Hello,

For the last 15 years i've been playing/listening/creating mostly alternative/indie rock music.

But lately i've been listening more to pop music, and my latest release was a commercial failure.
I want my next song to be more pop like and reach a wider audience, but i have no idea how to make it a pop song.

most songs i hear in pop genre dont have such 'explicit chords' like im used to play on the guitar. The chords are in the song, but they're just the bed in the background, barely hearable, also no rhythm to them.

they seem to rely more in repetition and motiffs through the whole song.

now the question:
Do you have any tips, practices, or anything at all to share with us AS'ers, that might help us create pop music?

PS: i know the basics of music theory, the circle of fifths, how to create chords and name them, minor and major scales and greek modules, chord functions.. i think that's it.

 

it's like any other new genre you want to learn. figure out the style you like and who is making music like that, and then search "pop tutorial" wherever you get production videos from. Any of them will cover way more ground than someone is going to type up for you. It can be very specific techniques, but your request is not specific at all.

You want to get to the micro-tweaking level, but right now you need the broad strokes first. Since you are probably not doing your own vocals, I might even start there, with samples. There are tons of them. It's much easier to build a track around existing vocals than trying to fit vocals to a song; but they are like half your track or more. You could even try de-mixing a track you like.

 

its funny you say chords arent as prominent, because in my experience pop is usually built on simple chord progressions. as a genre its most important attribute (imo) is its broad commercial appeal, and while id be lying if i said i enjoy whats getting airplay, no one is immune to catchy love songs. i find it best to not just keep things simple, but embrace that simplicity: you can do a surprising amount with 3 chords and a good chorus. i dont really know what youre looking for in terms of the actual music, but i can say for sure that you can never go wrong with something catchy and fun and perfect for singing along to.
charli xcx has played a big part in my love for pop music, pop 2 is one of the most well crafted albums ive ever heard. sincerity is important.

 

Stargate did a couple of MWTM videos. Can't get much more pop than those two, other than Max Martin probably. The first video they are talking about Rihanna's Diamonds and how they made that, the chords used and how simple they kept it.

 

Listen to music, analyze all the pop music you can, all kinds of pop, transcribe everything that appeals to you and start making shit (DO IT!). If you don't make an effort to understand the language and if you're not vibing with the genre you'll find yourself sitting thinking "well, I.. I should use a minor chord here because someone told me so, and uh... then I'll add a different theme in the B section cuz this and that..." And you'll end up wasting your precious time cooking up some hot garbage you don't even like.

The more you listen and analyze, the more you understand what's going on, the more you produce music, the better you get at sonically expressing yourself in this language.

 

Pop songs generally refer to the songs which most of the people currently enjoy listening to.

These songs are usually the ones topping the charts.

Contrary to popular belief, pop songs do not have a genre. From alternative rock to hip hop to EDM, pop songs keep emerging from all styles of music.

What separates a pop song from the rest of the songs in that genre is its “catchiness”, and this comes from various fundamental aspects of the song.

Simple yet effective top line melodies.

Strong interesting grooves to keep the listener hooked on.

Lyrical content which most of the listeners can connect with.

Addictive Top-line Melody.

Top line melodies can either be used as instrumental hooks or catchy chorus vocals.

The melody must be 'easy to digest'.

It is often found that chorus melodies are higher in the octave compared to the verses. This makes the chorus sound bigger and powerful. This effect is further enhanced by using heaver instrumentation compared to the verses. This change in dynamics creates a form of excitement and keeps the listener hooked until the end of the song.

When vocals are present in the chorus, they add a new dimension to the song and give it a purpose and direction.

Simple lyrics and a strong idea can carry a lot of weight and make a powerful impression on the listener.

Percussive Phrasing of Words.

Almost all pop songs are built upon simple, strong rhythmic elements which, along with the vocals, make a strong groove. Many times, pop song grooves are built in a way that enhance the vocal impact. Usually, a strong bass line and punchy drums form the basis for this.

In many contemporary pop songs, the groove is also implied by various guitar strumming patterns. This also does the job of harmonizing the vocals well, thus reducing the number of instruments required for the song.

It is very important for a listener to connect with a song he is listening to. Commonly used themes in pop songs are about relationships (happy, sad, failure, etc.), excitement and joy, finding who we are, desires and aspirations, etc. Since these are feelings that almost everyone feels at some point in their lives, writing songs based on these topics has a good chance of connecting with a larger audience.

