THIS is how you write and produce a pop song.
In this breakdown and analysis of “Drivers License” by Olivia Rodrigo, I look at some of the theory, production, and songwriting tools that she and her producer Dan Nigro used to craft the track.
I really can’t say enough good things about this song. It’s simple but surprising, using typically pop song conventions but also subverting them pretty consistently. More than anything, I applaud how many times the production changes little things to give us some new harmony or color in spots that would have been all too tempting to ‘copy and paste.’
Standout moments:
- The car door beeping becoming the main piano part of the song.
- The ‘build’ section, holding out a IV chord and letting the melody rub against it on TI.
- The change of harmonic rhythm on the climax of the chorus, giving us a new chord on every beat.
- THE ENDING. This song, like so many others, has a ‘drop chorus’ after the bridge. And then it ends. Donezo. Fini. It never builds back up. The bridge is the climax of the song. How many songs do you know that do that??
0:00 Intro
0:25 Song Begins
4:49 Pre-Chorus
5:52 Chorus
7:30 Hook
8:39 Verse/Pre-Chorus/Chorus 2
10:23 Bridge
14:44 Final Pre-Chorus
17:33 End of the song?!
21:04 Outro
If you have any questions about the content of this video, leave me a comment below or find me on Instagram: @musicisa_verb
For more videos analyzing pop songs: / playlist
list=PLS31X5NJ3dwqw_jrcXnLQLPrUxWJxCDF6
My series on great harmony in famous songs:
/ playlist
list=PLS31X5NJ3dwp_ldcyL5xgKSv8gNBNcHBF
#musictheory #production #songanalysis
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