What makes a melody catchy?

Most composers strive for catchy melodies but is there some objective, identifiable truth behind catchiness? Can it be explained in terms of say harmonic theory?

Some may argue it'd be just a matter of personal taste but I I don't think this argument is sufficient:

Take for example the Beatle's song "Yesterday", everybody - Beatles fan or not - can hum the melody after hearing the song for the first time (I experienced it myself). One exposition to the melody and its carved into people's brains while lots of other songs won't be remembered even after hearing them several times.

I also noticed, that many famous melodys have some VERY simple chord progressions behind them (like A-F-G) so there appears to be a connection behind catchiness and (harmonic) simplicity but its difficult for me to pinpoint it, as I'm not theoretically schooled.

Anyone here who could shed some light on this?

Thanx in advance.

Stoertebeker

I donno, I find a lot of things catchy that are harmonically very complex, or very quickly moving parts. A lot of catchiness has to do with rhythm rather than harmonies. Notes played without a rhythm can't be catchy, but a rhythm can be catchy without notes.

not really sure.. ive wondered this myself.

seems to me, what makes something catchy is either a talented musician writing it. or someone willing to rip off a talented musician. recent catchy music tends to be the latter, as most everything seems to have been done before at this point. but there are still some gems out there

Personally i think it all happens in the first 15 seconds of any song .... that first line is the money line. Somthing better happen thats great in that first 15 seconds or a song is DOA .....Some i am sure wont agree ,,,....but generally i think that is a very valid concept....... rat

I would agree on this primacy effect but what exactly is it that makes certain lines memorable? Can it be explained in terms of music theory?

Do those lines share certain characteristics, i.e. use of certain intervalls, certain rythmic structures and so on?

There are 2 key parts to creating interesting music. First is tension, the other being using the unexpected.

By throwing in that unexpected note or chord change, or even using a weird rhythmic change you can catch the listener off-guard, and if used properly, such a change provokes "wow, that was so cool, lemme hear it again".

Tension on the other hand, can be predictable, but is still effective. That's why a lot of simple songs are catchy, they build and release tension in a way that grabs the listener's attention.

a strong hook

I think it can be explained in theory. I'm reading the Idiots guide to MT and basically it is tension and release, question and answer, and definitely the unexpected notes that make it catchy.

Rhythm always makes something more or less catchy.

But if you have a melody and let's say it's four bars. The 1st and 3rd might be identical notes. The second bar will have a different note progression than the 4th. Although maybe the 2nd and 4th are almost the same, like the first 3 quarter notes are the same but the last note is different for the 2nd and 4th. Or maybe the 2nd has 2 quaters and a half, while the 4th has a whole.

It's just different notes that make it unexpected. I know that sounds simple. If your wondering if a 5th or 7th note will make a melody more memorable, well I think that would probably depend on how your melody goes.

The best note while I was reading was, that melodies and music in general are an Art. To me that means that there might not be certain characteristics for a good melody, but there might still be.

It would help to look at what keys the music with the A-F-G progressions you mentioned are in. Then maybe by disecting a melody you might find an answer that way.

I wish I knew

I would also think that movement from a couple notes, specific intervals might make a melody catchy. Anyone know what are some good ones? Remember it's the combo of rhythm and melody that does it.

Read "The songwriting secrets of the Beatles" 500 pages it

I think the simples way to a catchy melody is to use I-IV and I-IV-V chord changes. Those progressions have been used in so many Western pop/rock songs it's pretty amazing.

I also like I-vi-IV-V (where vi is a minor chord), i.e. C -- A minor -- F -- G. That's also pretty common, lots of doo wop songs relied on that one.

Almost anything can be catchy. I hate the idea that it is somehow mystical, but I think that it is somehow indefinable. Anyway, catchy is far too subjective to assign a formula to it.