Archive for May, 2012
So who cares about when the verse and chorus starts?? (or “don’t bore us, get to the chorus”!)
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis, Song Geek on May 29th, 2012
Well, most of you care I’m sure.
But, as you saw on the previous post, MOST of the songs in the top 20 just don’t mess around when it comes to when stuff happens.
Miranda Lambert’s intro was over 20 seconds (hers was a crazy 37 seconds long! but then again, she’s Miranda Lambert!) And Lady Antebellum’s was 28 seconds.
All the others were 20 seconds or less, with the average being 14.86 seconds (if you throw out Miranda’s and Lady A’s intros).
Then, when you consider the chorus, it’s truly a case of “don’t bore us, get to the chorus” with most of these.
The average was 46 seconds for the chorus to hit from the start of the song.
As always, there are always exceptions. But it’s always good to keep these kind of details in mind when writing!
Until next time!
Jason Garner
When does the verse start? And when does the chorus start?
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis, Song Geek on May 22nd, 2012
In the early days when I tried blogging (no I don’t know if it’s still floating out there or not), this was one of my favorites: Timing the 1st halves of a bunch of songs and seeing when the verse hit, and when the chorus hit.
Okay, this is REALLY geeky stuff, but interesting all the same.
So, pulled from the Billboard COUNTRY charts (I’ll do pop another time), here are the CRITICAL STATS:
josh turner-time is love
0:21 verse 1 hits
0:37 chorus hits
eli young band-even if it breaks your heart
0:09 verse 1 hits
0:30 chorus 1 hits
chris cagle -got my country on
0:19 verse 1 hits
0:49-chorus 1 hits
craig morgan-this ole boy
0:18 verse 1 hits
0:51 chorus 1 hits
luke bryan-drunk on you
0:21 verse 1 hits
0:42 ch 1 hits
brantley gilbert-you don’t know her like I do
0:15-verse 1 hits
0:53-ch 1 hits
eric church-springsteen
0:09-verse 1 hits
0:46-ch 1 hits
zac brown-no hurry
0:13-verse 1 hits
1:16-ch 1 hits
tim mcgraw-better than I used to be
0:11-verse 1 hits
0:46-ch 1 hits
carrie underwood-good girl
0:16-verse 1 hits
0:46-ch 1 hits
jason al dean-fly over states
0:18-verse 1 hits
0:55-ch 1 hits
montgomery gentry-where I come from
0:20-verse 1 hits
0:39-ch 1 hits
miranda lambert-over you
0:37-verse 1 hits
1:19-ch 1 hits
rascal flatts-banjo
0:10-verse 1 hits
0:48-ch 1 hits
taylor swift-ours
0:13-verse 1 hits
1:01-ch 1 hits
lady antebellum-dancin’ away with my heart
0:28-verse 1 hits
0:55-ch 1 hits
blake shelton-drink on it
0:12-verse 1 hits
0:33-ch 1 hits
lee brice-woman like you
0:14-verse 1 hits
0:37-ch 1 hits
jake owen-alone with you (Congrats Catt Gravitt!)
0:18-verse 1 hits
0:46-ch 1 hits
Another mod using the perfect 4th!
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis on May 15th, 2012
I just recently rediscovered this one-hit wonder from the 90′s, that demonstrates using the modulation of a perfect 4th from the verse to chorus, much like Gary Allan’s “watching airplanes” (see on a previous blog post).
In the case of Spacehog (LOVE that band name!), the verse is in the key of E, then to A for their choruses, and then back to E for the next verse.
Clever guys!
See you next time!
Jason Garner
Of course, I’m not sure the song would’ve ever made any traction on the charts if it wasn’t for the cool little “telephone” sound fx in the intro and verses.
Our friend, the key modulation!
Posted by jgarnerprod in Hit Song Analysis on May 8th, 2012
I distinctly remember hearing this song for the first time and not believing this was Lindsay Lohan!
More recently, I looked up who wrote it and found two superstars behind it, specifically Greg Wells and Kara DioGuardi.
BTW, if you don’t know these two, do yourself a favor, and look ‘em up!
I’ve always been convinced that there was something magical going on in the chord progression, specifically the key mod.
Here’s the magic: the verse is in the key of C# minor/E major while the chorus is in the key of G# minor/B major, a perfect 5th away! While Gary Allan (“watching airplanes”) went with the perfect 4th mod, the perfect 5th still gives a smooth transition from verse to chorus, while giving a huge emotional lift, or page turn.
And note the end of the chorus steps right back to C# minor/E major.
Nice work Greg and Kara! (I write that as though they’ll ever read this, or that they care!) 
See you next time!
Jason