of my friends think make a hit song, I should tell you what several websites say make a hit song. The first website I came to was an article by Yogesh Bakshi, titled “How To Write A Hit Pop Song”. He split up the writing process into 5 parts, story, format, length, beat/speed, and the hook. The tips are as follow, “
Mid-up-tempo 4/4 beat
13-20 second intro, 4 odd minutes total length
A set pattern of the song
A verse that tells a story which the listener can relate to
A chorus that contains a hook which listeners will want to hum again and again”
This article dealt more with the technical aspect of writing a hot song, which is helpful if you can play an instrument well, I however, can not, so as helpful as technical aspects are, they don't do a lot of good if you don't have the lyrics down pack. So the next article I found was far more helpful for someone who wants to just focus on the lyrics for now.
Guitar Noise interviewed Keane Li, an award winning songwriter and guitarist for Festizio. He gave their readers 10 tips on how to write a “commercial friendly” hit song.
“Keep a journal, take chances, produce the song in your head, listen to “well written” songs in your genre, build your world and stick to it, add some pizzazz to chord progressions, let your words write themselves, listen to your songs as an audience member for the first time, be inspired, and practice.”
Keane said he had never tried the “journal keeping method” but that is seemed to work for many people and seemed to be a good idea. So when keeping a journal try these tips,
“Every time you have an idea for a new song or a catchy line, write it down... keep all your old songs. Keep the music and lyrics every time you decide not to use a song. You may often find a use for it later...”
Taking chances is a tip that I especially like, because I don't have a lot of technical talent, but Keane says that originality can, in many cases, make up for that. I didn't understand the “produce the song in your head” tip, probably because I have no idea what producing a song means, but one part of that tip I did understand was that the song should always build, it should never have a few high points and a few low points. Listening to well written songs seems like a given to me. If you want to be the best, you need to learn from the best. So if I wanted to be like Ke$ha, I would have to listen to every Ke$ha song I could find. If I wanted to be like Avenged Sevenfold, I would have to listen to every Avenged Sevenfold song I could find. Pretty much the easiest tip I have read.
Sticking to the world you built for the song seems the hardest, because it's so easy to get distracted. I have many times started writing a song about one incident in my life, and by the end of the song I'm talking about another. It's important to stick to one topic, and not be all over the place. And letting the words write themselves can be even more challenging. My mind has, on many occasions, wandered off as I am writing a song, and when I read over it, it seems as though I left to wonderland for the second half of the song.
Listening to your song as an audience seems to the most important to me. I am very insecure about having people criticizing my work, so many times I will write a song and stick it back into my binder. But if someone is serious about becoming a musician you can't be that insecure, especially with yourself. It's important to stand back for a moment and think objectively about your song.
The last source I found is my favorite out of the three. It relates every tip to Lady Gaga's song “Poker Face”, one of my favorites, and it is the easiest to understand.
“FIND GOOD PRODUCTION, because the first thing people usually pick up on is how a song sounds. Having solid production can turn almost any song into a media sensation. Poker Face's instrumentation is very strong, very catchy and has a lot of variation in it.

CREATE A GOOD SONG CONCEPT. Poke Face does this and more by using the concept of a poker face as a metaphor for sexuality and deception. Songs with thought behind them tend to have a lot more staying power than their competitors.

WRITE A CATCHY HOOK. This is critical to making a hit song, because the chorus, or the hook, is usually the first part of the song that people memorize. In the case of Poker Face, the hook is catchy because of the stutter-like manner in which it is delivered.

HAVE STRONG LYRICS. Strong songwriting is mostly to appease musical critics. Most pop music fans could careless about the words in the song, as long as they are catchy. Lady Gaga's lyrics in Poker Face are surprisingly strong for such a poppy record.”

I would have to agree with pretty much everything that was in this article. If a song sounds interesting or catchy in the first 15 seconds or so, I listen to the rest, if it's boring, I change it. The short attention spans of today's youth prevent many of them from liking a song that doesn't have a very catchy beginning. The concept of the song is the next thing that can throw a listener off. I know that many times, I have listened to a song that has a catchy beginning, but after hearing the lyrics and understanding the idea of the song, I get bored and never listen to it again. You could have a very catchy beginning melody to a song, but if they concept is that fried chicken is good, you probably aren't going to have many fans.
Source List
Bakshi, Yogesh. "How to Write a Hit Pop Song: Essential Ingredients of a Top 10 Pop Song!" Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. Suite101, 2 Apr. 2007. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. .
"Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100 | Billboard.com." Music News, Reviews, Articles, Information, News Online & Free Music | Billboard.com. Billboard, 18 Apr. 2011. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. .
Li, Keane. "Top 10 Tips: Writing a “Hit” Song - Guitar Noise." Guitar Noise - Learn How to Play Guitar. Facebook and Guitar Noise. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. .
Milam, Jonathan. "How to Make a Hit Single | EHow.com." EHow | How to Videos, Articles & More - Trusted Advice for the Curious Life | EHow.com. Tips From People Like You. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. .
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