What makes a melody catchy?

Be sure to check out Lalal.ai, a next-generation music source separation service for fast, easy and precise stem extraction: www.lalal.ai/?fp_ref=david93 🎤🎸🎹
SOURCES:
Big Think, the science of music: • The science of music: ...
Vulgarlang, Tonal Languages: • Tonal Languages
Suisman, D. (2012) Selling Sounds: The Commercial Revolution in American Music
And, an extra special thanks goes to Douglas Lind, Vidad Flowers, Ivan Pang, Waylon Fairbanks, Jon Dye, Austin Russell, Christopher Ryan, Toot & Paul Peijzel, the channel’s Patreon saints! 😇
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0:00 Introduction
0:58 Ease of singing
3:09 Repetition
8:03 Why do tunes get stuck in our head at all?
9:43 writing a catchy tune

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Be sure to check out Lalal.ai, a next-generation music source separation service for fast, easy and precise stem extraction: www.lalal.ai/?fp_ref=david93 🎤🎸🎹

[@StephLo]

Clever choice of sponsor 👍 This time I did not skip that part and actually want to try it :-) PS : btw, why is KZbin sponsoring so overwhelmingly covered by one single VPN company ?

[@TheInselaffen]

Ah but David, you forgot one aspect of catchiness: humming. Clocks is a great earworm for humming along to, and it's the intro that gets us hooked.

[@commodoor6549]

A song doesn't have to be singable to be catchy. In fact, a person can have no singing skills and still find a song catchy, and replaying it in their head.

[@sophiahernando2303]

Can you make a video about musical forms and some song examples

[@Quesbe]

Okay I tried it out and this is seriously impressive. A good sponsor imo.

[@ibji]

Only went to Disneyworld once. Every ride had a long line. Except for one. So we went on the "It's A Small World" ride. And we found out fairly quickly why no one went near it. That music was played loud, without a break, and there was no escape until the ride was over. It will scar you for life.

[@spindriftdrinker]

You would have loved being an employee at the world famous FAO Schwartz toy store in New York. It functioned normally for many decades, but a few years before closing they started playing "Welcome to my world of Toys" on an endless loop : kzbin.info/www/bejne/apS4oJKNhM55hZY&ab_channel=CharlotteCoachman

[@Menstral]

I cannot achieve tumescence without it’s a small world playing in the background

[@robranney-blake8731]

Stuck in my brain since the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

[@robster7316]

The ultimate ear worm!

[@FlameSpiderMusic]

I could forget it finally, until i accidentally heard it again. I cannot forget the song even if i tried. It's coming with me to the grave

[@Hawkkiwi]

"You're learning to speak Call Me Maybe" is an inspirational quote ngl

[@travelservices1200]

I found it horrifying! ^_^

[@aripinkberry1810]

I’m actually learning how to speak Ring Ring by Rocket Punch lol

[@OrangeC7]

Yeah, I'm bilingual. Here's proof: well I just met you and this is craaa-zy but here's my number so call me maybe

[@bgmaraujo]

4:33 When he said "songs go far too far with repetition" I KNEW the example was gonna be Baby Shark.

[@modestoney1577]

1:50 is one of the biggest earworms in existence, it`s catchy af actually hard to get rid of once it has worked it`s way into your brain may not be easy to sing, but you find yourself whistling like crazy

[@delfink4333]

In my opinion this was the catchiest melody of the whole video hah and here it was presented as not catchy xD

[@stevend285]

don't even need to sing or hum it, mexican hat dance just plays in my head 24/7

[@EELisAwesome]

EXACTLY looking for this comment I do sing it though too haha just as a chill duhduhduhnuhnuhnuhnuhnuh

[@Hazel19283]

Hahaha... So true

[@AshiStarshade]

I think it is easy to sing! Easier than the clocks one.

[@lordsmorgasbord2646]

I like how your "uncatchy" example at the end still sounded like a decent melody and wasn't just a random jumble of notes

[@Thermolizer]

It was more catchy than the one that was supposed to be catchy

[@J-W_Grimbeek]

Man listening to someone talk about repetition I automatically hear the phrase "repetition legitimizes" in my head - repeatedly Edited to fix spelling mistakes

[@StandaNovak]

My first reaction is "Ooooh I love repetition!" by Stewie Griffin.

