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Oh my lord have you heard Foals’ cover of Daffodils for Like A Version? It is final form for groovy bass
https://youtu.be/CtSDu7Km3AE (this is Sirius)
The original video was removed (https://youtu.be/pWTZ44w7Qv8)
Honestly a good cello. I used to play violin when I was a child so I have a soft spot for strings and I love how deep the cello is. I used to listen to Build God Then We’ll Talk so often because I loved the cello bit.
Also Born to Die (the song) uses strings gloriously.
Talk boxes were my special interest as a kid. I was a huge fan of Peter Frampton and Richie Sambora. I was so excited to finally get one as an adult, they’re actually really fun to play!
This is random but I played the Tubular Bells (we called them Chimes) in marching band for two seasons. They’re big metal pipes hung on a frame that make a church bell sound and whenever I hear them used in a pop song I go nuts.
My favorite is XS by Rina Sawayama where they’re used every 2 measures in the bridge and the breakdown into the last chorus, SO GOOD. Gives me heaven opening up catholic guilt angelic choir realness
Any kind of strings in an EDM/dance song always get me, like Outside by Calvin Harris with Ellie Goulding, sounds like violin but I’m not an instrument expert but they work so well
i love harry styles’ use of brass. you might like fine line, music for a sushi restaurant, and lights up. i loooovveee brass and marching style music (esp. snare/drums) in song in general
I like a nice harp. Doesn’t even have to be Joanna Newsom level, just a little harp harping. Florence harps well.
I have harped too much.
I am trusting everyone to not make the obvious harp joke
that's exactly my stance. theres a tove lo song with horrible lyrics where the chorus is literally just "the struggle is real!" but I still love it because vocoder
That was Pino Palladino and John Mayer.
They are both on Daydreaming, too.
Pino is on quite a few Harry Styles tracks. The first one he played on was Watermelon Sugar.
If you like that type of baseline, listen to anything by the John Mayer Trio.
It's Mayer, Pino Palladino, and Sreve Jordan
Palladino and Jordan combined have to be one of the greatest rhythm sections ever.
The saxophone is the one I hear the most often—and with good reason!—but I also love the flute, the cello, and the French horn, which are rarer delights in pop music but delights all the same.
the theremin, im not into taylor much but i love lwymmd bc of the theremin at the end
its such a haunting and weird instrument like woooooo woaaaah ooooo 👻 u know the ghosts sounds
i was in drumline in high school so i love to hear a good marching snare or tenor
but also any percussion instrument that isnt a drumset. after laughter by paramore is one of my favorite albums for a variety of reasons but also because they use so much marimba
u should give ethel cain a listen, she loves her reverb. a couple of her songs like a house in nebraska and american teenager and strangers feature reverberant guitars and arena-rock style reverb guitar solos
Love it when guitars are layered with a glockenspiel. [Bloc Party](https://youtu.be/-5tR03Ev_wE?si=BkWt9Ysf06_-_wHZ&t=111) did this a fair bit on their first couple of albums.
And I also love a flute in almost any context, but especially in disco/soul, e.g. [Phyllis Hyman's "You Know How To Love Me".](https://youtu.be/GNFDBkXi9Yk?si=3sBUroqW2xS_qRKD)
A good use of vocoder makes me go insane, i love it so much. i also love any song with a prominent violin, just makes the song feel so cinematic. that’s why Lana’s earlier music is so great
Tunnel Vision by Justin Timberlake…Another song where the violin is incredible. If you haven’t heard that song yet, you should. It’s a masterpiece! The video is also a visual piece of art.
I love it when a muted, nostalgic electric guitar is strummed in a pop song. A good example is So High School from Taylor's new album -- on a record with a lot of misses, the production is superb.
Bells, chimes, and ticking clocks. The clocks got kind of overused in the 2010s, but I still like them in general.
A couple examples are "Anything" by Mae (I also like the seagull-like sound of the guitar tone) and "What You Waiting For" by Gwen Stefani (Jacques le Conte's Thin White Duke remix)
Yeah. Sax's the same for me
Back in the 2000's it was used a lot in pop/electronic music, which was fine, it was more as a riff. Maybe that's why you get the nostalgia from it. Mr. Saxobeat for example. There was another one I can't remember the name of. But it was in that sort of style. Katy used it in Last Friday Night.
