Il-Woong SEO's blog: Production Tips - Analysis of Introduction

Hi,

In this post, you can find my analysis of introduction part of the songs from Michael Jacks's 4 albums.

Here's the list of albums:

Off the Wall (1979)
Thriller (1982)
Bad (1987)
Dangerous (1991)

I describe the events in the introduction part of each song on those albums. And I think it's good to have it to get inspired. Hope this would be helpful for the music producers.

Before putting the tables of analysis, I'd like to do some kind of conclusion about the types of introduction in Michael Jack's music. It could be interesting, even if his musics were made several decades ago because basically, the musical ideas stay same.

Here's the conclusion of my analysis of introduction :

1. Songs could start with a SFX

With the hit like foley or synth hits. Or abstract SFX with conversations and a passage of musics inside SFX, it could evoke theatrical (or cinematic) scenes.

2. Like a rock band

Counters work to begin the song, such as snare counter, hi-hat counter, etc.

3. Starting with the fills-in

Every instrumental family could do a fill-in. Guitar fill-in, Keyboard fill-in, Synth fill-in, String Ensemble fill-in, Brass Band fill-in, Vocal fill-in, etc. and particularly, we could use drum parts individually, like a Tom fill-in, Snare fill-in etc...

4. Chorus 0 at the beginning

We can start a song with the chorus part. Nowadays, many rap songs take that structure.

5. Heavy instrumental riff

Like traditional rock bands (it became), heavy instrumental riff in intro works very well.

6. Drum loops solo and percussion loops solo

Drum loops and percussion loops often take the very first part of the songs as a solo instrument even today.

Otherwise, at the time of his albums, the introductions were quite long. Of course, the length of tracks is incomparably longer than 2022's songs.

There's some interesting arrangement ideas from the introduction which are common with newer songs.

1. Sustain and drive

In some introductions, there's sustain drum beats and often when the verse 1 comes, it launches by changing the beat more driving. This about the speed.

2. Use of range

If there's no bass or no high range melody line at the first part of the introduction, because it prepares something fuller for the next section. Absence then fulfilling, that's the idea. This about the density (or maybe the perception).

3. Plus, today's idea

Today, there's an arrangement about the texture also by progressive filtering. At that time, I thought the fact that voice differed from the instruments was used as a new texture. Of course, this works all time and we are still digging it.

Voila, that's my conclusion. In the next part of this article, you'll find the tables of analysis.

Stay tuned for the coming articles about the music production.

Musically,

Il-Woong SEO

is South Korean singer/songwriter/producer from the band Multiphonix (www.multiphonix.com) and composer, sound designer based in Paris, France

Off the Wall (1979)