Are you one of those people who are driven up the wall with buskers performing "Wonderwall" by Oasis in nearly every city centre over the weekend? Despite being one of the band's most recognisable songs, Dr Jacob Downs explains the composition and theory that's made it such an enduring sing-a-long favourite on a Saturday night.
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00:00Hi there, my name is Benji. This is my audition for The X Factor. I think I would be good
00:11on The X Factor because I have a fantastic back story and dulcet tones every time I get
00:20told, shut up, shut up, turn that radio off. I'm just joking. But for my audition I'm going
00:27to play Wonderwall by Oasis. We've all been there, at an open mic night or 2am outside
00:45the kebab shop, singing in full force the words to Oasis's iconic song Wonderwall, for
00:51better or for worse. But what is it about Wonderwall in particular that's given it such
00:57a hallowed place in popular culture? And I don't mean that it's Oasis's biggest hit and
01:02most recognisable song, but from a completely music theory based standpoint, what's the
01:08formula that that song has in particular that's made it so endearing? Thankfully, Dr Jacob
01:17Downs, lecturer of music and BBC New Generation thinker, kindly explained to me from a composition
01:23perspective why we all love Wonderwall so much. He says, I think that one of the keys
01:30to a successful karaoke classic is landing on a melody that is both barely easy to sing,
01:36that is, fitting within a small range of pitches and not having too many difficult vocal jumps,
01:43but also satisfying to belt. This is partly where the success of Wonderwall lies. But
01:49also, that opening guitar riff is so iconic that it catches listener's attention immediately.
01:55And again, it's easy enough to play on the guitar if you know a few chords. For me, being
02:00the doctor, the most magical moment in the song's production is at the start of the second
02:05verse, just after where we think the first pre-chorus is going to come in, where the
02:10solo cello line enters. It's a genius decision to hold back the drums until the third bar
02:16of that verse. The guitar has been so percussive that, as a listener, you don't really notice
02:22that there aren't any drums until the drums themselves enter. It carries emotional weight
02:27as well as playing with how we hear tension and release as listeners. He thinks, anyway.
02:34The psychology of expectation is, after all, so important to how we experience emotion
02:39in response to music. I know it's become a bit of a Busker's cliche, but I won't have
02:45a bad word said about Wonderwall.
02:47Well, he might not knock it in terms of Buskin and Open Mic Night, but I will. I-