What Makes A Great Song?

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine presented their 500 greatest songs of all time. Compiled by 171 artists, producers, industry executives and journalists, it offered an insight into what makes a great song from the perspective of the music industry. The list was subsequently revised in 2011 to include a selection of more recent songs. The song that topped both lists? Bob Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone, closely followed (in the 2011 list) by The Rolling Stones’ (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction and John Lennon’s Imagine. In the same article, Jay Z mused on what makes a great song:

“When you hear a great song, you can think of where you were when you first heard it, the sounds, the smells. It takes the emotions of a moment and holds it for years to come. It transcends time.”

So is it these 'extra-musical' factors that make a song truly great? Or are there some intrinsic elements of a song that make it exceptional regardless of the context in which its heard?

Can You Feel It?

Do you enjoy music that doesn't move you? No, me neither. Nobody likes music that doesn’t move them. We love songs that make us feel something. A song can induce positive emotions or it can induce negative emotions, but unless it induces something it won't fly.

And intriguingly, even music that induces negative emotions such as sorrow and heartbreak actually ends up making us feel better! It's believed that this ‘sweet sorrow’ effect may help us regulate our emotions.

A great example is Adele's Hello. With a billion views on YouTube and 360k streams on Spotify, it's fast becoming one of the most successful songs of all time. And 25, the album from which it's taken, is equally adept at tapping into our emotions. Just look at the track list. Anyone who's ever had the merest hint of love or loss in their lives can connect with that. So maybe what makes a great song (or even album) is a combination of both musical/lyrical features and those 'extra-musical' factors.

Let's Get Lyrical

But lyrics don’t always matter. Sure, some people are more drawn to lyrics while others are more drawn to the music. In fact, in many ways it comes down to the tempo and valence (positivity-negativity) of the music.

Research has shown that, if a song is fast and positively valenced, you can sing about whatever you like — no one’s paying much attention to the lyrics anyway! Think about The Black Eyed Peas' I Gotta Feeling. That song's certainly never going to win any awards for its lyrics; but who cares, everyone's having such a great time!

If it’s a sorrowful ballad, on the other hand, you'd better make sure those lyrics cut like a knife, because we process negatively-valenced stimuli on a deeper level. So if it’s a heartbreak song, go big or go home. Cue Ms. Adkins.

Beat It

And a great song doesn't have to only move listeners emotionally; physical movement is just as important. Rhythmic behaviour such as walking or dancing is most comfortable for the majority of people at a periodicity of about 2 Hz. That means we find it easier to synchronise with music at a speed of about 120 bpm.

And what do you know — moving to music increases positive affect, which increases our preference for the music itself! The desire to move to music can even induce feelings of nostalgia, the positive effects of which I've written about previously.

Think about Mark Ronson's Uptown Funk featuring Bruno Mars. At a tempo of 116 bpm, it's centred right around the sweet spot of human movement. And with both the music and the lyrics evoking a powerful sense of nostalgia, it's perhaps no wonder it's received 1.3 billion views on YouTube, 500k streams on Spotify, and sold over 12 million copies.

Feelings, Nothing More Than Feelings

So what makes a great song? As U2’s Bono put it back in 1985, the year of their infamous Live Aid performance, “So much in rock & roll is instinct and gut.”

I beg to differ. At the very least, whether through the music, the lyrics, the tempo, or a whole host of other features, and no matter the era or the genre, fame and fortune awaits those who can make listeners feel something. Jim Morrison didn't care what kind of emotions his music aroused, just as long as it aroused something:

"I like any reaction I can get with my music," he said, "Just anything to get people to think. I mean if you can get a whole room full of drunk, stoned people to actually wake up and think, you’re doing something."

Amen.

What do you think about this post? What do you think makes a great song? Please share your thoughts in the comments below :)

Geoff Luck is Associate Professor at the Finnish Centre For Interdisciplinary Music Research. His work helps music creators write better music, industry professionals increase audience engagement, and fans intensify their listening experience. In his forthcoming book, The "X" Factor Uncovered, he reveals what separates the best ... from the rest.