Read David Tough's article "What Makes A Hit Song?" If you're not interested in how the results were obtained you can skip ahead to p. 104 where he tells you what he found out. Look for characteristics that you would like to try to incorporate into your pop song this week.

Take notes on points such as:

1. What is the average length of a hit song?
2. How long do you have to trigger something unique?
3. How long do you have to get listeners involved?
4. What percentage of songs start off with a chorus or hook, rather than an intro or verse?
5. What is the average length of songs?
   
6. What is the average tempo?
7. What is the most common point of view?
8. What is the subject of the songs?
9. How long are intros?
10. What is an "archetype"? What are some options for archetypes in songs? Which archetype was used most often?
    
    
    
    George Lucas credits Campbell's writings on mythology as a source of inspiration for Star Wars.
    
    
11. What interests you about the discussion of song form?
12. What did you learn about artist collaboration?

Pay attention to the Conclusions. Use some of them and/or the characteristics in your pop song assignment. Keep track of which you applied and include a mention of them in your report next week.

Look through Appendix A and pick out a Synopsis to use for the pop song you will write over the next two weeks, and put the statement of it in your posting of the song next week.

David Tough is someone worth checking out. If you're considering being an engineer or operating a studio, see how he arranges his website, where he puts the "before" and "afters" side by side, so clients can easily get a feeling for what he could do for them. This is something to think about for your own website today, so start collecting "before" and "after" material from projects you've worked on for your own website.

Another interesting article of his is on what engineers value in junior assistants hired from audio production programs. That is what led to my interest in developing character strengths, which along with communication skills are the best predictors of success in life.

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