The emotions that come through the lyrics must feel genuine for the listeners. That makes it personal and helps them connect instantly.

In pop songs influenced by EDM which is the vast majority, you can almost immediately notice that the kinds of plucks, pads, chords, basses and leads that are used within the production sound very polished. Even when you listen to acoustic pop songs you can observe how the acoustic elements are always very well recorded, warm yet crisp and punchy. Not just the musical elements but also the vocals are very well processed which gives the song 'modern qualities'.

There is a lot of repetition of certain sections of the song that makes the song stick in the listener’s mind. This is what makes the song “catchy”.

 

Not all countries are strong in making pop music. The main center of making such music is America.

Even in English-speaking countries like England, Australia and Canada, pop music is not as strong as America.

Pop music is a symbol of capitalism and in addition to musical elements, other factors are also involved. Factors outside of music that greatly increase the appeal of these music.

These factors are present in several western countries, if you even look carefully, all those few countries can't say much about making pop music.

Pop music is not an ordinary music that can only be made with musical elements. There must be a sea of material facilities and all-round support from various organizations so that a pop music can become popular and reach the ears of its listeners.

Pop music is more dependent on other factors of wealth and power than it is related to the artist, which are mostly concentrated in America.

If you want to become famous in pop music, first you have to apply for a US visa and get citizenship there, then you can think about success in the pop world.

 

thanks clone, definitely gonna do that. in my case im doing the vocals which makes things a little harder but totally worth it .

interesting thinking. you got the idea.
gonna check out Pop 2, always good hearing new songs and ideas

nice! gonna check those too

Thank you djord! that's a great advice not only for pop but for any genre. will do.

 

Everything starts here:
https://ceac.state.gov/ceac/

 

Hey @The King didn't expect you to be here giving advice on modern pop

those are great tips too! thank you!!

That's a interesting point of view you got about nations, capitalism and pop music.

Luckily I am not expecting worldwide success right now, just wanna make some good pop music

 

If you want to make good pop music, you have no choice but to become an American and think and act like them.

Innumerable people around the world wanted to be popular in the pop world, but most of them did not succeed because they did not believe in the first principle in the world of pop music, which is to believe in the American way of thinking.

 

Just make everything really cheesy and then fill the song up with action

 

what do you mean by "fill with action"?

 

It must not have a quiet moment or a moment where the whole eq spectrum is not fully parked with instruments. I might be still living in the time that Kesha and Gaga were the biggest acts, maybe times have changed

 

Oh ok, that's pretty helpful. thanks!
Probably not gonna do that, still helpful to know.

 

yo just because youre chill. without giving too much away and as someone whose reached a wide audience with my songs, ill just say this

the biggest companies in the world all have simple logos. design wise thats intentional, psychologically its because its easier for people to digest and remember. majority of people (who will support your career) arent musicians, they dont care about how complex something is. the more complex you make something, the harder you make it for them to focus; and the easier it is for them to forget

as humans we have empathy through the voice, language and feeling; thats how we connect with one another

 

Here are some YouTube channels focued on current styles of Pop Music:

https://www.youtube.com/@BushaZ/videos
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAa-sz55bOw_JrDrfE4PqZe7LKRLK5OX9

 

keep things simple. a solid groove, a simple chord progression (listen to any katy perry hit, its the simplest progression), stay away from ear candy until after the vocal is in. You want the vocal to be the main element.

add something interesting. whatever it is, just something left of center that adds something unique to the song. a weird pitched snare, some sample that is chopped in the hook, whatever, anything, just something to add that extra layer that separates it from the other pop songs.

 

hey @Grape Ape ! thanks man, appreciate that.
that's a dilema i'm always wondering myself.
is my music/are my lyrics too complex for the regular listener? am i overthinking?
probably yes

wow those looks great man, thanks.
the bushaZ channel feels specially useful to me with those short tutorials.

thanks @shinyzen those are great advice too!! very helpful.

 

@Lad Impala
A mistake and misconception that many people have is that they think that being simple means being random. It means that if they sit behind their DAWs and do a series of random things and mixes randomly, it means that they are making something simple and they can present it as pop music to their listeners.

Being simple does not mean being random, simplifying itself is a complex process that requires thought and study. Acting randomly and being simple have nothing to do with each other. To produce simple works, thinking is needed, just as it is needed to produce complex works.

Don't let random thoughts be the driving force in your music production because you don't get anywhere by accident.