“So, is there a melody that’s coming to mind? Who? Something that’s been stuck in your head lately.”
Pedro returned from the shower on the lower floor, sitting down with a refreshed face as if nothing had happened.
To air out the place because of the smell, someone had opened the window, and the cold breeze made everyone put on their outerwear.
“Since Do-hee wanted to start like this first, do you have anything?”
Of course, there was more than one.
“Wait a second?”
I pulled out my secret notebook from the bag next to me.
It was my book where I tidy up ideas that pop up from time to time.
That notebook was revealed in our original content [DEB: ON AIR] Episode 1 not long ago.
And here, not only song lyrics and rhymes were organized, but also sudden melodies were notated as sheet music.
“Ah~ it’s the inspiration notebook?”
“It’s an important habit~”
Other composers here seemed familiar with having such notebooks too.
“Hold on. But is there someone who writes down musical notes? Don’t people usually use their phone’s recording function?”
“That’s true… but usually, people would write on a pad or phone, right?”
“Um… Do-hee is definitely the youngest here, you know…”
“Looks like majoring in classical music makes you lean towards the more analog side of emotions…”
“But still, you’re an idol!? I mean, I started classical too, majoring in jazz and cello.”
I can write with a ballpoint pen… not all composers lack sensitivity.
I slowly flipped through the notebook, taking in the written melodies and ideas piece by piece.
The joy and feeling of this analog experience.
Even though it was drawn on sheet music, the moment I confronted it with my eyes, melodies automatically played in my head.
The mystery of neuroscience…
“Oh, this is it.”
A line written beneath the sheet music, the source of inspiration.
#Idea—Easy Listening.
—The catchiness of the chorus, falsetto.
This sheet music was a melody that popped up while pondering about easy listening.
How should we define easy listening?
I pointedly asked Erhan, the hip-hop producer and beatmaker.
“Erhan, what do you think easy listening is?”
“Well… if it’s not complicated and has a reasonable progression, then that would be easy listening, right?”
Just as I was about to share my thoughts, Jada, who majored in cello and jazz, shook her head vigorously in denial.
“What are you talking about? Easy listening clearly refers to tracks that provide a comfortable and peaceful atmosphere. Like light instrumental music.”
“That’s the dictionary definition.”
Even among composers, opinions on the standards of easy listening are divided.
Naturally, since Erhan comes from the hip-hop genre, he associates the elements representing hard listening with complexity, so easy listening is seen as the opposite.
Jada, like me, being an artist derived from classical music, holds the dictionary definition of easy listening itself.
It was taking the definition of easy listening at face value.
So in a way, I was one of those too.
Putting aside that dictionary meanings are all everyone’s agreement.
I think the misunderstanding arose because lately, boy idols have been releasing complicated hard listening tracks.
“Why do girl groups these days have this prejudice of all being easy listening?”
“That’s true.”
Of course, occasionally girl groups also released complicated hard listening tracks.
But it’s not just about people being unaware of that.
Even if we exclude the complicated girl group songs, there are definitely many tracks that just can’t be brushed off as easy listening.
Take, for example, songs that have their octaves shooting up high.
High notes have their own energetic flair and create high-frequency sound waves.
That inevitably means it requires much more energy from the listener compared to low tones.
‘It’s not for nothing that low tones and deep voices are comfortable.’
I also wondered if this aspect was mixed in for those who prefer male vocals.
But right now, that wasn’t the important thing.
There must be a reason people think that the opposite of complexity is easy listening.
“So when I pondered, I thought maybe catchy songs are what people nowadays call easy listening.”
“Well… that’s kind of obvious, right?”
“Yeah. I think so too, but listening to old songs made me feel like there’s a different perspective.”
What I felt while singing old songs was that the hits from the 70s to 90s were made with natural instruments, making them easier to progress, and their scales were even, allowing most people to sing them easily in karaoke.
So… what I mean is.
“I think what people nowadays call easy listening are just songs that people can easily sing along to.”
It seemed faster to demonstrate rather than explain.
I kept pressing just one black key.
*
‘… This method is nice?’
Pedro thought while listening to the simple repeated note.
The key that Do-hee was currently playing was B6b.
In C major, that’s B flat.
A high range that’s easy to sing in falsetto for both men and women.
—here-ee-ee
As if intended, Do-hee was enhancing the charm of this simple melody with a falsetto humming style layered on top of B flat.
Literally, a tune that sticks in your memory, and is easy to sing for both genders.
But of course, you also have to hear the subsequent melody.
This part is something even middle school kids can manage.
“What’s next? Is there a next?”
“Yeah, I’ve thought out a rough draft up to the chorus.”
Then Do-hee continued humming while playing the melody part with her right hand, performing the topline.
