Song Appeal

How much does it really matter which key a song uses? In this episode, 8-bit Music Theory, Ongaku Concept, and Ian Straehley help us learn how the "Lost Woods" theme uses the sound of Lydian to give us a feeling of optimistic anxiety. You can find the full transcript for this episode, the shownotes, and a link to hear the song at SongAppealOfficial.com/LostWoods. You can help support this show on Patreon at Patreon.com/SongAppeal. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal

When we’re listening to a song, how much does the tune’s structure really matter? In this episode, Bryn Hughes and Anja Cui help us dive into a classic music psychology experiment to show why we like "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston. You can find the full transcript for this episode, the shownotes, and a link to hear the song at SongAppealOfficial.com. You can help support this show on Patreon at Patreon.com/SongAppeal. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal

How does "Mr. Brightside" keep its melody interesting while staying on the same note? Learn how in this episode, with the help of Bryn Hughes, Jeremiah Tabb (from the Hype Harmony podcast), and Matthew Scott Phillips (from the Music Student 101 podcast). You can find the full transcript for this episode, the shownotes, and a link to hear the song at SongAppealOfficial.com/MrBrightside. You can help support this show on Patreon at Patreon.com/SongAppeal, where you'll find great perks, including the full versions of the interviews that were used in this episode. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal

Why do we like "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies? In this finale to Season 2, we wrap up and expand the last few episodes of this season by take a look at how "One Week" gives us novel tunes, then familiar tunes, so it can take advantage of the fluency heuristic to make us like the song more. You can find the full transcript for this episode, references, and a link to hear the song at SongAppealOfficial.com/OneWeek. You can help support this show on Patreon at Patreon.com/SongAppeal. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal

Why do we like "Demons" by Imagine Dragons? In this episode, we take a look at how the melody focuses on false sequences to create a sense of relative novelty, and how relative novelty makes a song more memorable. You can find the full transcript for this episode, references, and a link to hear the song at SongAppealOfficial.com/Demons. You can help support this show on Patreon at Patreon.com/SongAppeal. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal

Why do we like "Silent Night"? In this episode, we'll take a look at how silences make music more enjoyable. You can find the full transcript for this episode, references, and a link to hear the song at SongAppealOfficial.com/SilentNight. You can help support this show on Patreon at Patreon.com/SongAppeal. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal

Why do we like "What Child Is This?" In this episode, we'll take a look at how the song changes its brightness and what makes a song bright or dark. You can find the full transcript for this episode, references, and link to hear the song at SongAppealOfficial.com/WhatChildIsThis. You can help support this show on Patreon at Patreon.com/SongAppeal. Special thanks to 12tone for their help with this episode. If you like Song Appeal, you'll definitely like 12tone's YouTube videos. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal

Why do we like "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town"? In this episode, we'll take a look at what sequences are, how they're used in this song, and how they fuse familiarity and novelty so we can get the benefits of both. You can find the full transcript for this episode, the shownotes, and a link to hear the song at SongAppealOfficial.com/Santa. You can help support this show on Patreon at Patreon.com/SongAppeal. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal

What makes "Life & Death" sad? And why do we like sad music? In this episode, we'll take a look at how our minds learn that certain music represents certain ideas, and we'll look at how our brains respond to the mediant chord, the minor third, and a good controlled cry. Special thanks to David Rosen and Brea Murakami for their help with this episode. You can find the full transcript for this episode, the shownotes, and a link to hear this theme at SongAppealOfficial.com/Lost. You can help support this show on Patreon at Patreon.com/SongAppeal, where you'll find some great perks, including the full interview with Brea Murakami. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal

Why do we like "Stay" by Zedd and Alessia Cara? In this episode, we'll take a look at how the song repeated itself to trigger the mere exposure effect without needing to be played over and over. You can find the transcript for this episode, the shownotes, and a link to hear the song at SongAppealOfficial.com/Stay. You can help support this show on Patreon at Patreon.com/SongAppeal. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal

Why do we like "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon? In this episode, we'll take a look at how what this song does to make its title line more memorable through a principle called the "Von Restorff effect". You can find the full transcript for this episode, the shownotes, and a link to hear the song at SongAppealOfficial.com/ShutUpAndDance. You can help support Song Appeal at Patreon.com/SongAppeal. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal

Why is The Twilight Zone theme scary? In this episode, we'll take a look at what each interval in the song does to us psychologically to musically represent the feeling of being stuck in a living nightmare, with some help from Jeremiah Tabb, the host of the Hype Harmony podcast. You can find the full transcript for this episode, the shownotes, and a link to hear the theme at SongAppealOfficial.com/TheTwilightZone. You can help support Song Appeal on Patreon at Patreon.com/SongAppeal. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal

What makes the Halloween theme unsettling? In this episode, we'll take a look at a few of the psychological effects of 5/4 time. You can find the full transcript for this episode, the shownotes, and a link to hear the theme at SongAppealOfficial.com/Halloween. We just reached our first Patreon goal, so I'll be putting up the most requested episode pretty soon. You can send in your requests over Twitter (@SongAppeal) or over Facebook by searching for Song Appeal. You can also support this show on Patreon at Patreon.com/SongAppeal. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal

Why is the theme from Friday the 13th scary? In this episode, we'll take a look at the psychology and linguistics behind why "ki ki ki" sounds dangerous and evil. You can find the full transcript for this episode, the shownotes, and a link to hear the theme at SongAppealOfficial.com/FridayThe13th. You can also support this show on Patreon at Patreon.com/SongAppeal. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal

What makes the Jaws theme scary? In this episode, we'll dive into how leitmotifs, low notes, accelerandos, and dissonance combine to make us feel like the shark is going to attack. You can find the full transcript for this episode, the shownotes, and a link to hear the song at SongAppealOfficial.com/Jaws. You can also support Song Appeal on Patreon at Patreon.com/SongAppeal. Support Song Appeal by donating to the tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songappeal