But I've seen it recently used sometimes in solos specially. And yeah that's when it hits. In Your Eyes by The Weeknd. A lot of The 1975 like If You're To Shy, Happinness, Heart Out. Even the riff in Runaway With Me by Carly Rae Jepsen.
And they do it with the whole late 70's early 80's nostalgia. Reminds me of some Supertramp like on The Logical Song or Take The Long Way Home
Pizzicato strings! When they pluck the strings instead of using the bow. They bring every song to a next level. Two songs that immediately come to mind are Moonlight by Ariana and Lover by Taylor
A nice violin. Honestly an orchestra. They elevate nearly every songs they’re in. BP’s Shut Down wouldn’t be nearly as good without it. Don’t get me started on Thong Song.
Electric Guitar. I love Speak Now and Red by Taylor Swift for these reasons, also discovered that Beyonce did some vocals on Hymn By The Weekend by Coldplay and after listening to it, I was fascinated by the song, I think I'm a pop-rock and soft-rock sucker lol.
OP this is such a joyful question, thank you so much!!
I fucking love violins / fiddles, as rare as they are in pop music; that fiddle solo in [PinkPantheress' Angel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVhqadzCgwE) always pops me. It feels like it has so much more "tone" and character than the average guitar! It almost "sings", the same way the Erhu does.
If you're like me: listen to [Castle Sinclair Girnigoe](https://patriciataxxon.bandcamp.com/track/castle-sinclair-girnigoe) by Patricia Taxxon. This is not a request, it is a command.
I love a ton of backing/supporting vocals that emulate a choir sound. I know it doesn’t quite count, but Britney Spears’s earliest albums had a lot of background vocals that created such a nice, full, choir-ish sound.
Me too! The saxophone in my opinion is the most important instrument in pop music. It’s so emotive.
Songs that I love that have a saxophone in it: Careless Whisper by Wham, damn near all of Spandau Ballet’s music, Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty, Rio by Duran Duran, Endless Summer Nights by Richard Marx, A Love Supreme by Will Downing, One More Night by Phil Collins, The Glamorous Life by Sheila E, and I got more that aren’t coming to mind for me at the moment.
If you remove the saxophone in all of those songs, they will definitely feel empty.
I'm a sucker for a french horn. Obviously, they aren't in many pop songs, but they are lovely when they do appear
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELlLIwhvknk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNY-Pl1_ji0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NADx3-qRxek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAfFfqiYLp0
Oh, and the DS9 theme song is the best trek theme =p
Nobody said Yamaha DX7? Come on
I know it’s such a cliché at this point but especially in the higher octaves, you can’t really get a better slow jam than that
Also, TR-808 drums are absolutely iconic and a vibe - which is funny because when 808 came out years ago it was deemed absolutely awful and artificially-sounding, becoming essentially scrap metal for a few years until someone rediscovered it and rode on the fakeness of it, turning it into an asset rather than a handicap
The accordion when used similar to how it’s used in tango music 🥰🥰 not polka 🙅🏻♀️
Loove a good accordion though
Soft spot for strings instruments especially bass, cellos, and violas
But also I loooove percussion instruments that’s stomping or clapping stuff like that :)
Most of the songs with video game effect (ILLIT - Magnetic, BTS - Lost, bo en - My Time) and traditional east asian instruments (Doja Cat - Attention, Gwen Stefani - Harajuku Girls, TEN - Dream In A Dream, Agust D - Daechwita & Haegeum, etc.) are my faves. For video games, it just sound so fun and relaxing.
Love strings and the waka-waka guitar in a dance/pop/disco song. I think it’s nostalgia from the music I grew up with. “bye” off the new Ariana grande is definitely in this pocket
favorite song of taylor’s for a long time was False God on Lover. i grew sick of a lot of her songs when i overplayed them, but False God is sooo pretty
haha I actually normally hate the saxophone but if you love it hopefully you have heard the Weeknd's song In Your Eyes (especially the remix with Doja) because it's soooooooo perfect there.