[@andreaspitsch9004]

Repetition legitimises..

[@michaelwilliams-owolabi8365]

i was looking for this

[@StuartQuinn]

@@andreaspitsch9004 repetition legitimises.

[@marlonhitpa7483]

@@StuartQuinn Repitition legitimises

[@christianfairhurst3877]

Instantly catchy melodies get old fast, the ones that take their time to dig in stay with you longer. Or is it just me?

[@zant2146]

Nah Sweet Child O' Mine gets you instantly and will never leave you alone

[@MetricTrout]

I think there is a balancing act where good melodies need to have just the right amount of complexity. With too much complexity, the melody doesn't have enough repetition to be memorable. With too little complexity, the listener gets bored quickly, and the melody starts becoming annoying. One of the reasons that people have different tastes in music may be because they have different tolerances for complexity. For example, most adults find a song like "Baby Shark" annoying because it's too repetitive and simple for them, but it may just have the correct level of complexity for children. Conversely, Beethoven notably was unimpressed with his most popular piano composition, the first movement of the "Moonlight Sonata", remarking that "Surely I've written better things". Perhaps this is because it didn't have enough complexity for Beethoven himself, but was just right for the general populace.

[@segala7853]

@@MetricTrout is this why I am an eclectic whore

[@auldthymer]

You put me in mind of "Demolition Man." In the future, we no longer have "oldies" stations; we have stations that only play commercial jingles! Oh! My favorite: plop, plop, fizz, fizz...

[@ricomajestic]

And yet I bet you still remember tunes by Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven after you first heard them or least can hum them back immediately when asked to do so. All of their music was instantly catchy! So your argument has no basis.

[@dilemmacubing]

The most catchy melody is the friends we made along the way

[@djvoid1]

My theory on why a lot of people complain about 'modern music' is that to them, it's catchy at the expense of all else. The music gets stuck in your head, yet gives no pleasure, and it seems to reveal a divide between people's tastes. For some people, catchy = good. For others, catchy without any further substance of enjoyment = some sort of deception has occured and left a feeling of being musically 'short changed' somehow upon listening. Like a cheat code was input to increase the significance and memorability of the song undeservedly

[@EvincarOfAutumn]

I agree. Catchiness is one tool in the box, and sometimes it’s not appropriate. If a song is memorable but not meaningful to me, it feels like it’s demanding my attention and then dropping it on the floor.

[@EASnoww]

Sigh, every generation says this. This generation is not special. Music is not declining. If you don't think the pop songs of today are emotional I think you need to reexamine your emotions, not pop music. And if you don't like pop music, why tf are you listening to it? Great music is written every day-maybe work harder to find it instead of tearing down music you don't understand. Similarly, every generation has terrible pop songs. And good pop songs. Almost like music is a hugely subjective and wide open landscape. Edit: I apologize, my tone was harsher than I intended.

[@NBrixH]

@@EASnoww Yeah, you're right, but the thing is also, that there's so much more music made today than in the 70's for example, and the cliché musical ingredients (4/4, ABAB rhymes, typical chords, and so on.) are used *proportionately* more than in the 70's, because more music is made everyday in our modern world than in the 70's. And on top of that, the cliché ingredients used today, have become even more cemented into the music industry, and therefore they become go-to ingredients when making a song. Of course music isn't objectively ''worse'' now than it was previously, I'd argue that on average it's actually better than in the 70's (even though 70's rock is my favorite music), but that's in large part because of the overall better quality of equipment today, than back in the 70's, where a lot of bands had to literally invent new sounds. Most 70's music is absolute shit, we've just only remembered the good stuff, i.e. Queen, Pink Floyd (my favorite), Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, etc. And we've forgotten the bad stuff, which is completely undestandable, that's how our brains work. And one final thing: I am of course aware that music in the 70's also used the cliché techniques and ingredients that most modern music uses, I'm just saying that from what I've seen, there was quite a bit more experimenting and a greater tendency to innovate (obviously beacuse if a band wanted a specific sound, but that the specfic instrument that made that specific sound hadn't been invented yet, (like synths for example) then the band would have to innovate and find out a way to make that sound anyway.)

[@joermnyc]

“pop” music lately is “consume, discard, repeat”. There is good music out there, but you need to listen to alternative radio stations like WFUV (who does have a live stream if you’re not in New York) or KEXP in Seattle (again, has a live stream).

