Originally Posted By: HearToLearn
pghboemike-Great share again! I really enjoyed it. I love the information you've been finding! smile

rockstar_not-the term "simplicity" is a slippery slope for it can imply "easy to understand OR do."

I would agree that the melodies are easy to understand. To say they are easy "to do" I would disagree with.

I know for a fact those melodies are worked and reworked to death until they are exactly how they intend them to be. There is nothing more or less than is needed.


I do not know for a fact how Max Martin writes melodies. I do know that he has been responsible for countless pop hits over the past couple decades. I did live in Sweden for 6 weeks in 2000, when Darude's "Sandstorm" was taking that country by storm (about a year before it seemed to hit here) and I saw and absorbed many expected and unexpected things while there and working for Saab; living in an apartment and shopping as a local (exactly one brand of hand-dishwashing liquid on the shelves), etc. Simplicity means many things; I mean it in a positive way.

I'm merely making a point that the video presenter's presumption that the reason these monotone melodies that Max writes (that is, single note) are popular today is that are a result of the 'zeitgeist' could easily instead be down to his Swedish heritage, where let's see - I'll use a different term than simplicity....lack of unnecessary decoration, could also be the source. Here's something from the automotive world side of Sweden. Back in 2000, Saab had a button you could push called 'Night Panel' and it blanked out all instrument panel lighting except the speedometer (and perhaps the tach). Just what is necessary, nothing to distract. This is a concept to try to follow when writing, composing and arranging songs.

So, perhaps a poor choice in using the word 'simplicity'.

The monotone note choice for melodies is throughout modern electronic dance music as well; where vocals are not even necessarily in the song. Is that also the zeitgeist making it's way to what is popular? Just listen to the Monstercat, Tiësto, Anunjadeep, etc. podcasts for examples. I listen to about an hour or two of this per month. More than that and I get a little bored, but for that hour I do enjoy it, and it helps pace my 'constitutional' walks.

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