Creating the Itch: The Lasting Power of the Jingle

They’ve been around for as long as radio and advertising have existed. They are messages put to music; a clever way to tuck a targeted message inside a pleasurable tune. They’re jingles, or “rhymes or sounds in a catchy, repetitive format,” according to Mirriam-Webster’s Dictionary. Yeah, catchy and repetitive like a worm in your brain. It’s an ear worm, and if you’ve ever tried to dislodge one, you know how persistent they can be. Ever hear of a little ditty called “filet-o-fish,” courtesy of the McDonalds Corporation? You can thank me at 2:30am, when you’re desperate to fall asleep against an onslaught of singing large-mouth bass and the smell of fryer oil. You’re welcome.

The jingle’s power is in the slippery nature of the ear worm, and the chemistry between beat and brain is why the jingle has maintained its strong presence in advertising since the 1920s. Not every song has the power to be a worm – there are 3 qualities to a piece of music that increase its chance of gnawing away inside your mind for hours and days: Repetition, Musical Simplicity, and Incongruity. If the melody is one that repeats itself several times within the song’s length, your brain catches on to it like a child learns the alphabet – or a dog learns a trick. Repetition is biology’s education, which brings us to the quality of Musical Simplicity. Complicated compositions are, well, complicated and therefore our brain must work harder to memorize them. Simple rhymes and lyrics, however, are the key to idea-planting. Repeat the same simple sound 4 times in a row. Then, read a sentence aloud 4 times in a row. Observe which material is still in your memory bank later today, or even tomorrow. Here’s a hint, or shortcut for those who choose not to participate in the group activity with the rest of the class: It will be the simple repetition that wins over the sentence.

Finally, a musical piece with Incongruity is more likely to get “stuck” in your head than one that fits neatly into an automatic musical package. The brain abhors a puzzle – that is, a puzzle that has not been solved. Your mental biology will automatically try to fill in the intellectual vacuum. This is why, when your most annoying friend sings the first line of “It’s a Small World,” your mind starts a race to the finish of the song and you can’t do much about it. This is when you make a mental note to hum the melody of the Gilligan’s Island title song in your most annoying friend’s ear, as soon as possible. Incongruity also applies to a song that doesn’t stick to a predictable framework. Lyrics that emphasize one word, unpredictable melodies, and irregular musical timing all contribute to the likelihood that a song will burrow into your brain. Again: your brain hates an unsolved puzzle and will deliberately try to mimic the music and its exact irregularity. Your brain wants to work to hit those incongruities and to make sense of it all. It’s like a game of catch for your mind. This is part of why foreign languages are most easily learned, besides immersion, by listening to music in that language. Your brain wants to understand the lyrics and make sense of the song; the repetition of the music helps you remember the lyrics, so your brain can practice them over and over.

Let’s put these three qualities together, to illustrate why music works so well in advertising – and why the radio jingle will never die. If a song is repetitive, simple, and a part of it catches you off guard, you (the lucky listener) are doomed to repeat it to yourself. The filet-o-fish song is still in your head from when I mentioned it earlier, isn’t it? If not, don’t worry – I’ll put it back. “Give me that filet-o-fish, give me that fish…” uses a melody and lyrics that are almost painfully simple. Then, the song takes a strange and musically-uncomfortable turn. The catchy tune switches to what can only be described as a ridiculous time signature and lyrics that are so awkwardly-written that they sound like intentional kitsch. “What if it were you hanging up on this wall? If it were you in this sandwich you wouldn’t be laughing at all!” It’s annoying. It hurts my brain, but I can’t get it out. It makes me want a filet-o-fish, plain, with just ketchup.

Sources & Helpful Articles:
http://onlinewritingplaces.blogspot.com/2010/03/freelance-writing-101-why-you-should.html
http://www.uc.edu/news/kellaris.htm
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jingle
http://www.markethold.com

Share

So You Wanna Answer a Voice Over Ad.

As with any professional position, a call for voice over talent is a request for responsible talent.  A call for voice over talent is not a come-on-down-for-fun-times request.  Voice over artistry is not something that anyone can do.  It is, however, something that many people think they can do.  Anyone can cover a wall with paint – not everyone is a paint artist.

Here are some points to consider when responding to a classified ad for voice talent.  These points are from the point of view of the person who receives your response to the ad.  In other words, this person has the power to flag you in for a reading and a paying gig – or laugh your application right into the trash.  These pointers are from a purely human-resources and talent-management point of view.  For in-depth technical and vocal training advice, you’ll consult with a skilled sound producer such as Steve Bartolotta.  For self-promotion techniques, you’ll read through this blog entry.

