3am vs Daisies
Matchbox 20 vs Justin Bieber
When I make these mash-ups, I usually go into the studio with the idea of what I want to do. Sometimes, like the Viva La Pimpin mash, they are ones I’ve been doing live for years; sometimes they’re random ideas that pop into my head while listening to music; sometimes, like the Bruno Mars vs Leo Sayer mash-up, they are just begging to be made. Either way, they generally still take some/tons of love when I’m in the studio. I might need to edit sections of songs because the structure doesn’t work- like one song has a bridge, or no pre-chorus, or a less-than-standard bar count for the verse or chorus, or both.
Most pop songs today follow the same structure-
Intro 4 bars
verse 8 bars
pre-chorus 4 bars
chorus 8 bars
verse 8 bars
pre-chorus 4 bars
chorus 8 bars
bridge 8 bars
chorus/outro 16 bars ish
Did you know that most pop songs pre-2000s had a double verse before the first pre-chorus?
Ok. I’ve just gone down a total rabbit hole about song structure and when it changed, and am now listening to Ella Fitzgerald’s version of “Blue Moon” to hear an example of the “AABA” form. Where there isn’t really a “chorus” the way we expect it today, but more of a main melody that we begin with(A), repeat(A), stray from(B), and then return to(A). As in Blue Moon, Yesterday & I Want to Hold Your Hand by The Beatles, Over The Rainbow, basically most of the early “pop” songs pre-1960s followed this form. Music nerds, don’t come at me with examples of songs that counter this statement, obviously there are exceptions, but the pop music shift from AABA to what we are used to now took place as rock n roll entered the picture and slowly but surely we got to where we are now which is “don’t bore us, get to the chorus!”
So AABA, then verse verse pre-chorus chorus verse pre-chorus chorus bridge chorus outdo- to mostly what we have today, which is verse pre-chorus chorus verse pre-chorus chorus chorus chorus- sometimes a bridge/guitar solo in between choruses. Remember guitar solos?
Or if we are lucky, since hip hop entered the chat, we get a “feature” where the bridge used to be.
That said, even though the keys are the same and the tempos are close it took a little tweaking to get Justin Bieber’s vocals to work over the 3 am instrumental.
3 am
Key A flat major
Tempo 108
Daisies
Key A flat major
Tempo 110
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
If you feel so obliged, opt for the paid subscription and get the full song download below! It sounds much better, trust me! Bonus - none of my chattering over the song!
