29-11-2016, 07:22
It shouldn't be that hard to end a song well. The classical composers knew how to do it properly. There are well established conventions. Mostly a piece of music has to finish with a chord in the same key in which the song is written; i.e. a song in G major should end with a G major chord, and if it's a song then the final note would normally be a G, or, less commonly, a B or a D. Moreover the piece should feel as though it has come to some kind of conclusion. There might be a final drum roll; a dramatic piece might have a crescendo towards the end; a quieter piece might become softer and slow down towards the end.
Composers in the era before electronic recording HAD to end a piece properly, because they did not have the ability to fade out. Some time during the 1960s, the fade-out became popular. In the beginning this was an interesting gimmick, but it has become just a lazy way to finish a song, the ending you have when you can't make an ending. Even some of my favourite artists do it. It doesn't necessarily ruin a song, but it always makes me think "Couldn't they think of a decent conclusion?" Even Genesis did it.
Over the last decade or so I have observed a phenomenon in pop songs that I find even worse than a fade-out. the song just STOPS. No fading, but no conclusion either. The impression is that the technician simply flicked the OFF switch at that point in the song. It could have been a couple of bars earlier, or a few bars later, it would make no difference.
Some examples of rock songs that DO have a great ending:
MacArthur Park
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Bohemian Rhapsody
Light My Fire
Stairway To Heaven
Porcupine Tree's "Sleep together". It's the closing track of the album, and it finishes with a brief pause followed by a final drum roll that could be interpreted as a gunshot - someone taking their own life, perhaps.
A rare example of a fade-out that is totally appropriate is Marianne Faithfull's rendition of "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan". The ending leaves a feeling of incompleteness and unease, which is exactly in keeping with the lyrics. The impression is that, at least in her mind, she continues forever riding through Paris with the warm wind in her hair.
What are you favourite song endings? Or perhaps your least favourite?
Composers in the era before electronic recording HAD to end a piece properly, because they did not have the ability to fade out. Some time during the 1960s, the fade-out became popular. In the beginning this was an interesting gimmick, but it has become just a lazy way to finish a song, the ending you have when you can't make an ending. Even some of my favourite artists do it. It doesn't necessarily ruin a song, but it always makes me think "Couldn't they think of a decent conclusion?" Even Genesis did it.
Over the last decade or so I have observed a phenomenon in pop songs that I find even worse than a fade-out. the song just STOPS. No fading, but no conclusion either. The impression is that the technician simply flicked the OFF switch at that point in the song. It could have been a couple of bars earlier, or a few bars later, it would make no difference.
Some examples of rock songs that DO have a great ending:
MacArthur Park
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Bohemian Rhapsody
Light My Fire
Stairway To Heaven
Porcupine Tree's "Sleep together". It's the closing track of the album, and it finishes with a brief pause followed by a final drum roll that could be interpreted as a gunshot - someone taking their own life, perhaps.
A rare example of a fade-out that is totally appropriate is Marianne Faithfull's rendition of "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan". The ending leaves a feeling of incompleteness and unease, which is exactly in keeping with the lyrics. The impression is that, at least in her mind, she continues forever riding through Paris with the warm wind in her hair.
What are you favourite song endings? Or perhaps your least favourite?