- The goal of a hook is to catch the listener's ear…and hook their attention.…Usually the hook of a song will occur in the chorus,…and is often the title of the song.…Some famous examples include…Michael Jackson's "Beat It,"…or Queen's "We Are the Champions."…Other times, the hook will appear in the verse,…like in Willie Nelson's "Crazy."…The hook can even appear…as an instrumental element of a song,…like Keith Richard's guitar lick in "Satisfaction,"…or famously the theremin…in the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations."…One of the most iconic instrumental hooks of all time…is the opening four notes of Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony."…(Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5 in C Minor")…Hooks have been used for centuries,…but today's pop music has elevated it to a major principle.…
The hook is essentially your tagline.…It's what you're selling in the song.…And you can be sure that you'll hear the hook of a song…more than a couple times.…
Author
Released
9/18/2015Professional musician Julian Velard starts the course with the building blocks of harmony: notes, scales, intervals, chords, inversions, and basic chord progressions. He then goes into voice leading—showing how to move from one chord to another by changing just one or two notes—and reviews common song forms, from the familiar verse/chorus/verse of pop to the simple verse of the blues. At the end of each chapter, Julian explains the songwriting techniques shown in the chapter within the context of his own original commercially released songs.
- Understanding scales, intervals, and keys
- Triads or three-note chords
- Triad inversions
- Common major-scale chord progressions and cadences
- Voice leading
- Song form elements such as verse, chorus, bridge, hook, and more
- Using common song forms in songwriting
Skill Level Beginner
Duration
Views
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Songwriting Techniques with Chords
with Julian Velard2h Intermediate -
Music Theory for Songwriters: Rhythm
with David Franz1h 35m Beginner
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Introduction
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Welcome1m 31s
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1. The Building Blocks of Harmony
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The octave4m 12s
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Intervals: Major and perfect7m 20s
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The concept of key3m 12s
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Figuring out intervals6m 33s
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2. Triads and Chord Progressions
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Triads: The basics of chords7m 48s
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Triad inversions6m 40s
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Voicing6m 38s
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Authentic cadences5m 32s
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3. Chord Progressions and Voice Leading
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What is voice leading?5m 28s
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The suspended chord5m 11s
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4. Song Forms
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The importance of song form2m 34s
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Beats, bars, and phrases5m 54s
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The chorus song form element1m 23s
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Verse/chorus/bridge forms1m 19s
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Simple verse form2m 2s
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Verse without chorus form1m 18s
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AABA 32-bar form1m 24s
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Through-composed song forms1m 26s
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Looking at a song's form5m 53s
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Conclusion
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Next steps1m 16s
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Video: The hook song form element