[@EASnoww]

@@joermnyc No, that's pop music since time immemorial. Practically by definition it is catering to the lowest common denominator. And that harsh description is not to disparage pop; quite the contrary, culturally it is awesome to have music that brings so many people together. As much as I love, say, Haken, they are not bringing people together. I understand why it's not everyone's bag. That doesn't make Haken superior, and that doesn't make pop inferior.

[@martakoakowska9872]

I don’t think a melody has to be easily singable to be catchy. Both Mexican Hat Song and the intro to Clocks are extremely catchy in my opinion, and same could be said about many guitar or even piano riffs which are almost impossible to sing, and yet you will feel like singing them, even if you fail to do it in tune, over and over. Examples from the top of my head would be: - Sweet Child O’ Mine opening riff - Hair Of The Dog by Nazareth (main riff) - The Maple Leaf Rag (piano piece) “chorus?” - Turkish March by Mozart (the ending sequence) - Con Te Partiro (super hard vocals) Let’s not forget that music (including melodies) isn’t only vocals.

[@Tobby_]

Exactly

[@tedl7538]

I'd also add two more elements to a catchy tune: 1) Groups of notes which clearly suggest a particular harmonic underpinning 2) Sequences of notes which clearly imply a consistent tonal center or key

[@jimbrentar]

funny. Mexican Hat Dance is extremely catchy. And "I Will Always Love You" has extremely drawn out notes

[@loratoad]

But Dolly wrote it, and she knows how to make those notes land. Have Whitney sing it and it’s almost supernatural.

[@GG-ow3ke]

Exit music is catchy as well

[@Jewpacca]

Besides the impeccable and efficient music education in all his videos, the fact that David keeps a totally straight face the entire time is the icing on the cake.

[@jackmartinleith]

Agreed, which makes the tattoo a juicy surprise.

[@frankvaleron]

You really have a great channel. May it continue to grow. Memes and bullshit will grab viewers, but you are completely correct to steer clear and keep going as you're going

[@brighamshamrell4524]

He does throw in the occasional Rickroll, but it's never off topic. Could have used it in this video, in fact. It has small intervals, sequence, repetition, and now it's stuck in my head. &$:!?#^%

[@efficiencygaming3494]

I think it's theoretically possible for any song to get stuck in your head if you enjoy it enough. As you noted, Radiohead is not a band known for making catchy tunes, yet I get their songs stuck in my head on a regular basis, even the lesser known tracks. Another thing I noticed is that when a song is stuck in my head, it's usually just one lyric in particular and seldom the entire song. And if that lyric matches a repeating melody in the song, you end up repeating that lyric over and over again in your brain. Repetition legitimizes. Repetition legitimizes. Repetition legitimizes.

[@mchamberlain7408]

I enjoyed your comment. May I offer my take on Radiohead? I would say almost all of their melodies are very catchy. Every melody on the first three albums are out of this world. The first two are basically pop rock with a different approach musically/production wise.

[@HarvenHaven]

i feel like people always associate catchy with pop songs that get stuck in your head, but really a majority of good more artsy music is still incredibly catchy. bands like gybe or boards of canada have tons of catchy melodies

[@64ccd]

I watch so many of this type of video. Usually I'm left with the feeling of "You didn't really give me an answer to the question" or "That's the easy answer that everyone already knew", but here I feel I really learned something new and valuable, much thanks to you linking it to how our brains perceive language. Thank you!

[@Byron418]

IMHO the 'uncatchy' tune is a banger 🔥

[@travelservices1200]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@wyattstevens8574]

Especially if the catchy melody is played at the same time! Anyone notice how he did that at the end (the Patreon list)

[@Hardy30680]

I think it's almost never the melody alone that's stuck in our heads. It's almost always the combination of melody and bass line. Different bass lines give the same melody different directions and can make the difference between enjoyment and boredom.

[@BillGraper]

In the Beatles song "Eleanor Rigby," there is a 10th interval in the chorus, and it's simple to sing or hum... and very cool! 😎

[@wyattstevens8574]

When? I never knew that!

[@AmazingAwesomeAlaska]

@@wyattstevens8574it’s in “where DO they all belong”

[@EddieReischl]

It helps when it's Paul McCartney writing it. For example, try to get "Penny Lane" out of your head once it's in there, and then of course it also has that brilliant trumpet playing.

