How to Make a Hit Song
Even to laymen, they might be familiar with “Yesterday Once More” by The Carpenters or “Beat It” by Michael Jackson, even hums some tune. This is the fascination of the hit songs, and they wouldn’t outdated as time goes by. Unlike most of songs, hits mean a song that is broadly popular or well-known in many ages from generation to generation. For musicians, successfully making a hit song is equal to win the lottery, both of which depend on luck. To suit the listeners’ taste, beginners should follow three steps to make music, appealing to the maximum of audience and thus increase the possibility of having a hit.
Firstly, choosing the theme is the fundamental element to make a hit song. Tap into the universal themes so that anyone can connect or relate to. Love is the common topic in hit songs, but there are many options you can choose such as politic, heartache and so on. Your choice has great influence on the result, how does it sound like for listeners? The theme guide you in the production of lyric and sound, deciding your songs would be hit or not.
© 2023 by KR. Proudly created with Wix.com
Secondly, your work wouldn’t become classic without catchy melodies because a catchy melody can make your song easy to remember. When you hum along with the main part of a song, you're humming the melody. A hit can be nearly any tempo, most use one that is between 117 and 122 BPM. People can remember the rhyme after their first listen. In fact, pop song melodies have a mix of repetition and variation that make them easy to remember but keep them fresh enough to be interesting. Throughout history, many of today’s biggest hit are built on the same structure, following the rule of ABABCB. It goes like verse1 - chorus – verse2 – chorus – bridge – chorus. Some monster radio hits add pre-chorus to build anticipation and excitement before those choruses. For instance, “One Thing” by One Direction is a typical example of this structure. With a catchy melody and upbeat tempo, the song receives huge success globally.
In addition, great songwriting skills can make your song stand out from others. Timeless lyrics are still enjoyed after a considerable time has passed. Therefore, try to describe your inner feeling vividly by using rhetoric. Listeners could paint the picture in their head through the lyrics. If you're a novice songwriter, you can look for inspiration from poetry, exhibition or the natural world to make the song more poetic and sophisticated.
In conclusion, they could follow the steps to increase the possibility of making a hit. A song becomes classic because the lyric and melody never go out of style. For novice musician, the first and foremost thing is to choose a theme, and then creating a catchy melody so that people can easy to remember. Plus, make your work more poetic by using rhetoric. Hope you can write a hit successfully!