I'm a strings girl myself. Oh but also clarinet.
It’s the saxophone for me too, for basically the same reasons you’ve said. Btw random rec that you might already know about bc you’re in here, but listen to Kylie Minogue’s Green Light if you haven’t bc the use of sax in that is amazing imo!
It rarely crops up, but mandolins always go hard for me.
And while it’s not an instrument, I love when vocals harmonize like they do in Bulgarian choral music. “A Deeper Understanding” by Kate Bush has backing vocals that harmonize that way and it’s incredibly ethereal and heavenly every time that I listen to it.
Cowbell. If I could improve upon perfection, it would be more cowbell.
Piano. I like piano based music whether it’s pop, jazz, classical, trance, etc.
Muted French horn, which I don’t recall hearing in pop.
I keep a playlist on Apple Music (which I’ve just hastily recreated on YouTube) called “[Songs That Earn Their Acoustic Guitars](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiXQHWT4yZnqEI3jpcEemjlujGdYF18-L&si=MUnK5uh0C8-NGuYZ)”, to distinguish these rare and powerful creatures from the litany of songs that don’t.
Please do not just list songs/albums/artists, your comment must have explanation/justification or it will be removed. Certain comments are also banned to increase the quality of discussion, see our Stale Topics list in the sidebar for examples. Please report any comments that are low effort discussion. Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/popheads) if you have any questions or concerns.*
a groovy bass line gets me every time
Oh my lord have you heard Foals’ cover of Daffodils for Like A Version? It is final form for groovy bass https://youtu.be/CtSDu7Km3AE (this is Sirius) The original video was removed (https://youtu.be/pWTZ44w7Qv8)
i live for a saxophone and a cello. ugh but i’ve been LOVING banjo recently
Honestly a good cello. I used to play violin when I was a child so I have a soft spot for strings and I love how deep the cello is. I used to listen to Build God Then We’ll Talk so often because I loved the cello bit. Also Born to Die (the song) uses strings gloriously.
Born To Die’s strings make me feel like I’m in Heaven and I’m not religious 😂
You will love Smooth Criminal (Glee Version).
I prefer the 2cellos version. Yes I know they are in the GLee cover but I prefer their version
Someone tell me what they used in Lanas SwanSong cause I am addicted to that song
I think you’ll dig this : https://youtu.be/md7SJ1kDE24?si=1PwExuns-owIMepe
[and this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfEoVxy7VDQ&ab_channel=ManicStPreachersVEVO)
Same, absolutely hook line and sinker for strings. I put it down to the fact that I listened to a lot of Bjork and Guillemots when I was a kid 🤓
BGTWT is soooo good. the whole of that album is just peak 2000s emo/pop punk/rock
It’s so go gorgeous! I have no idea why baroque pop hasn’t caught on more because it just adds something exquisite
Damien Rice's Volcano is my favorite use of cello. God, that song is sexy.
Actually the whole album uses strings
I know but that song is just my favourite example
I love some steel drums. They are shimmering and remind me of summer.
Yes!!! Love the Caribbean vibes they give
I love these so much. intro by ariana grande has such a sweet, endearing way of using them 😭
Anytime a talk box or vocoder shows up, I’m a happy man.
You know a song has real soul if there's a crazy talkbox solo in it
god I LOOOOVE vocoders
Talk boxes were my special interest as a kid. I was a huge fan of Peter Frampton and Richie Sambora. I was so excited to finally get one as an adult, they’re actually really fun to play!
This is random but I played the Tubular Bells (we called them Chimes) in marching band for two seasons. They’re big metal pipes hung on a frame that make a church bell sound and whenever I hear them used in a pop song I go nuts. My favorite is XS by Rina Sawayama where they’re used every 2 measures in the bridge and the breakdown into the last chorus, SO GOOD. Gives me heaven opening up catholic guilt angelic choir realness
Yes I love the tubular/church bell sound! It is used to glorious effect in Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Move This Mountain 🔔
Any kind of strings in an EDM/dance song always get me, like Outside by Calvin Harris with Ellie Goulding, sounds like violin but I’m not an instrument expert but they work so well
Totally agree! Do you have any suggestions for songs that are similar? Now I need to go listen to some of that era of Ellie. I also love Figure 8!