[@111ram1]

He is a master of making catchy songs. It’s both a blessing and a curse...

[@brendancronin3796]

His use of major and minor chords in penny lane to convey emotion is just exceptional

[@rafaelsantosx]

"Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes."

[@eriksatieofficiel]

Also McCartney was an amazing trumpet player. RIP

[@woah6958]

Gah! I hate that tune.

[@Von_D]

I usually don't like sponsorship ads, but I'm REEEEEEEEAAAALLY glad I didn't skip. I had been dying to get some instrumentals of my favourite songs, and I think this is the most painless way to go about it.

[@crazypopcorn7801]

Me too bro! I was trying to make a remix of Bohemian rhapsody and I couldn't find some isolated tracks

[@daedrmr2dae]

^^Von D -- same

[@jukes4499]

I might use it as a bas player because of how hard it can be to hear the bass part under all the others sometimes

[@MarcPi]

@@crazypopcorn7801 Do you know that you can try to contact discographies to get the tracks? Of course that's the legal way and you should have to pay for it.

[@Samantha-vlly]

Samee

[@syberyah]

9:10 definitely very true. My brother throws me off sometimes when he "hums" a "yes" or a "no," because we usually communicate "no" with an mm-mm, where both syllables start with guttural sounds, and it has a downward inflection; and we say "yes" with an mm-hmm, where only the first syllable starts with a guttural sound, and it has an upward inflection. But sometimes my brother will say "mm-mm" with an upward inflection or "mm-hmm" with a downward inflection and it confuses me, lol

[@snd7636]

When someone decides to make an "Out of context David Bennett" video I hope they include 8:40

[@slurpeexyza17]

The isolated Whitney Houston track just highlights her amazing voice!

[@Samantha-vlly]

4:27 That is so true I often like Nintendo bgm's(mostly from MK and Super Mario)

[@Newfoundmike]

A great melody is one that you feel like you've heard it before but you're just hearing it for the first time

[@sammydoueck2237]

WOW. I freaking love that song at the end. So much effort in all of your videos. Ur the best!!

[@oliverbehrens10]

I love how clear your explanations are, thanks man! Keep it going

[@bradhickox8285]

3:30 all my brain was thinking was "Repetition Legitimizes" 🤣

[@DavidBennettPiano]

😂😂😄😄😄

[@Chadner]

I wanna dance with somebody is on another level, super catchy. Especially the verse melody, so well crafted.

[@aimeeday9293]

David you’ve done it again! Thank you for the brilliant explanation. Although I literally have that last melody stuck in my head now

[@RachelWangCal]

Thank you so much for all the work and structure you put into your videos, David! Your channel has been invaluable to me as someone learning how to compose music :)

[@baileyshep1644]

As soon as he said “You don’t have to enjoy a song for it to be catchy,” I immediately knew what was coming. ;w;

[@douglasgriffin694]

Ahh but I’ve spent days with O Mi Bambino Caro stuck in my head… that can’t be all of it-I think there must be some effect that comes from how unique or simply memorable the melody is

[@marcotrosi]

You are absolutely right. The things described in this video can maybe be used to emphasise an already good melody, but they are not enough to create a good melody. What I figured out is that you need intervals and rhythms that create emotion. And it's not that one can name or teach these things, you have to figure it out on your own, probably by listening to good music.

[@auldthymer]

It's possible that the aria has an emotional resonance for you. That, or you've heard it in a thousand commercials.

[@charlesd774]

I finished this video 5 minutes ago and now your catchy tune is playing in my head.

[@huguiboogieman]

It's about how you whistle it. Recently I've caught myself whistling along to music but taking my breaths along with the music and the music guides you on when to take breaths when to hold your whistle. Everything about the tension and release. A good melody makes you feel like you are singing along and it feels so natural to do it because it feels like you have time to breath. Like there's highs lows which feels like you are talking in real life. You have lower tones in your voice etc

[@TigerRogers0660]

Great informative video as always David!! By the way, i've been using LALAL for about a year now. Really great stem extraction software!!

[@markvanhorne3276]

Another feature that makes a melody easy to sing is if it uses mostly chord tones. With chord tone melodies, the singer can hear the pitch he's aiming for thereby improving the accuracy of intonation. For example, if you're singing over a IV chord if the melody contains scale degrees 4, 6, and 1 it is easier to sing than a melody that does not contain those notes. Non chord tones can be used as brief passing tones, but only sparingly.