Yes, everyone has to start somewhere, and you may be one of those people who is truly talented but has not recorded a demo yet.  How am I to distinguish you from the video game potato who thinks it would be “fun to try”?  Hey, performing surgery would be fun to try, but when I take an honest look at myself, I discover that I am slightly under-qualified.  Please refrain from responding to our ad with “I got a good singing voice,” misspelled and lacking any identifying information, such as your name.  This angers the email gods in a mighty way.

You might list your character impersonations, foreign languages, and accents in your email response, but once you are in the booth, what amuses your friends and family might turn out to be something that makes our ears bleed.  The simplest, most straightforward way around this problem is to give the studio a call on the phone.  It’s a mini-screening, and it helps the recruiter get a better idea of your vocal range.  This saves us a lot of time, and gives an inexperienced voice talent a chance to prove him or herself.  

On the other side of the coin, there are some beneficial rules of practice that apply to experienced voice over artists seeking a gig.  First of all, send your demo with your response to the request for talent.  Just do it.  Don’t send me to your website and insist that they can all be downloaded, because we will be sending four emails back and forth to each other: I tell you they can’t be downloaded; you tell me they can; I explain in greater detail that they can’t be downloaded; you finally send me a demo.  Just send the demo.

If the request for talent specifies a language or accent, send a demo showcasing your talents in that exact language or accent.  Here’s the key to success, however: Split your demos.  Do not send an entire reel of you going through your repertoire, from narration to character to accent to announcement and everything in between.  This is because your particular submission will be much stronger if it is not diluted with extraneous examples of your voice.  For instance, let’s say a client is seeking a voice to speak English in a German accent, and they insist on an authentic accent.  If you submit a demo that contains your German accent, a shaky British accent, and your impression of Spongebob, you’re not getting the job.  It becomes glaringly obvious that you are imitating the accent, and the client loses their ear for you, so to speak.  They are distracted by your lack of qualifying factors and will not be able to imagine your voice reading their script.  The client's ideal in this case is a native speaker of the language, reading an English script.  Your challenge is to convince the client, with your voice talent, that you are a native speaker.  That is the essence of (voice) acting.  If your German accent is indeed precise, practiced, and authentic-sounding, that will come through in your individual demo.  Your voice will literally speak for itself.  Bundled together with other accents – especially if those accents are not exactly crisp – that German accent you’ve worked so hard to perfect sounds like a cheap knockoff, even if it is pronounced with perfection.

To be a successful voice over artist, you need talent, skill, and the proper equipment.  To be a successful job candidate, you need some marketing savvy, business knowledge, and people skills.  If you are just breaking into this business, you will eventually have all of these qualifications – but you will never gain experience until you get your foot in the door – or your lips near our mic.

Share

Selecting Music for Your Production

When producing a presentation, DVD, Radio or Television spot, or other multi-media production, the proper use of music can make or break your final product.  When possible, it is always most desirable to have a custom post score done by a professional and commercial composer.  Sadly, the harsh reality of most budgets exclude this option and often times, music becomes a mere afterthought.

Bummer!

Well, afterthought or not, your music choice is critical.  As an audio producer with nearly 30 years of experience, I’ve found that in most cases simpler is better.  I often listen to over-produced production music and try to imagine how anyone could effectively use the track - a slight disconnect between composer and producer I would say.  

Tight and simple statements are usually best to convey a feeling, whether it be excitement, importance, sincerity or attention.  We apply this same philosophy when writing a piece as well.  It is important to consider tempo first.  The tempo of the voice over will often times determine an appropriate tempo for the music to be added.  If you take the time to listen to the dry voice over first, you can audition different tempos by simply clapping your hands to the read and listening for what sounds most natural.  In some cases, the voice over is too fast or feels nervous and can be quelled with a slightly more relaxed musical piece.  More often a read is too flat, as in the case of a testimonial or a read by someone who normally doesn’t do voice over professionally.  In this case a more exciting music bed can help the read along.

Some other tips when mixing music are to not settle for the equalization that is on the piece that you introduced into your project.  I will often thin out music that is too rich in the mid range section, for example, in order to make room for the voice over.  This enables you to keep the music level up so that it is audible and exciting, without it competing with the voice over too much.  Another technique I use is to make an exact copy of the music on a lower track.  I will then hard pan the top track to one side and the bottom track to the other.  This provides more room for the voice as well! 

Music in production is an essential asset and can truly elevate any production to a higher level!

Steve  Bartolotta
Markethold Productions, Inc.

Share