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Artist: Bob TozierSchool: North Allegheny |
Notes: Why do we love listening to heartbreak songs? What do songwriters do to emote such strong feelings? Featuring Adele – Someone Like You Kacey Musgraves – I Miss You Here is what Panoply said:
In this series, it was stated: " Pop music surrounds us, but how often do we really listen to what we're hearing? Switched on Pop is the podcast that pulls back the curtain on pop music. Each episode, join musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding as they reveal the secret formulas that make pop songs so infectious. By figuring out how pop hits work their magic, you'll fall in love with songs you didn't even know you liked."
What do you think about this first podcast? Can you find any other songs that work like this? Are there any compositional ideas that you would like to try?
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Joe Bojarski from:
North Allegheny
- posted: September 14, 2017
This was a great video, i learned a lot about applying music theory. Another song that uses desending melody to evoke saddness is A.C.D. by the band nothing
Anthony Hockenberry from:
North Allegheny
- posted: September 14, 2017
Being as an Ocean's Dissolve (Album Version (not the single): Waiting for morning to come)- Is a sad song but is faster and not typial piano only sad like "Someone like you" I couldn't find the key online, but it sounds like a sadder key that fits well with the emotion in his voice.
Amy Muhlenkamp from:
North Allegheny
- posted: September 14, 2017
This reminds me of the song "Still Fighting It" which uses bittersweet chords with hopeful lyrics. The primary chords it uses are C and A major
Angela Lu from:
North Allegheny
- posted: September 14, 2017
Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri also has a part of the song with a descending melodic line similar to Someone Like You by Adele. The descending melodic line can be heard during the beginning of the song. Here is a video that shows this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z59hX3OV97o
June Bracken from:
North Allegheny
- posted: September 18, 2017
Alicia Keys' song, If I Ain't Got You, relates to this Switched On Pop lession because of her use of descending arpeggiated major triads throughout the song, specifically the intro.
Link: https://youtu.be/Ju8Hr50Ckwk
Shane Stewart from:
North Allegheny
- posted: September 19, 2017
In the podcast, they commented on how Adele's sudden high singing parts brought power to the song. This reminded me of Roy Orbison. Whenever he hit a high note, oftentimes at the very end of a song, it was very powerful and added greatly to the song. This is a similar style in both of their music.
Shane Stewart from:
North Allegheny
- posted: September 19, 2017
In the podcast, they commented on how Adele's sudden high singing parts brought power to the song. This reminded me of Roy Orbison. Whenever he hit a high note, oftentimes at the very end of a song, it was very powerful and added greatly to the song. This is a similar style in both of their music.
Eugenia Lee from:
North Allegheny
- posted: September 25, 2017
For this podcast, I found two songs that relate to the topics discussed for Adele's song. First, "Stone Cold" by Demi Lovato is a sad song with a descending melody. Also, "Hallelujah" has the arpeggiated chords.
Maeve Smith from:
North Allegheny
- posted: October 4, 2017
A song with a descending melody is Look After You by the Fray. It's kind of a sad song and the melody descends. I thought it was an ineresting point because I never noticed that about pop songs but it's true.
Matthew Eisernecih from:
North Allegheny
- posted: October 4, 2017
Ellies theme from up has a decending melody
its the only song in the world that is happy and has a decending melody.
Yosen Wang from:
North Allegheny
- posted: October 25, 2017
Faded by Alan Walker also uses a descending melody with somewhat hopeful lyrics.
Maggie Johnson from:
North Allegheny
- posted: October 25, 2017
A song that can correlate with this is the Up theme song. The song is actually very happy and major in theory, but it actually evokes a sad feeling because of the melody and the film cues.
Charles Hart from:
North Allegheny
- posted: October 31, 2017
The Adele song is a great example, another good one would be Speaking With A Ghost by Citizen
sharon dong from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 2, 2017
What About Us" by Pink also has a descending melodic line and compliments the sad lyrics of the song
Christopher Lee from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 2, 2017
This was a great podcast explaining the chord progression in various sad songs. Another song I think has a great chord progression is Another Day of Sun from the opening of La La Land.
Christopher Lee from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 2, 2017
This was a great podcast explaining the chord progression in various sad songs. Another song I think has a great chord progression is Another Day of Sun from the opening of La La Land.
Maria Constantine from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 3, 2017
KT Tunstall- Stoppin' the Lovin'
This song has major chords and has sad lyrcs-a very different way of writing. For example, she plays different inversions of the E major chord while singing about a breakup.
Jason Ginocchi from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 3, 2017
The song not ready to die by avenged sevenfold has a descending melodic line and the song is sad because its about someone who is about to die.
Steven Lu from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 3, 2017
It was a very informative podcast about techniques used in sad songs. Another song with a descending melody line is "All Of Me" by John Legend.
Mess Tajewski from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 6, 2017
This podcast talking about chords and their impact on songs reminded me of the juxaposition of upbeat melody with minor chords in Burt Bacharach's "I'll never fall in love again," which mirrors the bittersweet message of the song.
Natalie Daninhirsch from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 7, 2017
I've always loved a song with a deep meaning and powerful melody, but I found it mesmerizing that one can equate this with a "formula" per se. I would certainly love to try my hand at a song with a powerful melody as well as lyrics.
