Songwriters use a variety of terms to describe various aspects of music. The definition of some of these terms are obvious, while others are hard to define, but “you know it when you see it”: groove, riff, pay-off line, the tune… these are words we just all seem to know instinctively what’s being referred to.
“Hook” is one of those words that is harder to define. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that it can encompass several related but slightly different definitions. For many, to discuss the hook means to talk about the chorus. I like to think of the hook as something more precise: a short, catchy, memorable bit of music that gets repeated many times throughout a song. A hook typically involves a melodic idea, a chord progression, and a catchy rhythm.
So using that definition of a hook, it’s easy to see how the chorus of Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day” fits the bill. You hear this repeating melodic idea (“…had a bad day…”), a chord progression that’s really strong (Eb-Ab-Fm-Bb…), all wrapped up in a rhythm that’s easy and catchy.
The ideas in this article come from Gary’s eBook, “Hooks and Riffs: How They Grab Attention, Make Songs Memorable, and Build Your Fan Base.” It comes as part of the 10-eBook Bundle.
As you likely know, there are many different kinds of hooks. Songs can use intro hooks, such as with Deep Purple’s “Smoke On the Water.” Or you might get an instrumental hook that sits under everything as the song proceeds, like Cream’s “Sunshine Of Your Love”
But is it possible to have a successful song that doesn’t use a hook at all? You could summarize a hook’s definition by saying that it’s anything that grabs listener interest and keeps bringing them back. So in that sense, any song that’s successful must have something about it that hooks the listener, or else we would never have heard the song.
It’s certainly true that there are songs for which the notion of “the hook” takes a back seat. In these kinds of songs, it’s more the notion of a motif — a musical building block — that rises in importance.
So while it’s hard to find anything “hooky” about Amanda McBroom’s “The Rose”, we can find bits that act as a building block. For example, the rising melody on the words “Some say love” keeps returning, sometimes on the same notes, sometimes on higher ones.
A hookless song is hard to find, even if the hook operates more as a motif. You need something catchy, something that adds structural integrity to your music. And before you say “Well, of course you need something catchy…”, you might think about your own song or two that’s never quite made it with your audiences.
Do you have songs that you think are good, but you feel a collective yawn from the audience when you play it? Listen to yourself singing it, and fill in the following blank:
The part my audience will find really catchy is ________________.
If you have even a moment of head-scratching, a moment of “hmmmmm, well…” — it may be time to rethink what’s going on in your song. Every song needs something catchy, at least one of these:
- Some sort of instrumental hook (and the opening perfect 5th in the piano of “The Rose” actually fits the bill here).
- Some sort of melody-based hook.
- Some sort of rhythmic treatment that grabs attention.
Whether it rises to the point of being a hook, or simply operating as a motif in the background, something has to be there that pulls listeners in.
Written by Gary Ewer. Follow Gary on Twitter
If you find terms like “hook”, “motif” and “riff” a bit hard to get a handle on, you need “The Essential Secrets of Songwriting” eBooks in your collection.