Articles by Justin Beckner
Metallica's 'Nothing Else Matters': How Open Strings and Four Chords Became a Stadium Anthem
John Legend Wrote 'All of Me' for One Person. It Became the Wedding Song of a Decade.
Why Tom Wilson's Secret Remix of 'The Sound of Silence' Worked: The Music Theory Behind Simon & Garfunkel's Hit
The SpongeBob Theme Builds an Enormous Climax in Under 45 Seconds Using a Classic Arranger Trick
How Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves' 'I Remember Everything' Reached No. 1 by Refusing to Overplay Its Hand
Bad Bunny’s ‘BAILE INoLVIDABLE’ Is Built on Salsa’s Structural Logic. The Super Bowl Show Made It Obvious
How Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee Became One of Music’s Great Technical Tests
Why the Sax Line in George Michael’s ‘Careless Whisper’ Feels Like a Vocal Line
The Legal Battle Over ‘Happy Birthday’: How the World’s Most Sung Song Entered the Public Domain
Imagine Dragons’ ‘Believer’ Proves You Don’t Need Chord Changes to Build Intensity
‘Let It Go’ Changed Everything About Frozen: How Three Notes and a Key Change Built a Global Anthem
Is the Super Mario Bros. Theme Jazz? Here’s How Its Harmony Works
Titanic’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’ Is a Masterclass in Ballad Writing and Emotional Build
The Stranger Things Theme Is Super Popular, and It Works Almost Entirely Without Harmony: Here’s How That Works
Why the Pirates of the Caribbean Theme Works: Hans Zimmer’s Relentless Rhythmic Engine
‘The Simpsons Theme’ Song Is So Catchy: There’s a Reason Why Your Brain Won’t Forget It
Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ Models Trauma and Pressure Through Composition: Why It Still Feels Modern
Nostalgic Yet Fresh: Why Zach Bryan’s Songs Feel ‘Old’ Even When They’re New
Bruno Mars Has Kept Classic Funk in the Mainstream: The Groove-First Approach That Still Works
Paul McCartney vs. John Lennon: Neither Is a ‘Better’ Songwriter, but Their Differences Tell the Story
How David Bowie’s Approach to Composition Still Resonates Ten Years Later
The King of Rock & Roll Was More Than Just That: How Elvis Presley Fused Blues, Country, and Gospel Into Rock & Roll
