These last article have been focusing on broad macro concepts of sonic branding, but let’s zoom in for a second:
What makes an ear worm?

 

What exactly is it that makes a jingle stick in your head?

 

Let’s explore some concepts that all add up to making a piece of sonic branding unforgettable

 
Repetition:

It’s what makes all great orators great.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”

 

“Ask not what your country can do, ask what you can do for your country.”

“Women’s rights are human rights, and human rights are women’s rights.”

 

All of these famous speeches follow a pattern of repetition. There are winning patterns of repetition that you see in all works of art and music is no different. In fact even the standard pop format of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge is a winning pattern of repetition.

 

Repetition is the most important factor in an ear worm because it is what turns sound into music, and what turns music into that nonstop jukebox in your head.


Pentatonic Scale:

The pentatonic scale is the most used scale in music. It is a five-note scale (penta meaning five) and it is ANCIENT. Bone flutes were found in Greece dating back more than 50,000 years, all tuned to the pentatonic scale. If you remember our last email, the world’s most famous jingle “I’m Loving It” is indeed also using the pentatonic scale. It is a scale that lives deep inside of us, so deep that we can sing it without even being aware of it. Don’t believe us, watch Bobby Mcferrin demonstrate. Great utilization of the pentatonic scale can make songs and melodies live inside of us.

Tension and resolution.

In every great story, a character has to be confronted with a problem, overcome it, and come out differently on the other side. Music is the same, and in every great song, melodies and chords have to go through a journey and come out changed on the other side.

 We call this tension and resolution in music theory.

We call chords that aren’t pleasing to the ear “dissonant,” and these chords create “tension.” We call chords that are pleasing to the ear “consonant,” and these chords create “resolution.

 

Having a dissonant chord resolve to a consonant chord is the musical equivalent of the heroic knight slaying the dragon and saving the princess.

 

We humans crave resolution, and this is a powerful way to satisfy a listener’s cravings very quickly and effectively.

 

Listen to master Duke Ellington create simple tensions and resolutions in this solo piano piece written for Queen Elizabeth II.


Dynamics,

Great orators have a way of quieting themselves down to make you listen more carefully and then hitting you with a big boisterous message as loud as possible.

 

This same technique can be used very successfully in sonic branding.

 

The best example is THX, the movie theater sound system company. It starts off very quietly and then becomes ear-shatteringly loud to show you the power of their sound systems. However, if it didn’t start quietly and make you listen in on the sounds, the epic finish wouldn’t have been epic at all.

 

Combine these elements thoughtfully and creatively and you might just end up with an ear worm.

At Spacist Productions we are super passionate about creating sonic branding that lasts.

 

Feel free to chat with us about how your sounds can make an impact on your customers.


Talk soon!!