[@johnbrennan8835]

A very good point.

[@jarredturner437]

Amazing video. Well known examples, humour, and an activity at the end. So great thank you!

[@TheGreschler]

Now that last song is playing in my head... Nice job David as always!

[@johnchastain7890]

"Baby Shark" became popular at Washington Nationals baseball games, when one player used it as his 'walk-on' tune at the insistence of his (very) young daughter. I'd never heard of it at the time, but they've played it for years at the stadium, and I can confirm that it's catchy. It's even fun, after a few beers.

[@terrywhite6249]

In the 80s and 90s when MTV played music videos, there was a similar impact to video game music. You couldn't just skip a video like you can today on KZbin and you may not have been paying 100% attention to every video, but you heard the same songs over and over. The catchy songs played then tend to be remembered since so many people were exposed to the same music. Now that there's the ability to skip songs immediately, there isn't the same type of exposure.

[@janesmith9628]

This was great. Not only very instructive but hugely enjoyable too! Thanks!!

[@Lllllllllllllllllllllllcw]

Thank you so much for your video! Since the country I 'm staying currently isn't musically developed, every lecture of yours really do help people like me. (I'm sorry if i missed out but if you have history of uploading piano lesson on Musecore, i also want to appreciate for that as well.) Your lecture always literally rescue people who dont have any musical basis and dont know even where to start at. Tysm again

[@thermitty_qxr5276]

Hello, I just want to support the info that i searched more so i hope this helps. 1. Use the Cathy rhythms like a Dotted eight with a sixteenth (Charleston rhytm) and Two sixteenths with an eight is the most cathy rhythms you can hear. Based on this it makes your Music more Memorable. An example of this is Indiana Jones Theme that uses a ton of theses! 2. Use short motifs or 2-4 bar phrases to make your music easy to sing like all 12 Ocarina melodies from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. 3. Repeat your motifs and phrases. You can watch a video from Ryan about "How to make LONGER MUSIC with the REPS METHOD" and its helpful based on this video. And plus the ocarina melodies has a Question (the short motifs) and the Answer (when it resolves and know wheres the direction is going). You can watch "How Koji Kondo made music for the game" from 8-bit Music. Hello i know its long but i hopes its helpful and this video is helpful too. Bye!

[@SeQQQ.]

The fact that i was actually wondering what makes a melody catchy last week, makes this video so helpful as well as creepy, cause this cannot be a coincidence lol

[@MissFaberge1]

Many thanks for this enlightening video. I was just studying Clive Davis and he talks a lot about catchy tunes; however, you’ve explained it in a way I can understand. Thank you very much. Miss Faberge.

[@DaveBessell]

You are a brave man to tackle this topic! One of the counterintuitive things about catchy melodies is that you can follow all of the things you mention and still come up with something that is not particularly memorable. Conversely sometimes you can come across a memorable melody that defies the rules you outline although I agree that by sticking to the 'rules' you increase your chances. One thing you didn't mention - I think it helps to keep the melody relatively short, longer melodies become more difficult to remember.

[@MrXyzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

Great video! A classic example of a catchy tune is Yesterday, but this is not very easy to sing. Also the repetition is not that high, but the verse is short which I'm sure helps. BUT I think the reason why it is sooo catchy, is simply due to the first three notes. the "Yes-ter-day" part. It is simple easy to sing with a small intervall. It is the second line which is not easy to just sing while "quietly waiting for a train", you need to concentrate on the melody to get it right when singing it. As the first line is such an earworm on it's own you are hooked after just one bar, and just can't stop continuing.

[@that_icy_stylish_bitch]

Awesome video, man. I'm quite fascinated about everything related to songwriting and how to make songs as catchy as possible. One musician I admire a lot for making super catchy stuff is Max Martin (aka God of pop music). But the truth is, besides knowing these little elements that are usually present in catchy melodies, you just need to have the instinct to do it. By the way, I think it would be really interesting if you talked about songs in which the verses and the chorus have a similar or even identical melody or rythmn. Max Martin has written multiple songs with that feature, like ET by Katy Perry and Lucky by Britney Spears. Another good example is Scared to Live by The Weeknd: all the sections of the song are variations of a single melodic fragment.

