SONGWRITING
[ FIVE TIPS FOR WRITING HIT HOOKS | John Chisum ]
Ever wondered what it is about a hook that out of an idea, or out of the essence of an idea, Ask better questions and you’ll write better
makes it a hit? Why do some songs seem to that I suddenly feel strongly about and want to songs.
stick with you long after you’ve heard them and write. That’s when crafting the hook becomes keep looping in your ears even years later? Are important. Let’s look briefly at each element so One deceptively simple device that dictates
there certain elements about them that you can you can start using them right away to write the upward direction of a hook is alliteration.
learn and begin to incorporate into your songs? your next hit hook. Notice all the “d’s” I just used. That’s alliteration.
Think about Meghan Trainor’s “All About That
Absolutely! In fact, hit songwriters have
understood for years that there are at least five
essential elements every hit song hook has in
common, and they are memorability, emotion,
universality, imagery, and simplicity.
While some songwriters seem to go about the
process aimlessly just hoping to “luck out” on a
great song, the pros know that hit songwriting
is a deliberate process. It looks a bit like this:
GREAT IDEA
GREAT HOOK
GREAT MELODY
GREAT LYRIC
GREAT SONG
Okay, yes, I know… that looks easy enough,
right? Oddly, many songwriters aren’t scoping
for the great ideas to start with, so they never
get to the great hook part, much less the rest of
Bass.” Regardless of your opinion of the song,
You actually
that’s one memorable hook. Check out those
know intuitively
what’s memorable
delightful a’s, b’s, and t’s. It’s amazing what a
simple poetic device can do for a hook and
cause a little ditty to take over the world.
because you don’t EMOTION
have any problem Here we are back to feelings. I didn’t say they
remembering only starts there and feelings have to be
certain hooks There’s an entire branch of psychology
weren’t important, it’s just that hit songwriting
channeled well in order to deliver the goods.
dedicated to exploring the reasons we respond
that are, well,
emotionally to music, with or without lyrics, but
suffice it to say that the most effective songs
memorable...
evoke an emotion that is usually inherent in the
hook.
the process. They just want to sit down at the
keys or grab their guitar and emote, thinking
MEMORABILITY
Consider the following:
their “feelings” will somehow produce a great
• You’ve Got a Friend (Carole King)
song. It just doesn’t happen that way, unless Memorability isn’t as elusive as some people • I Can’t Make You Love Me (Shamblin /Reid)
your feelings are channeled into the skills that think. You actually know intuitively what’s • Amazing Grace (Newton)
can produce a finely crafted song on the spot. memorable because you don’t have any • Hello (Adele/Kurstin)
problem remembering certain hooks that are, • I Will Always Love You (Parton)
Once you’ve decided you have a great idea well, memorable. All of the elements that follow • Bet You Still Think About Me (Irwin/Chisolm)
worth spending your time and energy on, here help make the hook memorable, but developing a great hook is the next most merely approaching your hook with this goal Each of these titles/hooks have a certain
important task. Sometimes ideas do show up in mind is key. The mere thought that you’re emotion, or sentiment, attached to them.
in fully developed hooks, like when someone aiming to make a hook memorable starts you Carole King captured a tender sentiment about
says something so killer it just screams to be down the path of discovering what will make the comfort of friendship that has affected all of
a song. Some of my best song ideas have it so. us since the moment we heard JT sing it. Reid/
happened in the midst of conversations when
Shamblin captured the melancholy rejection
something amazing just sort of fell out of my You’ll start asking the better questions about in a one-sided love affair. Newton managed
mouth or out of the person’s mouth I’m talking your hook, such as, “Is this hook/title unique? to pen the most famous and often recorded
with. It pays to listen well. Is it too long? Is there anything that stands out hymn with the exclamation of Amazing Grace
from a million other songs? Have I used overly- and Adele had us all singing along on the long-
familiar phrases/ideas/words?” awaited phone call “from the other side” to see
Most often, though, a hook has to be teased
Sep Oct 2017
GearTechRec.com
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