A 4x grammy winning producer broke down the full formula behind the psychology of making a hit song. Artist's reaction to the clip shows us the gap that exists between how artists think they should make music and how marketing works.
Understanding psychology and human behavior go hand in hand with making hit songs, that is why accomplished music producer Rance Dopson AKA Rance 1500 applies the "40 words or less" rule. According to Dopson, any song that is more than 40 words and can't be played with one hand on the keyboard is not a hit. Your listeners need to be able to whistle your song and easily remember it, therefore you must keep it simple.
Writing a song with 40 words also sharpens your song writing skills, it forces you to write a song that would have to connect with the masses while walking the fine line of keeping the song simple and having swag at the same time.
many successful artists have applied this and publicly praised Ranse for his advice including Eric Billinger, Coi Leroy and Bia.
Here's a breakdown of Rance's 40 words method:
First 8 bars:
-This is your part, tell a story or spark a conversation and make sure to have some space.
-First line needs to be attention catching.
Second 8 bars:
-This is your audience's part, write them as if you are writing with your audience.
-It needs to be simple, have some space and include something like a command, telling your listeners to do or say something.
Keep the same cadence throughout the song while using one-word syllables in order to make them easy to remember.
Check out Ranse's full interview in the FAQ podcast at: https://youtu.be/xOdWHM2rTY8?si=x9jRe31Ey1T-l9Li
Follow us on:
Make sure to share this post and subscribe to our newsletter to receive notifications on our latest posts, as well as exclusive content and much more!