[@heraldtim]

Brilliant analysis. Thanks for another great video!

[@weiyingchen549]

learned a lot as a songwriter, thank you David for making this video!

[@AvantiMusicNJ]

Always felt like it was a combo of easy to remember lyrics, easy melody (like a 4 year old could play it in piano) and keeping the harmony interesting with some somewhat complex chords

[@GoodCriticBadCritic]

r e p e t i t i o n l e g i t i m i z e s

[@samuelhinshelwoodjr]

This is SO good. Thank you!

[@JackKirbyFan]

Maybe one of the most informative videos David. I have not considered this but it makes perfect sense. Finding the balance between repetition and change has to be one of the more tricky things to do in pop music. I think of the old song 'We've got the Beat' by the Go-Go's and that phrase gets on my nerves after a while since there is very little change in the song where 'Call me Maybe' I am find with the repetition.

[@mjmorriplymouth]

I would like to add that playing a catchy tune in your head is different than humming or singing it. To hum or sing it well, it needs to be within your vocal range. If not, you have to transpose it to a different key or keep shifting octaves which for me is not as satisfying.

[@capacle]

I knew in my heart Baby Shark was coming when you said “repeat ad nauseam”

[@fortunefavorsthebold3459]

Great analysis! My favorite songs are the slow burn catchy ones -- think Elliott Smith, David Bowie, Atoms for Peace -- elusive, hard to remember at first, but suddenly on like the 3rd or 4th listen, you realize you know the tune by heart and will never gorget it.

[@fathuman]

Incredibly interesting video that I really wish went on for longer. I can see this being a video-series that analyses the relationship between repetition and variation in music. Enter Sandman is a great example of a, pretty much, one riff song, but its staggering the amount of mileage Metallica get out of it. Tonal variation: clean vs diistorted guitar Development: playing small parts before revealing the full riff in the intro Build-up: Having the drums and other instruments entering and building up the intensity gradually in the intro Key change: the chorus of the song is the riff again, only in F#m instead of Em, but its different enough to stiill somewhat sound like the music has moved/changed. It is quite a fascinating exercise in developing and expanding on musical ideas.

[@danteshydratshirt2360]

Enter Sandman is the ONLY Metallica song I like ( as a band I dont like their attitude or any other song). Good summary. Its entering into a what makes this song great thing. I would love someone to do a breakdown of The KLFs America What Time Is Love - you have a weird spoken intro, Vangelis Chariots Of Fire type horns, calm before the storm type real entry of the song where it kicks in hard almost like Black Box Ride On Time, Motorheads Ace Of Spades riff lifted and re-purposed, a shopping list middle section with just American cities/towns being shouted out...the song continues then has a fake ending, true rock collapse type of ending then a post ending self depreciating chat

[@jrpipik]

The other element of singability is range. To make it easy to sing, you can't have a range of much more than an octave. Many singable songs keep it all within a fifth!

[@danteshydratshirt2360]

good point. I also dont think David really touches on that if its a vocal melody then it normally has a wave like structure rising and falling. he does mention call and response though so I may have missed it

[@emilyrln]

Yup! I commented this, although I thought it was 1-1.5 lol

[@jrpipik]

@@emilyrln You're probably closer. I play at a church and I find they keep the written melodies in a range from at most a couple notes just below middle C to the D an octave higher (most men sing an octave lower than written).

[@emilyrln]

​@@jrpipikIs there just one written melody line? I'm always curious what other hymnals are like :) The church I grew up in had 4-part harmony (2 in the treble clef and 2 in the bass).

[@trajectory7235]

Love ur videos, mate. Very fascinating, well-explained, and well-edited. Also, cute bear tattoo

[@80sMeavyHetal]

Lovely video, could listen to this topic / these topics for hours, also you are great in explaining.

[@jalaristv7512]

Hi David, Firstly, thank you for providing such amazing content. I have been on the music theory journey for just shy of 2 years now (recently passed my grade 5 ABRSM yay!) and have been training my ear for about a year. These videos have been simply wonderful and have both entertained and educated myself and my partner who a little less experienced on the theory and audiation side. We had a discussion the other night and thought it would be a wonderful idea to have some sort of app like Beadle, where the user hears a generated audio clip from a section of a song you have provided an analysis for, and then they are asked a question, such as what what the chord progression of this sample? Once answered either correctly or incorrectly it could link to your video explaining it. I think this would really benefit people like myself who are training their ears and want some good exercises on chord progressions. I don't have much experience on creating an app like Beadle, but if you like the idea I'd be more than happy to help in any way I can.