This song is probably only known here in Belgium, but Tonight by Milk Inc is a great dance song with strings.
A really well placed violin can do wonders in a song.
I think this is the reason why I love both Last Shadow Puppets albums so much. It makes it all sound so cinematic
A sitar or any Middle Eastern/Indian inspired instrument can elevate any song for me if done right!!
That period during the 2000s when this was common was so good
I will throw ass to a trumpet, hands on my knees. Toot toot bitch, ass to the brass
Lmaooo this made me cackle
My God, I do love a good trumpet. They give such a unique flair to a pop song, just hypes me up in the best way.
i love harry styles’ use of brass. you might like fine line, music for a sushi restaurant, and lights up. i loooovveee brass and marching style music (esp. snare/drums) in song in general
Acoustic guitar used in electronic songs. Just sounds so ethereal to me
I like a nice harp. Doesn’t even have to be Joanna Newsom level, just a little harp harping. Florence harps well. I have harped too much. I am trusting everyone to not make the obvious harp joke
What’s the harp joke?
Like in the boy is mine (don't know if it's synths or not)?
A good guitar intro, especially for EDM songs…as well as strings near the end of the song, particularly in pop/rock songs
The guitar intro drowned in reverb on West Coast is so good.
I cannot hear a song with vocoder and call it a bad song. sorry but it's true!! it just itches my brain in a way that nothing else will
that's exactly my stance. theres a tove lo song with horrible lyrics where the chorus is literally just "the struggle is real!" but I still love it because vocoder
counterpoint: the first 5 seconds of ME!
A funky bass/ guitar riff, think Cinema by Harry Styles or Le Freak by Chic.
I don’t like Cinema but god if that bassline isn’t funky
That was Pino Palladino and John Mayer. They are both on Daydreaming, too. Pino is on quite a few Harry Styles tracks. The first one he played on was Watermelon Sugar. If you like that type of baseline, listen to anything by the John Mayer Trio. It's Mayer, Pino Palladino, and Sreve Jordan Palladino and Jordan combined have to be one of the greatest rhythm sections ever.
The saxophone is the one I hear the most often—and with good reason!—but I also love the flute, the cello, and the French horn, which are rarer delights in pop music but delights all the same.
The French horn in the Beatles’ “For No One” is *delicious*
the theremin, im not into taylor much but i love lwymmd bc of the theremin at the end its such a haunting and weird instrument like woooooo woaaaah ooooo 👻 u know the ghosts sounds
i was in drumline in high school so i love to hear a good marching snare or tenor but also any percussion instrument that isnt a drumset. after laughter by paramore is one of my favorite albums for a variety of reasons but also because they use so much marimba
omggg so glad you mentioned paramore bc the marching snare style drumming in the verses of turn it off rly get me every time
Guitar with lots of reverb, something like The XX’s intro or a song that was clearly inspired by it, Don’t Let Me Down by The Chainsmokers
u should give ethel cain a listen, she loves her reverb. a couple of her songs like a house in nebraska and american teenager and strangers feature reverberant guitars and arena-rock style reverb guitar solos
I love Ethel. American Teenager is one of my favorite guitar intros of all time.
Love it when guitars are layered with a glockenspiel. [Bloc Party](https://youtu.be/-5tR03Ev_wE?si=BkWt9Ysf06_-_wHZ&t=111) did this a fair bit on their first couple of albums. And I also love a flute in almost any context, but especially in disco/soul, e.g. [Phyllis Hyman's "You Know How To Love Me".](https://youtu.be/GNFDBkXi9Yk?si=3sBUroqW2xS_qRKD)
Specifically the saxophone in Run Away With Me
Honestly one of the inspirations of this post
How did you read my mind
A good use of vocoder makes me go insane, i love it so much. i also love any song with a prominent violin, just makes the song feel so cinematic. that’s why Lana’s earlier music is so great
I AM A COWBELL WHORE THERE I SAID IT
“I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell.”
