Want to grab your listener’s attention the second they press play? ⏯
First, an intro to intros.
The introduction of a song sets the tone in more than one sense.
Here are just some of the jobs a song intro can do:
- Grab the listener’s attention
- Introduce your song’s best musical qualities
- Set the overall mood for the song
17 Song Intro Ideas
1. Record sound effects or general atmosphere. For a great example, check out the introduction to Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?”, which is just ambient noise recorded at a party. Or, for a much spookier effect, listen to “Everything You Can Think” by Tom Waits.
2. Play the chord progression of the chorus or verse. This will give your listener a second to settle in to your song’s chord changes.
3. Use dramatic contrast to craft an introduction that gets the attention of your listeners. Duke Ellington does this with staccato horn blats at the beginning of “Solitude,” which soon gives way to a beautiful, slow cascade of piano chords.
4. Start “outside.” Start in a different key from the one you’ll land on for the first verse. Modulate just in time to stick the intro!
5. Start with the instrumental hook. Why not use the best part first?
6. Sing a few notes a capella. Or a few lines. Or an entire section. There’s something about a naked human voice singing that commands attention—and then you have the supreme pleasure of renewing their interest yet again by bringing the band crashing down.
7. Count it off. Especially fun with weird time signatures. 1! 2! 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10…!
8. Start with the refrain. Dive right in and sing the refrain line or chorus. You could also play a vocal melody as an instrumental solo.
9. Use digital filters or make acoustic experiments to change your sound. There are endless ways to switch up the textures of your song. For. example, what if you cut a 78rpm of your intro and play it through a Victrola at the beginning of your song?
10. Begin with a common chord progression from whatever key your song is in.
11. Jump into the verse. Begin the first verse immediately. This can be a powerful approach, immediately immersing your listener in your sounds. The disadvantage here is that it can sometimes be hard to begin singing in key without any instrumental lead-in.
12. Say Something! Speak. What you say is totally up to you—you could tell the story behind the title of the song; you could recite poetry. You could even just include ad-lib dialogue from the recording session or live performance.
13. Fade in. Slowly turn up the fader, bringing in the sounds of the song gradually. This can give the listener a feeling of arriving at a performance that’s already in progress.
14. Begin with the song’s title. If you’re feeling sleepy, check out “Blast Off” by The Birthday Party. Did Nick Cave get your attention?
15. Play a vocal melody on an instrument. This introduces an important melodic idea from your song right away. By the way — if you play an instrument, it’s a great idea to know how to play your vocal lines on that instrument anyway.
16. Play rubato, or very loosely. Have your band play freely or with very loose tempo toward the beginning of the piece, then pull it all tight just in time for the first verse.
17. Compose it. Craft a handmade intro note by note and arrange it for whatever instruments you like. For an example, check out George Benson’s “The World is a Ghetto.”
Hey, now that you’ve read 17 Intro Ideas, why not subscribe?
It’s pretty hard to top “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”– hire the London Bach Choir to sing an acapella motet arrangement of the chorus, completely at a right angle to the rest of the style. Of course this is numbers 6, 14, and 17 on your list, so maybe my no. 18 is “Combine some of the above for added awesomeness.”
I completely forgot about that! I just picked up a great CD of Bach motets.
Great recommendation–this list can definitely be used as a spice rack. Season to taste.
And if any of y’all have got the budget to hire the London Bach Choir, you’ve earned my awe. And respect. And seething jealousy. 😉
So glad you included this…I’m so used to thinking, oh, the band’ll play it on the demo that I forget that when >I< want to play it solo, live, I shouldn't just dive in. Of course, I usually remember this when I'm just about to dive in, onstage…
It's kinda like, I could have had a V-8…
At least you’ve supplied some choices in addition to my usual skip it altogether…
(One of my favorite intros is the acceptance of cash handed to me by adoring audience members, though. )
Hey Ruth!
Whoa, really? That’s a new one to me, because I’ve always loved writing (or improvising) introductions.
I haven’t had the good fortune of that latter intro. 😛
One of my least favorite intros is telling a wandering drunk to leave my guitar/amplifier/soundboard the hell alone. Agh!
hey i love this article. why haven’t you made one about outros yet?
That is a damn good question, Aaron. An outro article is on its way!
Thanks for giving me the much-needed prodding.
“One of my least favorite intros is telling a wandering drunk to leave my guitar/amplifier/soundboard the hell alone. ”
Love it
here’s some of mine
watching the drummer fall off his bass drums (don’t ask) right through the middle of his kit and seeing the rest of the kit fall on top of him
Accidentally play the intro in 7/8 cos you were thinking of a similar riff you’d been writing earlier in the day (“why the hell is the rest of the band staring at me like that?”)
plug in a borrowed amp after yours has blown a fuse 30 seconds before you’re due to start.
watch 50% of your sheet music fall through a gap in the stage 30 seconds before you’re due to start (this was during a theatre production)
re – 12 , check out From The Ritz To The Rubble by Arctic Monkeys – awesome
The countoff approach always worked for the Ramones. I’m sure I’d have loved most of those songs anyway, but there’s something to Dee Dee’s 1-2-3-4s that grab you instantly before Johnny demands your attention.
I particularly like the concept of #15. As a overly-devoted fan of Bill Frisell I have a very strong appreciation for grounding a song in the melody (even in his case if it’s an entirely instrumental version of a song with a well-known vocal melody).
I’ve been playing for years, but have only recently begun to work on composing my own pieces. Thanks for the great advice in many of these articles.
“Take it, Dee Dee!”
“ONE!TWO!THREE!FOUR!”
I love the Ramones! I just finally heard Richard Hell and the Voidoids for the first time, too. Thanks for the awesome comment. Not sure how I missed the Dee Dee-style intro here.
I’ve had some good Frisell experiences. His tracks on Masada Guitars were rad. And have you heard the two-disc album he did with Jim Hall? I love guitar duo albums.