Musical Analysis: Hooks don’t lie.
A few weeks ago I wrote a post about what hooks are and how they are used in music production to catch people through sounds or sticky phrases, which come from existing songs that might had have some success or not. I mentioned that this is a very effective method because they use sounds or phrases that are very good, but in addition to the use of such resources, the musical producers play with nostalgia, which makes a perfect mix. With this hook, they force you in a subtle way to fall in love with a new song using sounds from the past.
What some consider a vile deception, others consider it their golden opportunity, and this is why I have returned with my Musical Analysis section, with a new hook that is quite particular and that many people may recognize easily, but others, I'm not pretty sure. It's not my intention to seem arrogant, it has nothing to do with it, I promise. It's just the fact that the song to which I will break it down in parts today applied a resource of a song raised for a very particular and reduced market, to sell a new song to a bigger and more popular market, where there was an important factor that allowed the song to be a total success.
On this occasion, I want to develop an analysis based on the song Hips Don't Lie, by the famous Shakira.
)Here is the video for you to listen to:
Hips Don’t Lie, Shakira (2005).
As I said, Shakira and her group of producers decided to make a big bet on a huge and popular market: The Pop Market. They decided to use purely Latin resources in a fairly Latin song to try to hit the huge Pop market. Result: a total and resounding success.
It's always easier for people to listen to the music they place on radios or in nightclubs, and if this kind of music has quite sticky rhythms with which people can dance and enjoy to the fullest, that music hits higher in the rankings of sales and popularity. Besides this, Latin music tends to like a lot in countries where this genre is not as well known or common. That is why Salsa, Merengue, or Reggaeton are genres that have caused a great scramble worldwide.
If you want to know my opinion about Reggaeton and other musical genres mentioned, let me know in the comments section!
For that reason I think that Shakira made a big bet, and I found it quite curious that she used a hook that not many will really know, because as I mentioned before, Latin music is not common in European, Asian, African countries. That's why I'll announce the hook that Shakira used for her song ... From Jerry Rivera, the song Amores Como El Nuestro:
Amores Como El Nuestro, Jerry Rivera (1992).
I think it's quite obvious what was the origin of the hook of which I'm referring to. It is the trumpets and trombones that sound at the beginning, and that make up the most important melodic phrase in the song of the niño de la salsa, Jerry Rivera.
For many people, the use of such a resource may be frowned upon, but for others it is simply phenomenal. Can you imagine to find in a song by Shakira the melodic phrase of "Amores Como El Nuestro"? ... SIMPLY AMAZING . That will take you back to childhood, to the moments lived in the past, when maybe you danced that song with some boyfriend / girlfriend and you were in love.
That is why:
Hook + Nostalgia = Perfect Mix.
Besides the aforementioned hook, I would dare to say that Shakira also based the harmonic basis of her song on Jerry Rivera's song. Although both songs are in different keys, I mention this because the harmonic progression of Hips Don't Lie is the same as Amores Como El Nuestro, except that in this song the chords changes are faster than on the other, plus they add some additional chords "as to disguise" the presence of the hook.
This is how a hook can serve as a link to success, and how it can lead us to feel attraction almost instantly. But, all this should always happen under the legal margins...
Although it's true that there is the figure of "Payment for royalties", or payments for "Copyright", it's inevitable to think that the literal use of a fragment of an existing song is indeed a vile plagiarism. In the rules of plagiarism the following is contemplated: when there are more than 4 to 7 similar measures between one song and another, this can be considered plagiarism. And this rule really applies to music in general, but if we take it to melodic phrases it becomes much more evident since the melodic phrases correspond to what a voice could sing, and there is no way in which you use the same notes without trying to say the same phrase, unless you make a variation of it and then it can go a little more unnoticed.
Regarding my analysis of Hips Don’t Lie, there was a need to investigate a little ... And I found that Jerry Rivera and Shakira did have legal problems, so we could consider that Shakira never paid him for his original composition rights. In addition to the problem with Mr. Rivera, Shakira has been accused of plagiarism for several of her successful songs, which has been a huge disappointment to me.
Source
Unfortunately, I couldn't find any english version of the press, but here is the spanish version of the press release, by the newspaper El País. Click Here.
So, do you think that the use of an existing melodic phrase could be considered only as a hook, or could it also be considered plagiarism? What do you think about it?
If you liked my post or if you have any suggestions, don’t hesitate to comment!
Until a next post!
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I loved the title of the post! haha. Well, I personally think this particular use of the hook was waaaay too obvious. Specially coming from a latinamerican background, it seems evident to me that Shakira and her producers knew the effect the song would have and the way in which nostalgia would play a big role in the song's possible success. And they were right. What I fail to comprehend is why they didn't stop to think that the way they were appealing to the public witht he use of the hook would be considered plagiarism. I'm torn. I think it kinda is? Because I have not read about her admitting that she used the exact same melodic phrase of Jerry Rivera's... and let's face it, it's a very characteristic melody to be confused with something else (or to be "invented" in the exact same way/sound by someone else). On the other hand, if this had happened let's say 20 years ago, the discussion about copyright would be completely different...
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