Back in 1986, one movie not only took Hollywood by storm, but the country.
This movie single-handedly affected the armed forces of this country.
It boosted sales for private business.
It was referenced in other movies.
The movie?
Top Gun.
Maybe you weren’t aware, but Top Gun affected watchers so much, that the United States Air Force set up recruitment centers inside the movie houses, and people signed up.
Can you imagine a movie so effective, it made people commit years of their lives… and to something which could get them killed?
And, private industry. You know those sunglasses Maverick wore? Ray-Ban 3025s? Otherwise known as Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses?
Sales went through the roof.
The kicker is, nowhere in that movie did it say the name of those sunglasses.
Not verbally, not in print, not even on the sunglasses themselves.
People identified with the character Maverick so much, the next day, they took the time to find out what sunglasses they were, so they could order a pair… just like Maverick.
Even movies, such as Meet the Parents, make references to Top Gun, and “Iceman,” Another character in the movie.
Guess what?
That should be your song’s goal. To make people identify with it so much, they are moved to some kind of inspiration.
The problem?
Top Gun was a movie which had the luxury of spending one-hour and fifty minutes convincing people through visual and audible media, not to mention several other songs.
As a songwriter you’ve got around 3-minutes to move people through audible media only.
And what’s worse, when you are in a movie house, your butt is planted in a nice comfy seat, dark, peaceful environment, with popcorn in your lap and a drink in the holder.
With a song, your listener might have…
One hand on the wheel and the other with fist in the air fighting rush-hour traffic…
Arms full of frozen goods picking up last minute items from the store…
Or, at a party with one ear on the DJ trying to listen to the song he’s playing and the other tuned into someone yapping away.
The odds aren’t quite as fair, are they?
And that is why it is crucial to snap their attention with that first line or two.
Because if you don’t? You might not get opportunity in the third line before they shut you off.
Interested in 15 proven ways to catch a listener’s attention in that first line?
What trick journalists use in their writing?
What you see every day in your life, often several times a day, which uses the same tricks you should be using in your songwriting.
It’s in September’s Tune Booster. https://www.tunesmithtips.com/newsletter/