TOP40 THEORY BLOG

Beyoncé's latest hit, "Texas Hold 'Em", is packed to the brim with hooks and hooking techniques.

There's a myth about Max Martin's melodic math that all phrase repetitions must be precise. That's not true--

In my previous post I showed how the tension in the verse lingers by ending each phrase on ^2 (D). The chorus melody does the same thing but in a different way, starting with a melodic pattern that corresponds to the harmony but breaking it in the middle in order to let the D hang.

It's easy to overlook how notes relate to each other when they are not adjacent but it's key to good songwriting. Here's how Maroon 5 maintain tension...