SHR4C004M-003 Song Prod. & Write Up. 24102020. Rhys Lewis.

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Rhys Lewis 24102020

SHR4C004M-003 Song Prod. & Write Up Template

Task 1: Three Minute Song Production (70%)

Strange Things – 24102020 RLDownload

Task 2: 1000 Word Write-Up (30%)

Process:

This song was originally recorded in December, with no intention of being used for an assignment. However, I realised that I would be able to reshape it with sampling. As I already had a finished song, this provided a challenge of trying to fit samplers in without ruining the atmosphere of the track.

Sampling:

Throughout this project, I have used sampling in varying ways to compliment the track.

To begin, I wanted to expand on the drum sound as I thought some areas of it weren’t quite sitting in the mix properly. One way that I did this was by MIDI doubling parts of the drums.

Kick

I sped up a sample of Studio 104’s door shutting, noise gated it so it’s just the thump. Then compressed and equalised it to bring out the bass.

To bring out more of the click sound from the Kick, I doubled it with a sample of me hitting my mic. Processing this similarly to the other kick sample to have more low end.

Snare

Logic sound library. I equalised out the high end ring and added a room style reverb to get more of a large sound from the snare.

Toms

Logic Sound Library. Added some low-mid EQ and compression so it aligned better with the tone of the original toms.

I then decided that I should try and use sampling in more creative ways that would create a dynamic listening environment.

Shaker.

I recorded a few one-shots of shaking a box of thumb tacks. Choosing the cleanest take and cutting the audio tail. Then added gain to the mids as it needed more of a rattly timbre that shakers have. Finally adding room reverb and compression.

Crash

Scraped a radiator with a drumstick and added light phasing and EQ. This sample helps make the drums less repetitive, drawing you to something new.

  • Synthesiser:

I recorded a clip of rubbing my mouse matt with my finger. Chose a section of the sample and had it loop back and forth, and added some filtering. This gave me an interesting sound but didn’t have the tone I wanted so I processed it further with an ensemble for width and modulation, I then added a light phaser, an auto filter set for stereo widening and added a band pass EQ with mids boosted. Giving me a washy synth that adds texture to the mix, inspired by phasers in Kids In America – Kim Wilde.

  • Vocals:

Sampled some of the lead vocal line, ran it through a vocoder to add more texture into parts of the song acting like a harmony.

Sampled a backing vocal line from another project. This was heavily processed with a pitch shifter, echo, vocoder, rotor cab, reverb, and EQ to turn it into an ambient pad appearing in the bridge.

  • Piano:

Doubled parts of the piano and added a sweeping Low Pass Filter for a more expressive sound. This is a subtle effect in the ending verses but provides a nice shift in tone.

Sampling within Popular Music:

Sampling has been prominent in popular music since the late 80s, with sample-based Rock and Pop music climbing the charts. An example of this is PWEI’s track ‘Get The Girl! Kill The Baddies!’ which reached number 9 in the 1992 singles chart (A Brief History of Sampling in Music). This shows consistency with sampling being used in chart-topping music as Doechii’s song ‘Anxiety’ (6th on the singles chart) samples ‘Somebody that I used to know’ by Gotye, which itself samples several other tracks.

Commercial Application:

There are many factors which determine whether a song has commercial potential, such as: lyrics, tempo, and structure. After doing some research, I have found areas where this song is similar to popular music.

  • Lyrics – The song’s lyrics are about the popular topic of love. With the vocalists (Adara, Carys, and Kina) singing about the general theme of feeling nervous but excited about falling in love. Songs about love are significantly popular, providing this song with commercial potential because of its sympathy with the listener, as love is an emotion that we all experience. Additionally, A 2018 study by Peter G. Christenson et.al. found that between 1960-2010, 67.3% of songs from the top-40 referenced love. (What has America been singing about? Trends in themes in the US).
  • Hooks – Vocal hooks often capture the emotional core of the song. A good emotional hook helps a listener connect personally to the song, making them want to sing along and remember it. Increasing it’s commercial viability (The Art of Writing a Catchy Hook. 2. Emotional Connection). To further expand upon this, hooks are arguably more important now, as the rise of social media has led to an increased demand for catchy, short lines that can be used in a trend. This song features a very catchy chorus which acts as it’s hook.
  • Harmonies – Vocal harmonies enhance a track’s commercial potential by making it more memorable and engaging. Having 3 vocalists on the track leads to some exciting harmonies that add another level of depth.
  • Tempo – At 120 BPM, this song follows the trend of the average tempo of songs in the Top 20 Charts. Mark Savage describes that the average tempo of 2020’s top-selling songs was 122BPM. (Pop Music is Getting Faster (and happier)).

Officialcharts Top 20 (02.05.2025)

  • Length – Over time, song length has changed from being relatively short to fit onto vinyl, then getting longer as technology has improved, and is now decreasing again through the influence of social media/radio. The average length of the Top 20 singles is 3 minutes 18 seconds. My track is 3 minutes 15 seconds.
  • Structure – Social media now plays a large role in how artists structure their songs. Modern songs are quicker. Meaning the structure must be fast and to the point. This song has a short intro that moves quickly into the first verse so the singers and dynamic instrumentation can grab the listeners’ attention and reduce any possibility of them skipping the track.

Conclusion:

Overall, I feel this song has high commercial potential within a range of different areas. This is because it has dynamic instrumentation, an upbeat tempo, and catchy vocals, whilst maintaining a unique sound.

Bibliography: