Reid Rosefelt
Well-known member
Swedish producer Max Martin (Karl Martin Sandberg) has written or co-written 27 Billboard number one singles, including Britney Spears's "...Baby One More Time" (1998), the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" (1999), Celine Dion's "That's the Way It Is" (1999) and NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" (2000), Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" (2008) and "Roar" (2013), Maroon 5's "One More Night" (2012), Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space" (2014), and the Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" (2019, the best performing song of all time) and "Save Your Tears" (2020).
IMHO his chart success only represents a small fraction of his influence on the music industry. He has mentored a lot of other producers, some, like Dr. Luke, who have become famous in their own right, but a lot of others who write songs away from him with the world's biggest stars. Their work is everywhere, including a lot of K-Pop and Euro-pop.
Multiply that by a hundred with all the other producers who imitate him. I don't know where the formula below comes from, but he does talk a lot about what he does, and maybe somebody just assembled his quotes and ideas.
From the interviews I've read with the people he's worked with, the common denominator is that if you don't have a banging melody--it's not worth doing. He works with phonemes, not words, and he wrote a lot of his early hits before he knew English very well. He didn't understand how weird "Hit me baby one more time" would sound to an English speaker. In the rules below it says "lyrics make sense but serve the melody," but the facts don't bear that out. "I Want it That Way"is a song that doesn't make any sense--a topic of amused discussion on places like Reddit. People still love it because it's such a beautiful melody. I read that the label commissioned a different version of the lyrics that made sense--and people didn't like it. It's all about the phonemes.
I remember a story about Ariana Grande getting into a fight about not wanting to use incorrect English in a lyric. She lost.
Anyway, food for thought for all you Songwriters and Producers.
Don’t make it too complicated, keep it simple silly (KISS).
Fit the syllables to the notes of the melody.
Lyrics make sense but getting the syllables right is of primary importance.
Lyrics are meant to serve the melody.
The chorus hits before you’re 50 sec into the song.
Use only 3-4 melodic parts per song and introduce one part at a time.
ONE AT A TIME: There must be no new items coming in at the same time. Add one thing at a time, like in a movie. You cannot present 10 characters in the first scene! You want to get to know one before you’re ready for the next one. Introducing elements one at a time also ensures that people hear the new layers coming in and subconsciously enjoy the build of elements.
ONE AT A TIME: There must be no new items coming in at the same time. Add one thing at a time, like in a movie. You cannot present ten characters in the first scene! You want to get to know one before you’re ready for the next one. Introducing elements one at a time
cters in the first scene! You want to get to know one before you’re ready for the next one. Introducing elements one at a time also ensures that people hear the new layers coming in and subconsciously enjoy the build of elements.
LESS PARTS: Get the most out of a small number of parts. Take the arrangement of the song and strip it down to its key elements. This removes any possible distractions and makes the song as catchy as it can be, focusing only on the core elements of the song. Make the production sound groovy with simple but great melodies and use memorable riffs so that less parts don't create boredom.
RECYCLE PARTS: Use the melodic parts again and again to create familiarity. People are attracted to something they are familiar with. This makes them feel like listening to the song again and again. Don't overdo it though. Too much repetition makes people get bored. Balance between the familiar and new sections to keep the listener engaged.
CONTRAST IN ARRANGEMENT: Create contrast between using shorter and longer notes, on and off beat, etc between verse and chorus to create contrast. “ Sweet and Salt might be a description that’s easier to grasp. You need a balance at all times. If the verse is a bit messy (off beat) you need to be less messy (On Beat) right after. It needs to vary. “Shake it off“ is a good example where the math behind the drama is pretty clear. If the chords change a lot over the course of the song, it’s better to stay within the same melodic structure.
CHOICE OF SOUNDS: Have you noticed how most pop songs employ the use of the same kinds of sounds to build a strong foundation? For example, snaps, claps, kicks, bass, pads, plucks and leads are some of the most widely used elements in mainstream pop music. Max Martin suggests deploying a combination of familiar and unfamiliar elements to catch the attention of the listener.
CONTRAST THROUGH MIXING: If everything is bright, nothing really stands out as being bright. There is no bright if there is no dull. There is no near if there is no far. Creating contrast in the mix by making use of psychoacoustic principles and creating contrast using tools like reverb, delay, EQ and compression can really make your mixes sound a whole lot more professional.
Source for this.