Kayla Grasak from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 8, 2017
A song with a minor key and happy lyrics is "How to be a Heartbreaker" by Marina and the Diamonds. The diversity adds alot of texture.
Trevor Fenk from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 10, 2017
My song "Jamican" has a desending melody but still has a happy tone. I use complex emotion filled chord progressons when I create songs as well!
Kirthana Kannan from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 10, 2017
This podcast reminded me of one of my favorite songs, Stone Cold by Demi Lovato, which is a sad song with a melody that descends. This week's podcast made me really think about how much theory goes into the composition of a song.
Margaret Johnson from:
North Allegheny
- posted: October 28, 2018
I love songs that are seemingly sad, but they end up having these super happy chords with a really sad melodic line. Also, people can't copyright harmonies, so its interesting to see people use identical harmonies with different melodies.
Vaishnavee Sundararaman from:
North Allegheny
- posted: October 9, 2020
I really enjoyed this podcast. It was very interesting to learn about everything it takes to make a song emotional and sad. Songs that I think of are lots Demi Lovato songs such as Stone Cold, Sorry not Sorry. The way Demi Lovato bets that Ab is incredibly moving in Stone Cold. You can just feel the pain she's going through. I felt that she wanted to push herself. I don't know if I'll try something like this because I really haven't felt that before.
Sarah Feick from:
North Allegheny
- posted: October 12, 2020
I really enjoyed learning why minor and major is different and can change an entire song. I like songs with emotion and I've heard the last song they talked about, Creep, but I have heard a cover of it that was filled with emotion.
Nick Faber from:
North Allegheny
- posted: October 12, 2020
Another sad-ish song that utilize a descending melodic for the chorus and many parts of each verse is 7 years by Lukas Graham. It is another mainstream song with sadness, but I enjoy it because it isn't just another stereotypical love song.
Hunter Badamo from:
North Allegheny
- posted: October 13, 2020
I think we love heartbreak songs because as a generation we have shifted to loving minor music. This is especially true because the era of major rock progressions is over. The use of distorted guitars is less prevalent in pop music today, and distorted guitars sound very ugly playing minor chords. So, the instruments used in modern pop music have the capability to play these powerful minor progressions.
Grace Elliott from:
North Allegheny
- posted: October 27, 2020
This podcast really showed me just how much of my childhood and the radio is filled with these incredibly sad songs that we do not even think twice about the lyrics sometimes.
Kassi Barry from:
North Allegheny
- posted: October 27, 2020
I really like this podcast, and it really show how much our generation has kinda switched to this sad minor chords song phase. An artist I often listen to and this made me think of a lot was Billie Eilish. Many of her songs give the iridescent lonely feel and help you understnad the hardships she has endured.
Nicholas Palermo from:
North Allegheny
- posted: October 29, 2020
I think heartbreak songs are so popular because they are so relatable.
Eric schaefer from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 2, 2020
people listen to these songs because you can relate them to your life. You can take your own meaning out of them.
Olivia Belcher from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 2, 2020
I really enjoyed listening to this podcast. The way that the makeup of chords can entirely shift the tone and mood of a song is amazing. Additionally, I don't usually enjoy pop music, but Adele's music I do enjoy, and I think that is in part by her use of these shifts in tonality.
Rohan Puri from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 10, 2020
I really enjoyed this podcast. I learned a lot about my childhood songs, and I realized many things that I had not when I listened when I was younger. The depth that some of the songs have is truly inspiring and make me wonder about what I could compose, taking inspiration from my own life.
Amy Hendricks from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 10, 2020
I think the emotion from these songs comes more from the music than the lyrics. The richness and character just from the chords in Adele's music really evokes a lot of emotion
Nathan Lam from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 10, 2020
It was pretty eye-opening when I realized how much I take for granted certain lyrics.
Reka Gotz from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 10, 2020
Personally, I am sick of heartbreak songs. Maybe this is because I haven't related to them so much. However, I have to respect Adele's talent. Someone Like You is an amazing song.
Julia Maletta from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 10, 2020
I really enjoyed this podcast. Heartbreak is something that many can relate to and songs such as Someone Like You express that feeling in a way people can understand and listen to when they're going through a similar thing.
Bri Cobbey from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 10, 2020
I liked this podcast because it sums up how most heartbreak songs are composed. They mostly use the same chord progressions because our ears tend to like certian things more than others. The chord prgression used to compose a heartfelt song is one of those things we like.
Kai Su from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 10, 2020
I really liked learning about how different chord progression can evoke certain emotions, especially in sad songs. I have played a lot of sad classical music, but not very much pop so it was intresting to see the similarities and differnces between sadd music in both styles.
Cassandra Pultorak from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 11, 2020
In almost all of my favorite songs lies a minor iv chord. I think it is one of the most emotion filled chords. This podcast showed that as a minor iv is often used within many breakup songs due to its impact and darker feeling.
Sophia Elliott from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 11, 2020
We listen to heartbreak songs becuase it evokes emotion every human has experienced. They use elements like minor chords and certain words that provoke strong emotion.
Ethan Chen from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 11, 2020
I found it interesting to see the underlying music theory behind sad songs. I recognized Radiohead's "Creep" played near the end of the podcast.
Anna Bansemer from:
North Allegheny
- posted: November 11, 2020
I find this SOP very intriguing since the majority of what I listen to is sad and heartwhenching.
