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There are many examples of music from many different genres and eras where simplicity is a thing to be admired. Simplicity can happen in many different aspects of songwriting — everything including melodic shape, chord choices, formal design, lyrics, and so on.
But it’s an interesting question to ponder: why should simplicity be a positive attribute at all in the arts? If we think of simplicity as being tied to the notion of predictability (it often is), why would we want it?
In answering that question, keep in mind that there is simplicity, and excessive simplicity. You should also note that some components of a song won’t benefit as much as others from that attribute. For example, simplistic lyrics tend to dumb a song down, while a simple melody often works well.
Simplicity usually allows for the beauty of the music to step forward. Even in music where “beauty” may not be the attribute you’re going for, simplicity is a quality that keeps an audience locked by increasing the likelihood that they’ll understand the music more quickly.
It’s a double-edged sword, however; the problem with simplicity is that listeners may feel that they understand your song on one listen, and feel less inclined to listen again.
The solution to this quandary is: use simplicity in your songwriting as a way for one other song element to be more complex. In other words, allow your melodies, chords, rhythms and form to be simple and straightforward, but develop a deeper layer of complexity in your song lyrics.
The beauty of that kind of writing technique is that while they’re trying to figure out what you meant by “Insulating covers of agitating vexations..“, they’ve at least got a beautifully uncomplicated melody and chord scheme that makes the whole experience pleasant.
All in all, if you’re looking for ways to take your songwriting to a new level, it’s best to deepen the complexity of one aspect alone. That approach intensifies the partnership between the various elements of a song, and usually makes music a more interesting and compelling art form.
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Written by Gary Ewer. Follow Gary on Twitter.
At the end of the day it’s down to spending a lot of time, re writing and making something sound simple but very fresh, and that is the hard part. It’s not how it reads it’s how it sings.