Finding the Groove

Get In The Groove.
Are you finding the groove? There are a lot of definitions about what exactly constitutes a song’s groove. Some will discuss the accentuation of different beats within the rhythm. Others will talk about an ephemeral feel of a song that can’t be exactly quantified.

For all practical purposes, I’ve found that the best definition of a song’s groove is: “Does it make you tap your toe, nod your head, and want to dance? If so, its got a good groove.” Not exactly the most scientific definition, but perfectly serviceable.

Writing A Groovy Song
The basis of groove has been part of your life for a long time. Remember nursery rhymes when you were younger? Every one of those had a groove to them.

You won’t find dance floors packed with people dancing along to “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” but the fundamentals of groove are in the nursery rhyme.

One of the best ways to determine whether or not a song has a good groove is to simply play it and then observe your body’s reactions.

After starting into a groove, does your body lock into a rhythm that wants to continue on it’s own? If so, then you are finding the groove.

Different Grooves For Different Styles
Listen to some hardcore metal music and then listen to some Motown R&B. Each of these genres has a groove, but they are decidedly different from one another. Each genre has certain aspects to it that requires a variation of groove.

Metal and Motown may seem miles apart, but check out live performances of both types of music and you’ll see people moving their bodies in time with the music. One audience may be head-banging while the other is slow dancing, but the concept is the same. They are finding the groove.

A First Impression
A lot of songwriters consider the first line of the lyrics to be the first impression an audience gets of a song. Unless the lyrics start before any of the music does, this is not true.

As said before, the concepts of rhythm and groove have been instilled in us from a young age and has continued to be an influential part of our lives through the music we listen to.

But if the groove of your song is off, then people will stop listening long before you get to the first verse.

When writing a groove, try not to get too technical.
Remember that while you may have years of training in music, odds are your audience does not. This is one of the reasons that modern jazz is not hugely popular.

Jazz music is the exploration of the ins and outs of music, and that includes the ins and outs of rhythm. Some jazz songs are a bit out there as far as rhythm is concerned, and as a result, the audience loses touch with the music and is therefore uninterested.

That’s not to say that jazz is bad, in fact there are a lot of very groovy jazz musicians out there, but if you walk into an avante garde jazz performance, you’ll hear music that was meant to be heard mainly through the mind.

Listen to the blues, R&B, rock, funk, etc. and you’ll hear body that is meant to be heard through the body. The ideas of groove could be talked about for pages upon pages, but it all boils down to two simple things: does it make you want to move? and does it make your audience want to move? If so, you are finding the groove.

Accomplish those two things and you’ve got a groovy song. If you’re having trouble locking into that groove try to vary the timing, add syncopation, add or drop a beat from a line, or speed up or slow down the tempo. Your own experience and reactions are the best teachers of solid groove.

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