—here-ee-ee is your demon-mon-mon
—Yes, all you need-ee-ed is me, truly one
One
Considering Debonaire’s previous two titles had lyrics in line with the self-absorbed, sophisticated devil concept,
it was all built on an alluring falsetto with true two-octave lines.
The sound descending while riding the rhythm.
As the catchy chorus caught everyone’s heads nodding, everyone started to ponder what track to attach to the Topline.
*
“So, what genre do you want to do?”
Just stepping out to record the chorus for guidance, Pedro immediately asked.
Honestly, most songwriters already have a skeletal framework in mind when they think of melodies and lyrics, so it was a fair question.
The planning document that the Director handed me matched the lead perfectly.
Also, like the debut song [Debonair], it evokes a bit of retro in its genre.
At one time, it reached its heyday but faced a downturn, and by the 2010s, only one song had become a mega-hit in this genre.
Yet, it still left a significant mark in American music history and is still enjoyable for everyone, with easy-to-sing rhythms and addictive beats.
“Can we do this… in a punk style?”
The reason I deliberately broke the lyrics up like this was also considering a bit of punk rhythm.
“Punk… I grew up listening to punk too. If it’s Latin, it’s Bailey punk. Of course, Do-hee, what you’re talking about is the typical pop-punk, right?”
“Yeah, I was thinking about starting with the kick…”
Out of nowhere, Canadian singer-songwriter Lucas came back into the room holding an electric bass.
“Kick? No way! Punk always starts with the bass. Groovy sound!”
“Lucas, can you play the bass?”
“Of course. I’m originally a bassist. I learned piano later.”
Erhan, the beat maker, also strongly agreed with Lucas.
“Yeah, you have to start with the bass for punk! Let’s lay down the accompaniment that fits the chorus first. The rhythm can come later!”
Sure, experts like you guys know better about that.
And thus, the main theme work for the song officially began.
─Since the basic melody is in B-flat major, let’s start stacking chords…
─Hmm… I think this might be better than that.
─Then should we put in the Seven chord, like this?
*
Collective intelligence at its finest.
“The main theme is done. Now we need to work on the punk rhythm. Erhan.”
“With the accompaniment out, the rhythm is simple. Especially for punk.”
“Oh! But I have an opinion.”
“What is it?”
“Let’s have the bass sound played by Lucas for a nice, groovy old-school feel… and let’s use drum pad synthesizer for the drum sound! A trendy sound for doom doom tap… Oh, the doom doom kick can have that real feel, but let’s lower the pitch of the snare sound… like this…”
*
Collective intelligence at its finest.
“We’re now onto the pre-chorus…”
“But I have another opinion.”
“Again?”
Music made up of the diatonic scale—so, a song written only with white keys sounds decent no matter how you play it.
But most music absolutely requires black keys, because without them, it’s just boring.
The fundamental tonality of current music relies on half-step chords, creating and resolving tension—that’s the basic code progression.
Among them, the most famous chord progression is 2-5-1.
Just looking at last year’s hit songs, how many used the 2-5-1 chord…
Anyway, what I want to say is that it’s not just about the chords.
It’s the same for the music parts.
To create a chorus, building tension in the pre-chorus is a common pop characteristic.
“Let’s take out all the bass and drums from the pre-chorus.”
I sat down in front of the computer.
“Um… let’s use this synthesizer.”
And I played the piano.
The accompaniment for this part was simple.
Unlike the main theme’s bass riff, this was a spot where a standard chord progression would work well.
“Alright, then we can add clap sounds here.”
“So, we just need to put the melody in the pre-chorus now?”
“Oh, right, right… Oh, no, I have another idea!”
“What is it?”
“Let’s cut all the accompaniment at the end of the pre-chorus and just go with a guitar riff.”
“Sounds good? Then let’s put the guitar in the main theme for the chorus!”
“Exactly!”
“Okay, then let’s work on the pre-chorus melody…”
*
—Oh, I have another opinion!
Do-hee sat next to me, grinning all day about how great collective brainstorming was while constantly meddling with the composing program, and Pedro could only chuckle in disbelief.
“Oh, I have another opinion.”
It was our first songwriting camp, so I tried to be patient…
“What is it?”
“I think this should be part of the arrangement; I’d like to add a pause in the chorus melody before it repeats…”
Sure enough, the main chorus melody was almost entirely composed of Do-hee’s ideas by now.
“Oh, then let’s add another instrument here. It’s the same melody, but it might get boring. Since we added a guitar riff for the chorus, let’s layer another sound to make it richer. Erhan, what do you think?”
“I know a bit about beats? That might be good, but what kind? I’d say percussion.”
“Yep, percussion, definitely. But not too heavy… can you look that up? You know? Something sharp and crisp? A wooden clapper is too old-fashioned.”
More than that, every time she sat next to me, the refreshing scent—not an overwhelming perfume, but a fragrant strawberry shampoo—cleared my head.
Today was a great day for composing.
