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Songs that start with vocals right at the intro?


davie

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What do you guys think about a song in which the vocals start right away at the beginning of the song?

 

What kind of effect do you think this has on the song or listening experience?

 

When do you think its appropriate do to this? Or when would this kinda thing be awkward sounding/feeling?

 

Song examples of this?

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I love starting songs like that - I don't think it makes a song any better or worse than other types of intros, but I find when I just start a song jumping in with the verse it helps keep the whole work tight and concise.

 

When it's done right it can rally inject the piece with a lot of energy too.

 

Like in these popular songs:

Hound Dog - Elvis, maybe the most famous song with abrupt vocal intro.

Blowin in the Wind, Bob Dylan - another one.

Drain You - Nirvana

On a Plain - Nirvana

Elderly Woman - Pearl Jam

Hey Ya - OutCast (1, 2, 3, ...)

Crazy - by Gnarles Barkley - although its arguable with that three beat bass intro, which is actually pretty close to Hey Ya.

 

She Loves You - Beatles, although intro on Chorus might be a seperate catogory...

 

A lot of great Beatles Songs are Like this, though. Either Chorus First or right into verses:

Eleanor Rigby

Hey Jude

Julia

Can't Buy Me Love

 

Black Dog - Zeppelin, although pure vocal intro could be another category... in which you'd place Add it Up By Violent Femmes..

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I think it can be pretty effective as a hook if you've got the right phrase. It's usually an instant attention grabber -- but it can be hard to get right, as well. Sometimes just a syllable or two of bare vocal out in front is what it takes to get past a slam bang start awkwardness. Since a lot of songs have melodies that can be seen as borrowing a few notes/syllables from the previous bar, sometimes that works out very nicely.

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I think it can be pretty effective as a hook if you've got the right phrase. It's usually an instant attention grabber -- but it can be hard to get right, as well. Sometimes just a syllable or two of bare vocal out in front is what it takes to get past a slam bang start awkwardness. Since a lot of songs have melodies that can be seen as borrowing a few notes/syllables from the previous bar, sometimes that works out very nicely.

 

 

yeah that's exactly what i had in mind.

i got 2 syllable notes from a previous bar then the other instruments come in

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I was thinking about it afterwords, and I agree with what B2B said - I think this sort of thing probably only makes sense if you have a killer hook.

 

I mean, all of those Beatles songs that start abruptdly, they just open up with in with those fabulous hooks - it's kind of startling. If you have a killer melody hook, leading with it rather than building up to it is an interesting strategy. A lot of hit songs do that.

 

THe thing about the Beatles, though, was that they had so many good ideas that they could fill a song with like, four or five hooks - they'd drop four bars of the catchiest {censored} ever that lesser writers would build entire song around. Another good Example is "Hello/Goodbye" - that song's kind of grating but that "YOU SAY YES!!!" leaps right out and the rest of the song is like a bullet-train of hooks: HEllo Hello! !!

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THe thing about the Beatles, though, was that they had so many good ideas that they could fill a song with like, four or five hooks - they'd drop four bars of the catchiest {censored} ever that lesser writers would build entire song around. Another good Example is "Hello/Goodbye" - that song's kind of grating but that "YOU SAY YES!!!" leaps right out and the rest of the song is like a bullet-train of hooks: HEllo Hello! !!

Yeah... I was gonna say... when you're the Beatles, you can afford to lead with a hook -- because you were probably going to have all kinds of other enticing little things (at least in their best stuff) that would equally qualify as a hook.

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