So with that thought in mind, here are five classic songs, most of which have appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 at one point. Each song has a distinctive song intro that does two things well: 1) supports the song by setting the
mood, and 2) pulls the listener in quickly with a melodic and/or rhythmic hook.
1) “Tidal” (Imogen Heap - 2009)
This song is a very high-energy tune with a mainly electronic
accompaniment, as we find with much of Imogen Heap’s music. She could have used any bit of the chorus as a successful intro, or done something to establish the tempo and energy level we hear in most of the song. But the intro she chose is exciting in its own right: an ad lib-style cello as a starter, with reversed-sound percussive effects that fade in. It’s certainly catchy! HINT: Sometimes it’s just good to give the listener something that they weren’t expecting, for no other reason than to grab attention quickly.
2) “Moves Like Jagger” (Adam Levine, Benjamin Levin, Ammar Malik and
Shellback, recorded by Maroon 5 - 2011)
This song’s intro hook – that iconic whistle – is immediately recognizable and distinctive. It may not do what most intros do, which is to clearly set mood and overall feel, but it’s a fantastic way to start. HINT: Your hook does not need to directly relate to any melodic shapes from your song. Even if this hook didn’t get used again, it’s still a great way to start. “Smoke on the
Water” and Derek and the Dominos’ “Layla” are other great examples of
the hook-intro.
3) “SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT” (Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave
Grohl, recorded by Nirvana - 1991)
The intro for this song really establishes the mood and character of the music perfectly. If you’re looking for an intro that establishes the basic sound of a song and previews the important harmonic/rhythmic ideas of the chorus, this song is a great model to follow. An intro like this, which presents itself at the same dynamic-level (volume) as the chorus, lets the audience know that even though the verse is quiet, all hell will soon break loose. HINT: If your song pumps up the energy level, use your song intro to let listeners know what’s coming.
4) “NEW BORN” (Written and recorded by Muse - 2001)
In an opposite approach, Muse’s “New Born” uses an intro that doesn’t give any hint at all that you’ll be hearing anything other than a gentle lullaby with a peaceful keyboard accompaniment. HINT: Don’t assume that if your song is high-energy your intro must be high energy as well. A quiet intro for a
driving song can work really well.
5) “WHITER SHADE OF PALE” (Gary Brooker, Keith Reid, and Matthew
Fisher, recorded by Procol Harum - 1967)
A great intro of the countermelody type, the gorgeous melody presented by the organ has arguably become more identifiable than the actual vocal melody of the song.
For many songwriters, it seems obvious that you’ll want to create an intro for your song, but that only means you are ignoring one other option: don’t use an intro at all. While The Beatles used
intros that were interesting and longer than just a couple of bars (“Baby You’re a Rich Man”,
“Birthday” and “I am the Walrus”), they often used very short intros (“Fool on the Hill” and “I’ll Follow
the Sun”), or as mentioned earlier,
none at all: “Penny Lane”, “Hey
Jude”, “Hello, Goodbye”.
If you question whether your song’s intro is doing a good job of
supporting the rest of the song, try leaping right in at the beginning of verse 1 with no intro at all. You may find that it’s just extra clutter your song doesn’t need.
Like any other component of a song, the intro is one section that can be fun, interesting and worthwhile to experiment with. Many listeners can identify the song just by hearing those first couple of intro beats, so that should tell you a little about how
important it is to give this some serious thought. If you’re working with a band, try
different intros for the same
song, and remember: be
creative.
Not every song needs an intro.
If your intro simply takes up time without offering anything of interest to the listener, consider the value of no intro at all.
Using part of the chorus can work well as an intro.
Intros that use a melodic idea different from the verse and chorus can also work as a connector between verses.
An intro should ideally establish the mood, tempo and key of the song.
Song intros in pop music of the 21st century tend to be between 10
and 13 seconds in length.
After a long bridge section, a song intro can happen once more, strengthening the song’s structure (Van Halen: “Jump” (1983);
Genesis: “Your Own Special Way” (1976).
Hooks can work well as song intros (Chicago: “25 or 6 to 4” (1970);
ere’s something to ponder: you almost never hear a Classical composer talk about “the hook.” And that’s in spite of the fact that many of the world’s most powerful and long-lasting Classical works have musical ideas that are, in anyone’s books, built on killer hooks:
Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5”,
Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture”, Ravel’s “Bolero”, and Dvorák’s famous “Going Home” melody (as it’s come to be popularly called), from his “New World Symphony”. But despite those works and many, many more that
make good use of what anyone might call a hook, the term seems to be almost exclusively applied the composition of pop music.
There’s an important reason for this. While many musical works from the Classical era are long, pop songs are short, at least by comparison. In the world of Classical music, composers are engaged in a task of what might be called musical idea development. A composer’s job is to present musical ideas – bits of melody, chords and rhythm that form motifs – and then to build upon those motifs, creating new melodies, new harmonies and new rhythmic treatments until the work culminates in a climactic moment, as Tchaikovsky so expertly does in his “1812 Overture.” It represents a kind of
musical journey, and it’s what people usually love about Classical music. By
comparison, pop songs are short – usually anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes in length. There just isn’t the same amount of time to develop musical ideas, at least not in the same way that Classical composers can and do. So since that aspect of musical composition – “development” – is not as easily done in pop music, there needs to be something else that captivates the listener. Enter:
the hook.