Elements of Pop Music
- "Pop" is the abbreviation for "Popular," which nicely sums up what is in the very core of pop music. This is the music that attracts a huge audience and also the music which sets out to do so from the get-go. Being underground or developing a sub-culture is never on the agenda of pop music, because music can only be pop if a lot of people know it and ackwnoledge it. For this reason, pop music is usually not very complexly structured, has a catchy hook and simple lyrics to sing along to. Pop music is the music in the charts.
- The creation of pop music is often based on recording and production. Sounds and samples are created with the help of computers and even the vocals are sometimes modified beyond recognition. Critics of modern day pop claim that today's singers don't even need to know how to sing anymore, because the heavy emphasis the music industry puts on post-production of songs.
- Because pop music sets out to capture the ears and hearts of the masses, it isn't the most innovative among genres. As a rule of thumb, pop songs usually include elements that have already been used in the past, because such elements have already proved they work for other songs. Sometimes they may put a new spin on them, but most of pop tends to lack creative imagination and is a reproduction of itself.
- Pop songs in addition to having a catchy melody also tend to have a fairly simple beat structure. The fast paced pop songs are generally intended for dancing and therefore have a dance-oriented beat, which at the same time provokes dancing and is easy to move to. In a similar manner, slow pop songs also tend to have a very steady and simple beat.
