Has Anyone broke down every dr.luke song?

[Sinner]

No but the interview with him and National Public Radio's Diane Rehm is pretty funny Diane Rehm and Luther Campbell Interview - YouTube

[ADogCalledNoah]

I can`t say that I`ve broken down every song, but being a big fan of some of his work I´ve picked up some things he and his crew (Max Martin, Shellback, Benny Blanco) are doing.

Some points off the top of my head:
- Rarely bass below 120 Hz before first chorus.
- They usually don`t introduce the whole soundscape before the chorus. Really sparse arrangements in verses (very often just playing two guitar strings).
- Very mono feel in verse compared to choruses (something needs to feel small for the chorus to be big).
- Chorus melodies often relying heavily on just one note, and in many songs mainly consist of three notes.
- Repeating the chorus endless times.
- Simple lyrics.

Now, all of this sounds pretty easy. Had it just been as easy coming up as good melodies as they do!

[Jason West]

Originally Posted by Frank_Case

(1) His stuff is girly-girly-girly-girl. He's into producing girl music.

Well, I also prefer writing/producing girly girl music by far. Maybe because it's totally opposite the testosterone heavy metal and prog-rock I played myself.

In the old days, I got obsessed with thrashing electric guitar solos. Now, I'm way more excited about arranging a layered stack of smooth female harmonies. The "female voices" are my "instrument" of choice. I wish I knew more producers that specialized in girly girl music. There are already too many guys producing guy music. :-)

In any case, the Dr Luke stuff isn't all that girly girl. If you swap a few words in the lyrics and have male vocalists sing it, it's not too far off from a Backstreet Boys or NSync production.

[thelastbencher]

Im a big fan of Dr. Luke. I love his work. His production techniques are fairly simple. The ace up his sleeve are his melodies !

His song follow this route in most songs. Though there maybe a few exceptions.

1.Starts of with a very catchy riff.

2.A simple club beat in the verses, with no hi hats ,or only 8th note closed high hats.

3. Very minimalistic instrumentation in the verse.

4.Going into a High vocal chorus, adds a layer of synths (very bright), introduces white noise, and the open Hi Hats are playing 16th notes.

5. Bass and Synths are side chained giving a pumpy feel.

6.Lots of vocal editing and cutting towards the end of the chorus.

7. Sometimes introducing a part of the chorus in the verse so that listener sub consciously knows the chorus when it comes.

8. A variation of the phrasing of the rhythm in Verse 2

9. Adding back up vocals in chorus and Verse 2

10. Short bridge often relying the vocalist rapping and changing the riff and chopped rhythm.

11. Repeat chorus with added elements to create crescendo.

This is what I can think of, on top of my head. It would be interesting to see what others notice and pick up in his productions.

[Funkster]

This is a great idea for a thread rockstarforlife! Thanks for starting it. I think this could be very educational for many people.

[ADogCalledNoah]

By the way - if anyone would like to collaborate in writing and producing pop in the vein of Dr Luke and Max Martin, hit me up with a PM! We`ll exchange some samples of work and see if there is something there.