Comments on: What Makes A Song Sound Bad – Part 2

By: Music Production

Music Production — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:51:37 +0000

Poor Arrangement is the basic thing that makes music bad. Even in life too, arrangement has significant role. Good post.

By: Dan Weir

Dan Weir — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:26:14 +0000

@Jeff you can always avoid a standard line. But if writing lyrics distracts you from what you really like, why not find a writing partner? If StS doesn’t have a forum for intros, they’re out there.

By: Dan Weir

Dan Weir — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:15:52 +0000

This is sound advice. But I think it’s worth mentioning that an awful lot of great songs don’t meet the criteria (early blues, e.g.) Maybe suggest: Here’s the rule, here’s how people break it to good effect?

BTW, another amazing thing about “Dreams” is that there’s so little difference between the verse and chorus changes. It’s all about dynamics and phrasing.

By: Jeremy Luzier

Jeremy Luzier — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:40:47 +0000

i’m in nashville. one huge part of a song you left out that is often the cause of rejection in nashville….. LYRICS! the way you bring new lyric ideas to a song plays a huge role in whether it gets a 2nd listen. so many songs get tossed because so many of the lines are ones we’ve heard hundreds of times through the course of our pop music lives. you can’t always avoid some “standard” lines. but they can’t be the lyric hook of your song.

By: Jeff Shattuck

Jeff Shattuck — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:30:14 +0000

Tried posting this earlier, no dice… trying again.

Great posts. One thing I would add, and it’s a biggie, is vocal phrasing. So often, we are happy to finally have some words and a melody we like that we hit record before really going the extra mile and discovering how best to deliver our words.

Here’s what I do: I make a rough mix of my tune, then drive around in my car and sing over the rough mix again and again and again and again. 99 times out of 100 I discover three things: 1) new ways to phrase my words, so as to evoke the right meaning and keep the rhythmic delivery interesting; 2) a verse or two that just plain sucks and 3) a few instances where I have too many words — or too few.

Even if you’re not the singer, having a strong point of view born of the auto trenches on how to deliver your words will enable you to direct the singer much more effectively. And by direct, I don’t dictate, I mean communicate. Give the singer a clear idea of what you’re after, let him try it, and then also let him do what he feels is right or better, if anything.

Do all this, and you might still have regrets down the road, but chances are you won’t, and your song will reach its full potential.

Jeff