[@thepianoplayer416]

Interesting video. The song that comes to mind is "September" by an American band "Earth, Wind & Fire". A lot of repetitions from beginning to end.

[@petermanley7525]

Another superb video, straight to the salient aspects. Many thanks.

[@javigar133]

David, you deserve an award for this content, I never thought Music theory could be so much fun. Brilliant

[@danayang7712]

Yes, now I ve got that "small world" song stuck all throughput the video and it's still playing in my head. That's great, because I ve never heard that song, and as David only played those 4 bars, that's what's repeating! 🤣 Well, guess I can conclude it was easy to learn at least. 😜

[@B0K1T0]

And now I have it stuck in my head because of reading this.. Fun fact (seeing your pic) is I actually recall learning it when I played the trumpet for a while some decades ago :D

[@AmazingAwesomeAlaska]

THROUGHPUT

[@willwalker24601]

I think there’s a difference between a catchy “danceable” melody… and just a beautiful memorable melody that you could also argue is catchy. I’ve had Quando Men Vo, O Mio Babbino Caro, The Light in the Piazza, Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, My Tears Ricochet, If I Loved You, and The Music of the Night all stuck on my head. You couldn’t dance to any of those

[@MatthewCastro]

This was fantastic! I learned a ton that I kind of felt I knew intuitively. You are a great teacher

[@ordjk4797]

This has to be one of the best videos on your channel, the concept was explained well and proven in the same video. Plus the theory of evolution is a nice detour from music which is refreshing.

[@vib80]

Ear worms don't need to be very singable to get me. I was strongly ear wormed by a song that made a top-10 hardest karaoke list because it had a wide range and things like a fast 9th interval jump that I never really be able to do. But that jump was a very strong center of the part that earwormed me because it was the dramatic kick into to chorus. Similarly, it's not repetition per se that gets me... fading out on repetition (looking at you Hey Jude) gets me. Because my mind locks on to the fact that (a) this repeats and (b) I don't get to hear a solid end of that because it typically fades out in the middle. And so my mind starts spinning trying to find the end, but as it gets close it just jumps back to the start.

[@wyattstevens8574]

What about "Livin' Thing?" The last repetition of the chorus doesn't even completely finish!

[@JosephMensman]

No one asked but a trick I noticed the chili peppers do a lot with chorus lyrics is they’ll have a series of four phrases (usually two measures each) where it’ll follow the lyrical structure ABCB. Examples include quixoticelixer, black summer, and Dani California (sometimes C is replaced with a slight variation of A or A’)

[@LALALAI]

Thanks for mentioning our service 💛 much appreciated!

[@Bevanmusiq]

This is absolutely superb David, out the park!

[@d.s.19]

I know Baby Shark was a perfect example for that but c'mon man... why did you do as all dirty like that? Haha

[@madlad255]

0:26 What do you mean? I always get that piece stuck in my head

[@GormlyKeep]

Absolutely brilliant analysis

[@jarlardo]

One of your best videos this. Thanks 😊

[@amybradley2514]

Nice analysis. I tend to actually get certain music in my head without it necessarily what many people would consider catchy as you are explaining it. For example, the second movement of Beethoven's 7th. I will sing it, varying which parts I pick up on.

[@zzzaphod8507]

What a beautiful movement! Agree. And as I recall, that movement starts with a "melody" beginning with 12 E's in a row, not your standard catchy melody....

[@NNnn-zc2bm]

@@zzzaphod8507 Now my mind is stuck counting the Es, finding 16, wondering what went wrong, restarting the count, finding 16, etc etc

[@zzzaphod8507]

@@NNnn-zc2bm I checked the score. The violas do indeed start with 12 E's before playing an F-sharp at the end of the 5th bar of their "melody". The 12 E's have lengths as follows: quarter eighth eighth | quarter quarter | quarter eighth eighth | quarter quarter | quarter eighth and then the F-sharp is an eighth that completes the 5th bar.

