When we think about music composition, it’s easy to get lost in the details and become overly focused on the complexities involved in the craft of songwriting. But something equally effective is minimalism and intimacy. As far as songwriting tools go, silence is far too often forgotten as an effective means of conveyance and creating a certain mood. In recent years, nobody has given us such a masterclass in edgy minimalism as Billie Eilish. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what makes her music so unique and appealing.
From Bedroom Pop to Global Phenomenon: The DIY Roots of Billie Eilish
Eilish wasn’t the first artist to embrace elements of DIY and “bedroom pop” production, but she indeed rose to the top of the wave of those artists who emerged in the mid-2010s. For those unfamiliar, “bedroom pop” is music characterized as intimate, low-fi, self-produced music made in home spaces and shared online. The advent of home studios was directly linked to the rise in self-production, and the pandemic forced artists to become proficient in it.
DIY home recording offers numerous practical advantages. It is cost-effective, allowing you to take your time creating the music you want to make and then put it out on streaming services immediately. It also allows artists to be more independent if they choose to be. Eilish and her older brother/producer, Finneas O’Connell, abandoned the big rockstar dreams of expensive studio time and big-time producers in favor of DIY production.
The Beauty of Restraint: Minimalism and Composition in Her Music
Eilish’s music often features sparse instrumentation, minimal percussion, and breathy whispered vocal tones. Her vocals are to powerful vocals what the anti-solo is to a highly technical, brilliantly executed guitar solo – both can convey a message equally effectively. This is not to say that Eilish can’t sing, but rather the vocal choice is an artistic one that draws the listener in.
The instrumentation and musicality of her songs demonstrate that simplicity can be intentional and sophisticated rather than evidence of a limitation. The stripped-back sound allows the silence and negative space in the music to carry the emotional weight of the songs.
Compositionally, Eilish avoids traditional anthemic climaxes in her music. Her songs often resolve in understatement rather than escalation or crescendo. They generally have a compressed range of notes, and sometimes we see a subtle lift in the chorus, but because of the compressed range, it has a profound effect. Her composition is a masterclass in creating and maintaining tension, often by using unresolved dissonance.
Sound as Texture: The Role of ASMR and Sonic Intimacy
Eilish’s vocal style is appealing in the same way that ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) is appealing to people – you could even consider the breath sounds and mouth clicks to be ASMR in some ways. A good example would be the songs “Bury a Friend” and “Bad Guy“. I do believe that crediting her fame to the popularity of ASMR in our digital age is a step too far. I believe her music is more nuanced than that, and I think Finneas has as much to do with it as Eilish does. Eilish’s whispered or close-mic’d vocals are used as a textural instrument rather than just a tool to carry the melody. Still, the instrumentation is essential in creating and framing those textures.
Part of the reason her music has the tension it does is the juxtaposition of dark, confessional, lyrical themes with light sonic textures. The unsettling undertones are essential to setting a backdrop for Eilish’s vocal delivery. The minimalism of the instrumentation is an excellent tool for heightening vulnerability – it makes the audience feel as if they are being drawn into a personal space with the artist. The instrumentation has been described as a discipline of omission.
Emotion, Authenticity, and Legacy: The Power of Silence in Pop
Intimacy is a word that is most often associated with Eilish’s music and rightly so. It is a study of transforming fragility and silence into power, and how small choices can convey big emotions when the proper balance is struck. A good example of this would be the tracks “Ocean Eyes” or “Idontwannabeyouanymore“. The ability to strike that balance is the reason Eilish and Finneas have collectively netted them 15 Grammy wins over the past 5 years. To put that into comparison, that’s the same amount as Eminem. She has also embraced the mainstream by doing a James Bond theme song for “No Time To Die” and a song from the hit film Barbie called “What Was I Made For“.
Eilish continues to make music her own way, and her audience will only continue to grow. She has seemingly strived for authenticity in everything she does. Her music is unique and reflective of the person she is and the music she feels natural creating. She is a trendsetter – the first artist born in the 21st century to have a number one album. In fact, of her three studio albums, two have been #1 albums, and her most recent album only reached #2.
More important than the obvious successes she has enjoyed, to us, as students of composition, her music serves as a poignant reminder that a great deal can be conveyed through silence, fragility can be a source of power, and in the proper context, a whisper can be a roar.
