The Listening Service

Original version

BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

BBC Radio 3

Radio 3

Podcasts

Music: Classical

An odyssey through the musical universe, presented by Tom Service

Rethink music with The Listening Service. Tom Service presents a journey of imagination and insight, exploring how music works

The Listening Service: What Makes a Song?

What Is It About Mozart?

What Makes a Song?

BBC Radio 3 - The Listening Service, What Makes a Song?

Tom Service explores what makes a good song work.

Tom Service explores what makes a good song work. He asks if pop songs use the same structure as an art song or lied, and is joined by Richard Sisson to explore Schumann's songs.

Tom Service considers what makes a good song work - verse, chorus, a good tune and...? Is a pop song using fundamentally the same structure as an art song or lied? From the timeless pop of The Carpenters to the gigantic "song symphonies" of Gustav Mahler, Tom examines what you can do with a few verses, perhaps a chorus, and maybe a "middle eight". He's also joined by composer and pianist Richard Sisson to consider the genius of Robert Schumann's songcraft, and by producer Dan Carey who considers contrasting song structures by The Beach Boys and Frank Ocean.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

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The Listening Service

What Makes a Song?

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BBC Radio 3

About BBC Radio 3