I do love me some Jason Mraz. I think he's super talented as a writer, a musician and a live performer. And I feel this way in spite of not being a teen girl.
"I'm Yours," one of his new-ish tunes, is fun, cute, and catchy, and uses a pair of hooks as well as a couple of other non-hook devices that I think are useful in songwriting.
First off is the beautifully simple chorus.
Hear the hook: I'm Yours chorus MP3 -- easy to sing along Copyright info
How can this not get stuck in your head? How can you not want to sing along to this? Though the verses are slow by Mraz's standards (his patter can be frenetic), note how much more this chorus is slowed down and simplified, with one syllable per beat. Plus there's repetition in "no more, no more," in case you need that extra little cue to help you sing along.
In true Mraz form, the melody of the second verse is totally different from the first. At the risk of sounding like I have a man crush on him (OK, maybe I do), I wonder if he's simply too musically gifted and adventurous to lock into a single melody for a whole song.
Hear the hook: I'm Yours MP3 -- alternate melody
Note that, once again, there's a bit of repetition here ("love, love, love, love") that's easy to remember, and easy to sing along with.
I probably wouldn't have singled out this second clip, except that it comes into play in the third example I want to give:
Hear the hook: I'm Yours MP3 -- the breakdown and counterpoint
Here Mraz does two things that I've been wanting to cover: the breakdown and counterpoint. (Side note: In spite of earlier comments I've made, I don't think either of these is truly a hook -- I think they're songwriting or arranging devices. I'd argue that they are effective tools in writing a hit song, but on the premise that a hook is something immediately memorable, I'm not sure breakdowns and counterpoint qualify. Disagree? Agree? I could use your help here. Please comment.)
Anyway, the breakdown: he drops the guitar out of the already simple song and just sings it, one syllable at a time, with the talented Toca Rivera on harmony.
Then the counterpoint: the chorus is repeated by Rivera, while Mraz goes off on that alternate melody we heard in the second verse.
I think breakdowns work because simplicity is engaging -- it encourages participation by stripping away the excess parts of the song and giving the audience a singular thing to focus on and join in on.
And I think counterpoint works because people with musical inclinations (whether they're karaoke singers or trained musicians) like something a little more complicated to sink their teeth into. This goes totally against my premise that simplicity is a hallmark of a good hook. If you can help me clarify my thinking here, please comment.
So then, Jason Mraz's lessons for the day:
- an ultra-simple chorus makes for something you want to sing along with (hook)
- repetition = hook-y
- breakdowns make the sing-along instinct stronger (maybe not a hook)
- counterpoints add a good layer of complexity to a simple song (probably not a hook)
As always, please comment below with your thoughts. Today I'm asking for recommendations on th eBest Musical Breakdown of all time.
Songwriters, it's your turn: In the comments, add links to songs of your own that feature musical breakdowns, counterpoints, or sing-along choruses.
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