SOP - The Imperative Jingle Bells

In this episode (found here: http://www.switchedonpop.com/005-the-imperative-jingle-bells/ ), "You've heard it a million times, you know how to sing it, its ubiquitous during the holiday season, but you've never heard a definitive recording. Where does it come from, why is it so catchy, and why of all holiday songs is Jingle Bells the most widely played song?"
Featuring
She & Him
The Cast of Glee
Nate Sloan's Madrigal Singers

1:10 - Jingle Bells and Christmas Music
2:40 What makes music catchy?
4:50 - Balance between a verse and a chorus, or an A and a B
5:20 - Rising Melody - rememebr podcast 1 and a falling melody.
6:00 - A melody within a melody
7:00 - The chorus rhythm - suimilar to Baroque music
9:00 - Step 3 and step 4 in a melody.
11:30 - Space between notes - very important
12:50 - History
14:30 - Pop Song
16:00 - Remix

Artist: Bob Tozier
School: North Allegheny

Notes:
A podcast about the making and meaning of popular music hosted by musicologist Nate Sloan and songwriter Charlie Harding. We break down pop songs to figure out what makes a hit and what is its place in culture. We help listeners find "a-ha" moments in the music. Switched on Pop will make you laugh, dance, and ask ridiculous questions like: does the falsetto in One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful" essentially make them our modern day Castrati?

Comments

Amy Muhlenkamp from: North Allegheny - posted: October 12, 2017
Catchy music usually has repition that is evident in Jingle Bells. I also use a melody within a melody in my songs

Anthony Hockenberry from: North Allegheny - posted: October 12, 2017
Lots of holiday songs have the same feel. With the happy feel and celebratory lyrics, sleigh bells, and a happy melody.

Shane Stewart from: North Allegheny - posted: October 29, 2017
Although I did not see this podcast, I can say that it interests me how often the basic melody part for Jingle Bells is warped to fit into so many different types of Christmas songs.

Charles Hart from: North Allegheny - posted: October 31, 2017
I think jingle bells is so popular because it's catchy, and also has very easy words to learn

Yosen Wang from: North Allegheny - posted: October 31, 2017
In contrast to how difficult the Star Spangled Banner is to sing, Jingle Bell's rising melody and catchy chorus make it pervasive during the holiday season.

Eugenia Lee from: North Allegheny - posted: November 1, 2017
Jingle Bells is the most widely played because it is so catchy and easy to sing. It's just like Happy Birthday because they both have a very small range and few words. Most pop songs want to have the catchy sing-a-long part that will make it a hit, like the "pasito,pasito, suavesuavesito" part in Despacito.

June Bracken from: North Allegheny - posted: November 1, 2017
Something discussed in this podcast was how Jingle Bells was someone else's rendition of a church song. There are many artists that do these sorts of things with music today, including Alt-J's cover of House of the Rising Sun, where they added in their own lyrics to a verse.

Maeve Smith from: North Allegheny - posted: November 1, 2017
A song with a falling melody is I'm With You by Avril Lavigne. The melody falls with the mood of the lyrics, which is kind of sad/passionate.

Maggie Johnson from: North Allegheny - posted: November 1, 2017
Sent to Tozier

Angela Lu from: North Allegheny - posted: November 2, 2017
I think the repetitiveness of the chorus in Jingle Bells along with the simple melody and lyrics make the song catchy. These songs are often memorable and widely known.

sharon dong from: North Allegheny - posted: November 2, 2017
Another Christmas song that's catchy for its melody is "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reighndee." Like Jingle Bells, it has spaces between the notes, so there is a lot of room to make your own arrandment of the song.

Marshall Henry from: North Allegheny - posted: November 2, 2017
I think one of the reason's christmas music is so catchy is becasue they are simple meolides that mostly everyone could hum or sing along to. I hope to use this in my music, but sometimes it could be difficult.

Maria Constantine from: North Allegheny - posted: November 3, 2017
This Jingle Bells podcast was very interesting. There are a lot of Christmas songs that have the spaced notes. An example is Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. This song is very spaced and you can add notes and change up the lyrics. This is a very creative way to make music that we still use today.

Steven Lu from: North Allegheny - posted: November 3, 2017
The rising melody of Jingle Bells makes it a happy, bright tune. Another song with a rising melody is Bach's Minuet in G Major.

Mess Tajewski from: North Allegheny - posted: November 6, 2017
I think part of what makes Jingle Bells and other holiday songs so popular is their simplicity, which makes them easily adaptable into other styles of music for many remixes, usually just as catchy as the original. I particularly like jazz arrangements of Jingle Bells and other Christmas songs.

Natalie Daninhirsch from: North Allegheny - posted: November 7, 2017
Songs like Jingle Bells are so popular because they are easy to sing. There isn't a distinctly challenging range or complicated rhythm; they're simple songs and can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of skill level.

Kayla Grasak from: North Allegheny - posted: November 8, 2017
Jingle Bells is well known for its repetition and constant playing which leads to our recollection of the song.