[@mastod0n1]

My cover band is trying to play Call Me Maybe. We picked it because it is so catchy and dance-y that we figured it would be a good song to play at a bar. Despite having heard the song 100 times each we all struggled to get the structure right for the first 2 or 3 practices. We all knew the melody and lyrics and the instrumentation for the hook but that was it, basically.

[@mastod0n1]

@ghost mall it is a weirder rhythm than you'd think just listening to it casually. Nothing complicated, but not your typical pop song rhythm.

[@newpinglegend9304]

Preparation. Despite having heard the song 100 times each, you didn't actually learn it. Even rock and pop songs, even apparently easy ones, want to be sketched out (on actual paper via your own subjective notational system). A huge time waster in cover bands is players learning parts but not spending any time on transitions. Every member should be able to get through it front to back at first rehearsal.

[@AR-qn9mq]

Fantastic as always David. Please don't change

[@StratsRUs]

You are always making entertaining and educational videos.Thank you for your inspiring mind.Well Done !

[@SkippyZii]

10:30 no way Fnf composers making vocal lines

[@JDODify]

Interesting. I have a 3yr old and I was just reharmonising Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in an interesting way to sing with him. Its definitely catchy is funny with a slightly jazzy timing 🤣

[@alrush1234]

Brilliant, Thanks David

[@vatsalpandya5415]

very well articulated, thank you...

[@sanctusoleka3237]

I find this video very helpful

[@robster7316]

Interesting segment, David. Perhaps another one on the role of timing? What makes a catchy beat?

[@ghostlife5491]

Yes

[@danteshydratshirt2360]

4/4 works and throw in a tiny variation every now and then. Complex time signatures are for people with nothing better to do than show off

[@baptisten9129]

Soooo interisting, thanks for thé work

[@gorrofrigio5570]

Great video as always, David. About intevals and easiness to sing, I agree the diatonic steps and skips are a common topic for a good reason, but by no means are a rule. For example, right now I have a huge earworm with a melody that features a lot of leaps from perfect fourths to major sixths, and sometimes I've found myself humming some melodies which features hard-to-sing intervals like the tritone. Personally, I think rhythm and metre based on the poetic feet are the most important things to take into account for catchy and easy-to-sing melodies, even more than musical things like intervals or diatonic/chromatic alterations, and those melodies based on ternary rhythms or triple metre (think about the classic and omnipresent "trochee" foot), or implied cross-beats (like the african and latin-american "tresillo" or "cinquillo"), are among the most catchy melodies I've heard.

[@fernandojimenez5206]

9:00 very out of context, but I think it is really interesting how all (or almost all) languages use the syllables «ma/pa» (or variations) for referring to mother and father respectively. I guess it’s because those are the very first syllables we can pronounce when we are babies... but how does the baby know that the «m» is for their mother and «p» for father?? 🤔 the way our brains relate phonemes to things/people is interesting.

[@TheAngelsHaveThePhoneBox]

Look up the "bouba/kiki effect". I suspect it has connection to this.

[@juanausensi499]

Probably that's because 'm' is the easiest consonant to make with your mouth closed and 'b'/'p' is the easiest consonant to make when you open your mouth.

[@tomharris4644]

Playing baby-shark out of nowhere should count as psychoterrorism

[@iluvsyphonfilter]

Very well explained and also great examples!

[@vaughnhaney7020]

When you said video game music, the Song of Storms started playing in my head and now it lives here. Both catchy and good haha

[@DavidBMaas]

"Warning: This video contains earworms that will stick around for the next month."

[@wyattstevens8574]

3:31: "Repetition legitimizes." - Adam Neely One song I think is catchy in this regard is "Change On the Rise" (Avi Kaplan, formerly the bass for Pentatonix). The tempo is ~75-80 bpm, and as far as I remember, the widest intervals are 5ths. Another is "Break Out" by Brianna Arsement (aka Briannaplayz). A series of quasi-uncatchy tunes are "Rush E" and related (possibly black-MIDI) tracks. (See SheetMusicBoss for Rush E)

[@danteshydratshirt2360]

I would say Laurie Andersons O Superman basically is built on the "ah" babyish vocal hook repeated over 300 times ( i think in the course of the song). If the hook is strong it can bear repetition a LOT

[@cubicinfinity2]

What makes this video so good is the examples that were used.

[@thekingstonwolfmusic2116]

Great analysis and it included my favorite song. New Sub