#popcast

Jon Caramanica and Lindsey Zoladz talking about Harry on the lastest episode of Popcast

Hi!

Congratulations on learning the guitar! That’s wonderful! I’ve wanted to learn forever... so you’re far ahead.

It’s lovely to want to make your own music! There are so many ways to start. Most people have an idea of the melodies they like, or keep a journal for lyric ideas. It’s exciting!

Just as with writing, I think with music, you should always keep track of songs you like, to see why you like them. Look through the lyrics, and look through a song structure.

Wikipedia has short explanations on pop song structure.

Here’s a really good, short explanation of what makes great pop songs. I love the name— it’s on Gearslutz.

You should learn about guitar tabs and chord notations, even if you don’t read music. Tabs, or tablature, tell you which chords to play on the guitar. You can buy “fake books” for most popular songs that will teach you what chords to play. However, songwriting means you do have to learn some music theory. Chord notations as Roman numerals on the keyboard are how most rock/pop songs are notated. Openmusictheory.com gives a thorough explanation of theory, if you want to explore. “Harmonic progressions” just means how chords change within a song. Pop songs have very standard harmonic progressions— often just four chords. The best way to hear it is by listening to the bass. Here’s a list of the most common harmonic chord progressions in pop music.

Several really good podcast break down songs or talk about songwriting. The one I like most are here (I listen through Apple):

Switched on Pop: takes a pop song and analyzes its structure. In their less enlightened days, they panned 1D. They saw the error of their ways and loved Sign of the Times.

Song Exploder: artists break down each element of production. This one about Solange’s Cranes is amazing. Loved this one about Go Your Own Way.

And the Writer Is: songwriters talk about their journey. The infamous Savan Kotecha one where he disses Louis is here. I loved the ones with Bebe Rexha. John Ryan, seen recently with Julian, Niall, and Louis, is here too. Loved what Justin Tranter and Julia Michaels had to say.

The New York Times Popcast: gives the scoop on the current pop scene, sometimes explores news in detail

Pop Unmuted: love this podcast when it was on. They have a great episode on One Direction and on Larry. Yes, they’re secret Larries! Scott did his masters of musicology thesis on One Direction. It’s glorious.

Sodajerker: I don’t listen to this one as much. It is based in London. It’s a bit slower, but the guests are always interesting.

The Art Of Process: I love Aimee Mann’s approach to songwriting. This is a podcast about the creative arts. I’ve just found it, so I don’t know its format well.

Sound Opinions: an NPR podcast on pop music— just so you are aware, it skews toward older music. Springsteen, Tom Petty, etc.

Hit Parade: Slate Magazine’s pop music podcast analyzing number one pop songs.

Thanks for the link, @oliviaisafeeling !