The DijonStock Digital Home Recording Support Forum

"The hook is the song's thesis statement. Every essay has a thesis that encapsulates its central idea; similarly, an effective song must have a hook that expresses in just a few words and notes what the song is about. The hook must be repeated several times throughout the song. If it isn't repeated, it isn't a hook. It is that one line, both musically and lyrically, that listeners will remember long after the song is over. It's that line that they will whistle or sing in the shower and what they will ask for when they call the radio station to request the song."
-- HarmonyCentral Songwriting Tip of the Day



Discuss.

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"Saying you're an adult would make you an IM-poster." - Robbie jan 2006

I will use my robot hand for good.

I don't know if my memory is going tits up (highly likely), Chris, but didn't we just do the hook in Songwriting Tips?

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"You think you are going to die...and then you don't." © Robbie Jukebox - 23rd July 2004.

I think we did the Bridge, but not the Hook IIRC

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"Saying you're an adult would make you an IM-poster." - Robbie jan 2006

I will use my robot hand for good.

I think we did both .

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Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground

I think the hook can be a little bit trickier to put your finger on and could be open to interpretation. I'll try to think of some obvious examples as soon as I get a little more caffeine in me.

Ok, trying to think of hook examples and, as always, the Beatles seem to have some good examples.

I would class the following as hooks:

In "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", the line 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps', and the riff which follows it.

In "Two Of Us", the line 'On our way back home, we're on our way home....etc'.

In "Across the Universe" the line 'Jai guru deva...'

And a non-Beatles example, which doesn't even involve words...The (famous?) guitar riff in "All the Young Dudes"

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"Saying you're an adult would make you an IM-poster." - Robbie jan 2006

I will use my robot hand for good.

eep...just checking back, I did, in fact, post the self same Harmony Central tip before, but we didn't actually get around to discussing it....

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"Saying you're an adult would make you an IM-poster." - Robbie jan 2006

I will use my robot hand for good.

The Beatles are always good to use since most of us know these songs frontwards and backwards in our head.

The lead-in line in Please, Please Me. In it's original form George Harrison played this lick throughout the song. George Martin talked him into just playing it between the verses. Great example of Mr. Martin's contributions.

Again, the little lead-in line in Something. Played between each verse with a slight alteration leading into the bridge.

Of course, the hook can also be a musical motif - think no further than "Smoke On the Water."

edit: oops, seems Bob just made that point and I didn't see clearly - another cup of tea, please.

Yeah of the lick in Satifaction by the Stones.

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THE MUSIC IS DOWN IN HERE
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Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

I find casting a No. 10 Treble Hook into the audience will really grab at least one listener's attention everytime.

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You can choose your friends. You can choose your line. But never let your friends choose your line.

I suppose hooks may take on a life of their own, perhaps unintentionally. For example in Phil Collins "In the air tonight"; I believe the composer's original concept was to have "in the air tonight, oh lord..." as the acknowledged "riff" or hook. But who doesn't start tapping the steering wheel... or whatever when the big gated drum fill blasts out about 2/3 through the song. In my opinion, a very good hook, which gives the listener a point of reference, regardless of the composer’s original intention.

As far as the #10 Treble, there's a certain randomness to that approach where the result could be hooking into something you may just want to throw back.

Ah, a skilled snagger like '61 shouldn't have a problem.

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Honor is a debt you owe to those that see it in you.

I'm more into Salmon, but it should work the same, I mean look how similar we are.

Most of us spend our workdays swimming upstream, against the current, overcoming untold obsticles, only to get f***ed and die in the end.

I'd differentiate the drum riff ala "In the Air" from a hook in that, I'd consider the drum part to be what I'd describe to my drummer as a "signature riff" which is something that to me, may or may not be repetitive, as opposed to a "hook", which in my personal vocabulary is a repetitive phrase.

But how about a "hook" that is the title of a song and only appears as a line in the tune once, or not at all i.e. "Katy Lied" or "Train in Vain"?

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You can choose your friends. You can choose your line. But never let your friends choose your line.

i can right hooks.....usually.
its the rest of the dam song I have issues with...

For some reason, I write my vocal hooks LAST.
is that odd? Im thinking so.....But I Im always happy when I do them last.....I guess maybe I find it easier to do the hook from he melody lead-in sort of angle.....Like..Im singing the melody (verse) and the hook just pops in there really easy........am I making any sense?


this Yuban coffee kicks ass.

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sometimes i eat gtrs and drums too.....and once i ate a buick.

if there was a formula - we'd all be buying it .................

hang on------we are..
it's whatever it is that resonates in your soul.

It's not about compression our pre-amps, it's not about what it's about

it's just what it is.

it's not about a chord change or a clever turn of phrase

It's not about cigarettes or alcohol

it's not about the days of a logical pain in the digits of your type

Writing a million monkeys that could PR for your resting

Like a baby, investing in a world thats soiled

digging other's hungry hours

the horrors all away

a million miles from who you feel

50 yards from from destiny



Dickie

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"Riding a motorcycle looks cool and all - but no-one messes with a man riding an elephant"

Sounds like a song, Dickie. Get after it!

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-Denver Rob

"Work is the curse of the drinking classes"
http://www.robroper.com http://www.myspace.com/rroper

grabs your soul - or annoys the p!ss out of you.

it's the part of the song that you can imagine 100000 seals or monkeys singing along too.