Song Analysis : Shout by Tears for Fears (Part 2)
In the second part of this analysis I look at the vocal melodies that lie beneath Shout - the 1984 hit song by Tears for Fears
The first part of this analysis looked at the chords and progressions that make up the song. You can read that below 👇
The song starts with section A or the Chorus. This is the most memorable part of the song, and includes the famous lyric “Shout, Shout, Let it all out”.
This part of the melody only uses 3 notes : G D and C.
The main line of the chorus is played across the first two bars. The first note G is used to sing the word Shout. This is the title of the song and G is the tonic note of the scale that is used for the song - G natural minor. This grounds us at the “home” of the song, both melodically and lyrically.
Then the melody rises up to D, the fifth note in the scale, and down to C the fourth note. The note lengths are a mixture of quarter and eighth.
The notes G C and D are the notes from a G sus4 chord. This goes someway to explaining the feeling we get from this melody. It has the open tension that is associated with sus chords and compliments the songs theme nicely.
The remaining bars of the melody don’t stray very far. They use the same notes, G D and C, and the same note lengths of quarter and eighth.
Much of this melody is very static, alternating between D and C. These notes are a tone or whole step away from each other.
Interestingly these 3 notes are also in the G major scale. So in isolation the true key of the song is not revealed by the chorus melody alone.
G Major Scale : G, A, B, C, D, E, and F♯
G Natural Minor / Aeolian Scale : G, A, B♭, C, D, E♭, and F
Now to look at the Verse melody
As with the rest of the song we have nice and simple, repeating melodic phrases.
Compared to the chorus there's a little more variation, with the use of dotted quarter note lengths and the introduction of the F note.
The highest note in the melody now becomes G, which is also the tonic note of the scale. These high notes hit before the end of the melodic phrases, which gives the key lines in the verse a real melancholy as they descend back down.
It always uses notes from the underlying chords, only straying once with the D note over the C major chord.
Bb major chord notes - B♭ D F
C major chord notes - C E G
This “outside” note brings some expression and tension over this key phrase at the end of the verse melody.
When writing your own melodies always be mindful of the notes in the underlying chords. Tension and interest is generated when you use notes that aren’t in the underlying chords. But this is a careful balancing act to avoid too much dissonance.
Always have in mind that music is the art of tension and release.