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sound secretsof


Thought making music was a mystery?Michael Donlevy reveals the secrets that turn an idea for a song into a No1 hit


Getting into the groove


Something seems to happen to adults when they become parents. They stop listening to music, as if they’ve been banned by some covert Grumpy Parent’s League, and take great delight in telling you the tunes you like all sound the same. Yet they could be on to


something. A lot of today’s music does sound the same. Because it is. ‘Harmonically, most pop songs


are based on cycles of chords that people recognise subliminally,’ says pianist and composer Roland Perrin. ‘Artists play around with the template, but each song will use these cycles more often than it doesn’t.’ That’s why a ‘new’ song may


appeal. Subconsciously, it sounds like other songs you already like. ‘We tend to make an instant judgment when we hear music,’ says piano shop owner Simon Markson (www.marksonpianos. com), who supplies equipment for Glastonbury. ‘You can try to like something, but if you don’t there’s nothing you can do. Sometimes, unfamiliarity breeds contempt.’


FooFighterDave Grohlonce played in Nirvana,who wroteascathing attackonthe charts calledVerse Chorus Verse


You probably know that Foo


Fighter Dave Grohl once played in Nirvana, who wrote a scathing


attack on the music charts called Verse Chorus Verse. This is another clue as to why so


many hits sound similar. ‘Many songs have a verse (A) that leads into a chorus (B), as well as a 


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