POP SONGWRITING

Modern artists who are considered pop songwriters include Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, Sia, Adele,
Rihanna, Dr. Luke, Lady Gaga, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Phil Spector, Madonna, John Lennon, Prince,
David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Pharrell Williams, The Weeknd, Bjork, Paul Simon, Burt Bacharach, and Berry
Gordy, among many others. Co-writing is very common, and to do it successfully you must be flexible and open
to new ideas and musical approaches in your collaborations.
Writing a pop song is a relatively easy way to create a piece of intellectual property that can be bought
and sold within the entertainment industry. Once composed, a song can be copyrighted, published, and
registered with performing rights organizations such as ASCAP (American Society for Composers, Authors, and
Publishers) and BMI (Broadcast Music Inc). A good pop song can then be recorded by the artist who wrote it,
and/or pitched to other successful artists for recording, synched in film/TV/commercials, turned into a
ringtone, made into a music video, etc. -- there are many ways to generate streams of income if your song is
catchy enough, and has the right promotion behind it. The best pop songs top the Billboard Hot 100 charts, win
Grammy Awards, and make their songwriters millions of dollars. Most pop songs clock in at just 3:30 or less,
and use simple musical parts arranged in clever ways. The pop songwriting game is quick to get into, but can
take years to master. Today we're going to see if we can put our minds together to compose a pop song as fast as
possible, under the intense time constraint of one hour or so.
The three main elements of a modern pop song are the beat (or rhythm track), the harmony (or the chord
changes), and the topline (the lyrics and vocal melody). Today we will split into 3 subgroups to address each of
those areas. I will act as producer and make sure each group is functioning quickly and effectively to
accomplish their musical task. Here's how each group should work:

THE RHYTHM TRACK

This group will use an iPad with Garageband's Studio Drummer to develop a complete drum track for our song.
Most pop songs are in 4/4 time. 120 beats per minute is a standard tempo, but we can shift a bit above or below
if necessary. This group will need to communicate with the Topline and Chord Changes groups to get info about
what the sections of the songs are, and how many measures of music in each section. Drummers and producers
should join this group.

THE CHORD CHANGES

This group will create the chord progressions that provide the foundation for our song's lead vocalist.
Guitarists, pianists, and instrumentalists should join this group. Today we will write in the Key of C with some
optional chords from outside the key to provide extra color. Here are some suggestions for basic chords to use:

Key of C: C Dm Em F G Am

Outside the Key: D E Fm A Bb Eb Ab Gm

THE TOPLINE

This group will write the lyrics and melodies to our song. Singers and poets should join this group. Lyrical
phrases should rhyme most of the time. What should our song be about? The only thematic restriction today is
that the song should be generally positive. Relationships and love are common pop song themes -- an easy place
to start. You can brainstorm the theme of your song first, and work from there, or you can try coming up with
lots of disconnected phrases, then see which phrases match and what themes emerge. Once you've picked your
best lyrics, bring them to the Chord Changes group to make sure they're singable over their chords.

We will spend half our time writing and half our time assembling and performing our song. Once a
complete performance is possible, we will make a demo recording. Please write your name and email address
on the Sign-In Sheet if you would like to receive credit as a songwriter and a copy of the recording.