by Rene Romo

Created on: October 01, 2007

Good music is getting harder to come by these days. I personally listen to Hip-Hop, R&B, Motown Classics, 80's & 90's Pop and Rock, some alternative, some metal, and some latin music as well. Through all the genres of music there is a recipe to making good music. Allow me to tell you what I believe makes good music, good.

1. Someone who can sing, rap, scream, etc.

We all have our opinion of who can "blow" and who cannot. In any good song that you've heard it was good because you understood the lyrics. There are some exceptions like Nirvana's Teen Spirit to name one. For the most part they have to be able to sing well, clear, and concise with their delivery of the lyrics.

2. Lyrical Content

The content must be original, clever, well thought out, and connect or relate to the audience. There are songs that broke past their genres, simply because people could relate to the content of the song. Remember, although some races are more prominent in a certain genre does not mean that only that race listens to that music. Its fair to say that rap is dominated by black people. Yet their audience crosses all races nations and continents. Its fair to say country is dominated by white people. Yet many other races around the globe enjoy it. The success of creating a broad fan base is directly connected to how well the people can relate to the songs message conveyed through the lyrics.

3. The Beat, Melody, Instrumentals

The actual music makes and breaks a song. You can have the greatest lyrics ever created in history, but if the instrumentals are not up to par, it will flop. A good example in my opinion is alot of the early mainstream radio played hip-hop. The lyrics in alot of these songs are very good, very original. When it came down to the actual instrumentals, the only word I can think to describe it is cheesy, or exaggerated. If you recall Jay-Z's early HIP-POP radio song with Babyface called "Sunshine". Many people in the mainstream loved it. Those who knew Jay-Z's previous works ridiculed him. The lyrics were quality. Yet the instrumentals caused it to be a flop amongst his biggest fan base, the hip-hop community.

4. Originality, and talent.

I hear alot of "Remixes" and "Re-Makes" going around these days. Although I don't object to reviving a classic song, or even reviving a song that wasn't really a hit, so to speak. I find that people who do this are out to sell records, by cutting their creativity short and using something that has already been proven to sell and create revenue. The best Grammy winning songs are either, totally original, or an original creative twist on an old song. Kanye West's first hit single, "Through the Wire" was a remake of an older song that wasn't quite as popular, but still recognized as a decent song. Not only did he put his own lyrics and creativity into the song, but he revived the original artist that created it in the first place. Aside from the money it generated, but the older fan base was revitalized in the process.

There are many more smaller factors that lead to the success of a song. Advertising, promoting, quality recording, mixing, volume leveling, etc. We must realize ourselves what it is that makes a song good. Is it good because everyone else likes it? Is it good because its #1 on a rating chart? Is it good because it sells and makes tremendous revenue? I think music is good when the 4 ingredients I listed are present.

Learn more about this author, Rene Romo.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.