4-Chord Song

[Kunra9]

This is old, but I didn't see it here, so here ya go.

These guys take the same 4 chords and pump out all kinds of pop songs you will recognize.

I love a ton of the songs they sing so it makes me feel like such a sheeple, but it's legit

http://youtu.be/5pidokakU4I

 

[mynameisbob84]

This is old, but I didn't see it here, so here ya go.

These guys take the same 4 chords and pump out all kinds of pop songs you will recognize.

I love a ton of the songs they sing so it makes me feel like such a sheeple, but it's legit

http://youtu.be/5pidokakU4I

I saw this a while back. It's not actually as impressive as it initially seems once you realise they're just transposing all these songs to the same key, at which point the chords they're playing become almost inconsequential

 

[Ariel_Moon]

It's not actually as impressive as it initially seems once you realise they're just transposing all these songs to the same key, at which point the chords they're playing become almost inconsequential

THIS x a million.

I have a pet peeve about this, because when this came out every dickhead in the world kept playing it and being like 'Oh people are such sheep, they only like the same commercial music with the same chords blahblah'

But it's like...so? People have been using and reusing and recycling and sampling the same melodies, riffs, harmonies and chords throughout the history of music.

Take folk songs, for example. A lot of folk songs are ancient, but still sung, or well known and loved by millions of people. They are often the most simple songs ever. And there is often about 20 different songs with the exact same melody.

Most Bob Dylan songs use the same 4 or 5 chords, and he made some of the most beautiful songs ever written. (In my opinion )

There are only so many chords. And so many chords that actually sound GOOD together. And there is an insane amount of music being made all over the world. You think that everyone should always come up with something ENTIRELY original?

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that there are experimental musicians out there, and I love me some Mars Volta and Tool and love electronic music producers like Daedelus who are really trying to produce their own new sound, not be predictable.

But...really some experiential music is just BAD. Just noise. Because they are trying so hard to be 'original'...they forgot to make it listenable.

I'd prefer to just listen to the 'boring' and 'unoriginal' F G C F of



:twocents-02cents:

 

[mynameisbob84]

It's not actually as impressive as it initially seems once you realise they're just transposing all these songs to the same key, at which point the chords they're playing become almost inconsequential

THIS x a million.

I have a pet peeve about this, because when this came out every dickhead in the world kept playing it and being like 'Oh people are such sheep, they only like the same commercial music with the same chords blahblah'

But it's like...so? People have been using and reusing and recycling and sampling the same melodies, riffs, harmonies and chords throughout the history of music.

Take folk songs, for example. A lot of folk songs are ancient, but still sung, or well known and loved by millions of people. They are often the most simple songs ever. And there is often about 20 different songs with the exact same melody.

Most Bob Dylan songs use the same 4 or 5 chords, and he made some of the most beautiful songs ever written. (In my opinion )

There are only so many chords. And so many chords that actually sound GOOD together. And there is an insane amount of music being made all over the world. You think that everyone should always come up with something ENTIRELY original?

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that there are experimental musicians out there, and I love me some Mars Volta and Tool and love electronic music producers like Daedelus who are really trying to produce their own new sound, not be predictable.

But...really some experiential music is just BAD. Just noise. Because they are trying so hard to be 'original'...they forgot to make it listenable.

I'd prefer to just listen to the 'boring' and 'unoriginal' F G C F of



:twocents-02cents:

I have a theory on why people (mostly) stick to commercial music. It has nothing to do with the chord structure of these songs, shockingly enough It's just that not everybody has the time, inclination, means, whatever, to actively seek out the music that speaks to them.

There are people who love music. These people will hear a song that they like and learn more about the band that made that song and the scene in which they came up, the bands they played with, the bands that influenced them and so on and so forth... and before they know it, through hearing and liking one song, they've exposed themselves to dozens of bands and hundreds of singles, albums, bootlegs... All because of one song.
For these people, it's not simply a case of listening to the music that the radio and the TV has presented to them. It's a journey of discovery, ya know? And once these people have taken a few steps along the path they've found themselves on, they quickly realise that 'hey, it turns out that the music that truly speaks to me, that moves me, that makes me feel something, might not be the stuff that's currently being marketed to me'. It might be the stuff that was made 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago, it might be the stuff that's being made in some guy's bedroom and being distributed for free on the internet, it might be the stuff that's being played at your local music venue, it could be anything... The chances that the 0.00000000001% of the recorded history of all music that is represented by mainstream media at any one time is the music that a person is going to like the most, while possible (and to be clear, a lot of mainstream music is great) is ultimately unlikely.

Then there are people who merely like music. These people listen to the radio and they enjoy the songs they hear. But that's where their journey ends. For whatever reasons (and there are many, many valid reasons) these people are happy to consume the content that's marketed to them and never feel the urge to find out for themselves what's beyond that which is laid at their feet. So they just buy what the mainstream offers them.

There are more people who like music than there are those who love music, I guess. :twocents-02cents:

 

[Keithy]

I posted a few other songs from the Axis of Awesome a while back. I think some of their love song stuff (in a thread about nerdy love songs I believe). They're an awesome group and have updated the song a few times.

It should also be noted that pop music actually stimulates the brain in certain ways. i.e. if you stick someone in an MRI and make them listen to music, you can tell if the song will be a hit or not based on their brain function and not whether they like the song or not.

 

[Just Me]

Pop music too loud and all sounds the same. :lol:

 

[God]

This is old, but I didn't see it here, so here ya go.

These guys take the same 4 chords and pump out all kinds of pop songs you will recognize.

I love a ton of the songs they sing so it makes me feel like such a sheeple, but it's legit

http://youtu.be/5pidokakU4I

did you see the movie "Mr. Holland's Opus" where Mr. Holland is a music teacher and his favorite song ever is "Louie Louie" which only has 2 chords?

 

[God]

I posted a few other songs from the Axis of Awesome a while back. I think some of their love song stuff (in a thread about nerdy love songs I believe). They're an awesome group and have updated the song a few times.

It should also be noted that pop music actually stimulates the brain in certain ways. i.e. if you stick someone in an MRI and make them listen to music, you can tell if the song will be a hit or not based on their brain function and not whether they like the song or not.

so the MRI can determine if "pop music" or "poop music"?

i saw a video of Axis of Awesome playing parts of a bunch of popular songs.

 

[pg240]

Tonic (I), subdominant (IV), dominant (V) and resolve it by returning to tonic (I) are the root composition of most pop songs, aren't they? Toss in a dominant seventh chord for some variety.

 

[God]

Tonic (I), subdominant (IV), dominant (V) and resolve it by returning to tonic (I) are the root composition of most pop songs, aren't they? Toss in a dominant seventh chord for some variety.

they probably stop adding new chords after they drink a tonic