Jason Ginocchi from: North Allegheny - posted: November 8, 2017

I think jingle bells is so popular because its very easy to sing and has a very bouny feel due to short notes with sace in between them

Trevor Fenk from: North Allegheny - posted: November 10, 2017
The asending meldoy in jingle bells makes the song happy:) the very catchy rythems and vocals make the song a an american pasttime.

Kirthana Kannan from: North Allegheny - posted: November 10, 2017
I feel that repetition is the key factor in a popular pop song. The quick catchy tune, along with easy lyrics makes it stick in people's minds.

Margaret Johnson from: North Allegheny - posted: October 28, 2018
I think the simplistic nature of Jingle Bells really 'rings true' with why it is so catchy. Everyone can sing it, recognize it, and it can fit in with any other song.

Chelsea Chao from: North Allegheny - posted: November 14, 2019

Out of all the Christmas songs that exist, "Jingle Bells" proves to be the most popular and the most memorable, due to its simple melody and the repetition of the main melody. Songs are easier to remember if the notes are widely spread out and the melody repeats multiple times throughout the song.

Futen Wang from: North Allegheny - posted: November 15, 2019
I find it interesting how music loses its legal privatization to its owner after a certain period of time. I find myself eagerly waiting for Shostakovich's original scores to come out on IMSLP.

David Ban from: North Allegheny - posted: November 22, 2019
Jingle bells came from long time ago similar to a particular type of baroque music. It's catchy because of it's ever increasing melody and tone along with the repetition of the same rhythm. Jingle Bells is most widely played because everybody's ability to identify the song.

Caroline Lucas from: North Allegheny - posted: November 26, 2019
Jingle bells is the center of all Christmas music becuase it is incorporated in so many Christmas songs. The melody is impossible to get out of your head because of the easy melody with very little space between notes.

Clay Sheleheda from: North Allegheny - posted: December 4, 2019
The simple and cheerful melody of jingle bells has become a classic christmas tune over many decades of the repeted notes being repeated on the radio and everywhere you go.

Nicholas Palermo from: North Allegheny - posted: December 17, 2019
The repetitive upbeat acending melody makes the song so catchy. Jingle Bells was orginally a written as a four part song that was written in 1850. Jingle Bells doesn't have any religious association, so the song is widely accepted by many.

Rebekah Rest from: North Allegheny - posted: December 29, 2019
I think Jingle Bells is so catchy because of its repetition and simplicity. Everyone was taught this song when they were young and can recognize it and sing along.

David Chen from: - posted: January 8, 2020
I always liked the feel of holiday musics, it always sounds joyful and cheerful.

Sophia Elliott from: North Allegheny - posted: January 14, 2020
I found it interesting that Jingle Bells has been around for as long as it has. Many pieces written during that time period aren't listened to by the typical human very often, or even every year like Jingle Bells has. It has a simple melody for kids to catch onto and is an easy listen. Everybody knows Jingle bells

Reka Gotz from: North Allegheny - posted: January 14, 2020
I think the reason why some Christmas songs like Jingle Bells are so widely popular is because they are simple to learn. This provides the opportunity to take the song and perform it in your own style (there are countless jazz renditions of jingle bells) with the melody still being recognizable.

Lily Stromberg from: North Allegheny - posted: January 15, 2020
I think jingle bells is so widely spread at the time it was written because of the simplicity of the melody, mkaing it easy to remember and spread.

Gabrielle Parker from: North Allegheny - posted: January 22, 2020
I think what makes jingle bells so catchy is how light hearted and repetative it is. It's a simple tune which repeats multiple times throughout making people want to listen to it.

Zach Brennen from: North Allegheny - posted: January 22, 2020
Not only does it play on repeat during the christmas season, but jingle bells is a simple melody that is repeated within small intervals making it so catchy and memorable.

Sari Abu-Hamad from: North Allegheny - posted: January 22, 2020
The repetitiveness seen in jingle bells that makes it so catchy can definitely be seen in other types of holiday music and catchy pop songs today. I want to try to create such a melody myself.

Nick Faber from: North Allegheny - posted: January 22, 2020
I feel like Jingle Bells is one of those things that just catches the eyes, (or in this case ears) of people who listen to it, somewhat like Baby Yoda did. It's upbeat and has a simple name and melody, making it easy for people to pick up and singalong, even if they only know the chorus and 1 verse.

Eric schaefer from: North Allegheny - posted: January 23, 2020
Jingle bells is a song that is very easy to play. And every one knows it. Making it one of the most iconic christmas song if not the most.

Jake Mellinger from: North Allegheny - posted: January 24, 2020
I think Jingle Bells as become so popular because of its super simple and catchy melody. It is the type of melody that easily gets stuck in your head and you will unknowingly catch yourself humming to.

Noah Chadran from: North Allegheny - posted: January 24, 2020
I like how Jingle Bells has an ascending melody and very joyous and upbeat sounding. It also gives you a whole new perspective when you realize that Jingle Bells is a command, rather than a adjective.

Samantha Petruccioli from: North Allegheny - posted: January 24, 2020
Jingle bells is a very popular christmas song that tends to be the base that makes up most ofther christmas tunes and even has the same chords in many other non holiday songs.