Symphonic Saturday - What Makes A Song Great?

All art forms are subjective, which makes them hard to analyze with any certainty. A song that may give someone goosebumps, may hurt the ears of another. Some songs are timeless and resonate deeply with people and others can get stuck in our heads when we don't even like them.

A song can be technically perfect and convey no meaning. Another can be flawed yet stir something primal within us.

And how it is heard can change the response as well. I enjoy classical music on vinyl or through my computer speakers, but those pale in comparison to a live performance. Yet some bands are awful live and so I'd rather hear them through my car stereo.

For some people, the lyrics are what touch them the most. For musicians, they often hear the instrument they play the most and determine whether a song is good simply from a small part of it.

It's fascinating when you think about it.

And there doesn't seem to be a way to ensure a song will be well received.

Because music speaks to you differently at different times in your life.

When I was going through my divorce several years ago, Katy Perry's Roar had just come out. I wasn't a Katy Perry fan, but man did I love belting that song out in my car. I also loved Linkin Park's Numb. Flyleaf's Fully Alive was another song that really spoke to me as I went through the process.

These days I often find myself gravitating to songs that have guitar in them and paying less attention to the lyrics, but I'm sure as I continue to work on my own songs, I'll be getting more into reading poetry and even listening to rap and hip hop in search of making really good songs.

Anyway, this is what has been on my mind today.

Salut,
R~

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