IMHO his chart success only represents a small fraction of his influence on the music industry. He has mentored a lot of other producers, some, like Dr. Luke, who have become famous in their own right, but a lot of others who write songs away from him with the world's biggest stars. Their work is everywhere, including a lot of K-Pop and Euro-pop.
Multiply that by a hundred with all the other producers who imitate him. I don't know where the formula below comes from, but he does talk a lot about what he does, and maybe somebody just assembled his quotes and ideas.
From the interviews I've read with the people he's worked with, the common denominator is that if you don't have a banging melody--it's not worth doing. He works with phonemes, not words, and he wrote a lot of his early hits before he knew English very well. He didn't understand how weird "Hit me baby one more time" would sound to an English speaker. In the rules below it says "lyrics make sense but serve the melody," but the facts don't bear that out. "I Want it That Way"is a song that doesn't make any sense--a topic of amused discussion on places like Reddit. People still love it because it's such a beautiful melody. I read that the label commissioned a different version of the lyrics that made sense--and people didn't like it. It's all about the phonemes.
I remember a story about Ariana Grande getting into a fight about not wanting to use incorrect English in a lyric. She lost.
Anyway, food for thought for all you Songwriters and Producers.
Melody Is King
Writing the melody first gives more freedom than doing it the other way around.Don’t make it too complicated, keep it simple silly (KISS).
Fit the syllables to the notes of the melody.
Lyrics make sense but getting the syllables right is of primary importance.
Lyrics are meant to serve the melody.
Lyrics
It’s very mathematical, a line has to have a certain number of syllables and the next line has to be its mirror image. - If you add one syllable or take one away, it’s a completely different melody to Max. You can write something clever, but if it doesn’t hit the ear right, then Max is not really interested. This is one reason why Max's songs are so catchy.The chorus hits before you’re 50 sec into the song.
Use only 3-4 melodic parts per song and introduce one part at a time.
Arrangement & Mixing
SIMPLICITY: There must not be too much info in the sound stage. Aspire for minimalism and clarity in the mix, even if you want it to sound huge. Every sound used in the production must have a purpose. Keeping it simple means stripping the arrangement to it's most basic elements and building it up from there.ONE AT A TIME: There must be no new items coming in at the same time. Add one thing at a time, like in a movie. You cannot present 10 characters in the first scene! You want to get to know one before you’re ready for the next one. Introducing elements one at a time also ensures that people hear the new layers coming in and subconsciously enjoy the build of elements.
ONE AT A TIME: There must be no new items coming in at the same time. Add one thing at a time, like in a movie. You cannot present ten characters in the first scene! You want to get to know one before you’re ready for the next one. Introducing elements one at a time
cters in the first scene! You want to get to know one before you’re ready for the next one. Introducing elements one at a time also ensures that people hear the new layers coming in and subconsciously enjoy the build of elements.
LESS PARTS: Get the most out of a small number of parts. Take the arrangement of the song and strip it down to its key elements. This removes any possible distractions and makes the song as catchy as it can be, focusing only on the core elements of the song. Make the production sound groovy with simple but great melodies and use memorable riffs so that less parts don't create boredom.
RECYCLE PARTS: Use the melodic parts again and again to create familiarity. People are attracted to something they are familiar with. This makes them feel like listening to the song again and again. Don't overdo it though. Too much repetition makes people get bored. Balance between the familiar and new sections to keep the listener engaged.
CONTRAST IN ARRANGEMENT: Create contrast between using shorter and longer notes, on and off beat, etc between verse and chorus to create contrast. “ Sweet and Salt might be a description that’s easier to grasp. You need a balance at all times. If the verse is a bit messy (off beat) you need to be less messy (On Beat) right after. It needs to vary. “Shake it off“ is a good example where the math behind the drama is pretty clear. If the chords change a lot over the course of the song, it’s better to stay within the same melodic structure.
CHOICE OF SOUNDS: Have you noticed how most pop songs employ the use of the same kinds of sounds to build a strong foundation? For example, snaps, claps, kicks, bass, pads, plucks and leads are some of the most widely used elements in mainstream pop music. Max Martin suggests deploying a combination of familiar and unfamiliar elements to catch the attention of the listener.
CONTRAST THROUGH MIXING: If everything is bright, nothing really stands out as being bright. There is no bright if there is no dull. There is no near if there is no far. Creating contrast in the mix by making use of psychoacoustic principles and creating contrast using tools like reverb, delay, EQ and compression can really make your mixes sound a whole lot more professional.
Source for this.
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