• Registered: 2015-07-31
  • Posts: 2,730

Topic: Two Or Three Minute Song.

Recently in conversation about music people have been talking about the length of songs many saying two to three minutes should be the max. To me that's like saying I've got a short attention span and can't take any more. I really think that songs length doesn't matter as long as it fits with what it's trying to say. Recently I listened to Bob Dylan's , Murder Most Fowl which I think is a brilliant epilogue to President Kennedys assassination. Many say it is a silly rant that takes too long but to me it tells it well and the length is appropriate. I suppose with Bob you either hate or love him. What do you think. For me Bobs song Murder Most Fowl  is more than just a song about the killing of President Kennedy,  To me it is also a 17 minute piece about the passing of an era and a time in history that many around my age grew up in. 

  • From: Wellington New Zealand
  • Registered: 2010-03-24
  • Posts: 1,347

Re: Two Or Three Minute Song.

I used to get bad comments if i did a 2.10 min song,a lot of people cant think out of the box.
They think a song is verse, chorus  3.00 mins etc
well i guess if you are trying to write a hit this may be the case.but if you are telling a story
well it takes as long or not as it takes.
its a bit like looking at a painting and saying the creator you`ve used too much red.
of course we all have different preferences and opinions.     

The King Of Audio Torture
  • From: The Land Of Song
  • Registered: 2007-12-10
  • Posts: 5,649

Re: Two Or Three Minute Song.

Take the Beatles...Love me do; 2.19 mins. Hey Jude...7.00 mins + .Hey Jude no 1, Love me do barely made the top 20! Fact is if you like a record you'll buy it or listen to it. Songs with a load of fillers at the end as in Hey Jude annoy me no end. If a song gives a story to the last chord...great, even though I love the song Hotel California with it's extended solo's at the end get me yawning. When I do it I just do 2 verses of solo then end with the chorus so the audience doesn't get bored. Disco songs are rife with fillers, I've never liked disco much.     

Ask not what Chordie can do for you, but what you can do for Chordie.

Phill Williams's Website

  • Registered: 2015-07-31
  • Posts: 2,730

Re: Two Or Three Minute Song.

Phill

There is a lot of music out there. Fighting my way through all  those different genres means I can’t really nowadays call myself a folky a rocker or whatever. One genre I can’t get into when I am at home is disco. There have been times when my brain has been at half mast after a few strong beverages that I have hit the dance floor. Now that is not a pretty sight me dancing even worse is I have been spotted partying and dancing to disco music.

EB

I think people writing songs who are chasing a hit on popular outlets like  radio rely too much on tried and true formulas or get stuck in the trendy commercial thing decided by marketers. That is why I don’t listen to radio much in recent times.