Wednesday, April 9, 2008

I stole from a church

I think it's crazy how a song can reel you in with a catchy beat. I think, in reference to White Town's Your Woman, it's called a hook.

Actually, upon doing some research into the matter, I found this:
A hook is a musical idea, riff, passage or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and "catch the ear of the listener."
A hook has been defined as a "part of a song, sometimes the title or key lyric line, that keeps recurring." Alternatively, the term has been defined as "the foundation of commercial songwriting, particularly hit-single writing", which varies in length from the repetition of "one note or a series of notes...[to] a lyric phrase, full lines, or an entire verse." "Ideally [it] should contain one or more of the following: (a) a driving, danceable rhythm; (b) a melody that stays in people's minds; (c) a lyric that furthers the dramatic action, or defines a person or place."
--Wikipedia
The first time I ever heard the term hook was when a DJ was commenting on how catchy Your Woman was. I never knew this was a industry-wide idea. According to Wanderlust.com, Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison is the number one "Song with a Great Hook."

I just found this song that is terribly addictive. At least for me.

1 comment:

Marielle Carlisle said...

Evy, that song is wacky. I'm not quite sure what the "hook" was.

I love the blog!