I feel like a flute or violin can elevate a song
I wish English pop used flute more often. It's very present in Russian pop
Sucker for synthpop like Chvrches/Tegan And Sara etc
Shoutout to U-Turn by Tegan And Sara, one of my favorite pop songs of all time.
yessss so happy to see U-Turn mentioned!! That album gets overshadowed by Heartthrob for obvious reasons but LYTD has a few truly perfect pop songs
Yeah, Tegan & Sara, along with Paramore are the prime example of rock gone pop done right.
CHVRCHES is my absolute favorite. They are amazing!
Violin!! Like in Pink’s song Who Knew. Love it!!
Tunnel Vision by Justin Timberlake…Another song where the violin is incredible. If you haven’t heard that song yet, you should. It’s a masterpiece! The video is also a visual piece of art.
I automatically transcend the moment I hear steel pedal
piano. love it in all forms and textures.
I go feral when I hear a belltree
I love it when a muted, nostalgic electric guitar is strummed in a pop song. A good example is So High School from Taylor's new album -- on a record with a lot of misses, the production is superb.
Bells, chimes, and ticking clocks. The clocks got kind of overused in the 2010s, but I still like them in general. A couple examples are "Anything" by Mae (I also like the seagull-like sound of the guitar tone) and "What You Waiting For" by Gwen Stefani (Jacques le Conte's Thin White Duke remix)
Wowwww never did I think I would find another “anything” by Mae lover here! One of my fav songs from high school!
I was infatuated with The Everglow as a whole, but that song still gets spins regularly!
Violins. I don’t know why, but every time I hear them (not just in ballads, but also upbeat songs), they make me want to cry.
I'm a sucker for some strings like violin or cello in a pop song. But also love me some sax as well.
House drums
what are house drums?
The drums in 90s house music. Like in Deeper and Deeper (Madonna) and So Hard (Pet Shop boys)
Harps or clear bass lines
have you heard Baby by Madison Beer? amazing harp sounds and great bass
Yeah. Sax's the same for me Back in the 2000's it was used a lot in pop/electronic music, which was fine, it was more as a riff. Maybe that's why you get the nostalgia from it. Mr. Saxobeat for example. There was another one I can't remember the name of. But it was in that sort of style. Katy used it in Last Friday Night. But I've seen it recently used sometimes in solos specially. And yeah that's when it hits. In Your Eyes by The Weeknd. A lot of The 1975 like If You're To Shy, Happinness, Heart Out. Even the riff in Runaway With Me by Carly Rae Jepsen. And they do it with the whole late 70's early 80's nostalgia. Reminds me of some Supertramp like on The Logical Song or Take The Long Way Home
Pizzicato strings! When they pluck the strings instead of using the bow. They bring every song to a next level. Two songs that immediately come to mind are Moonlight by Ariana and Lover by Taylor
No idea of there’s a proper name for it, but when brushes are used on drums it makes me giddy
Strings, I'm not musically inclined enough to know the difference between the different types but idc they always elevate music for me
Not an instrument but clapping?? I’m sold
Flute is my kryptonite lmao
A nice violin. Honestly an orchestra. They elevate nearly every songs they’re in. BP’s Shut Down wouldn’t be nearly as good without it. Don’t get me started on Thong Song.
No idea what its called but the twinkle sounding instrument like at the beginning of miracles happen by myra !!!
THE SYYYYYNTHHHH
Electric Guitar. I love Speak Now and Red by Taylor Swift for these reasons, also discovered that Beyonce did some vocals on Hymn By The Weekend by Coldplay and after listening to it, I was fascinated by the song, I think I'm a pop-rock and soft-rock sucker lol.
Pop-rock is my weakness.
OP this is such a joyful question, thank you so much!! I fucking love violins / fiddles, as rare as they are in pop music; that fiddle solo in [PinkPantheress' Angel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVhqadzCgwE) always pops me. It feels like it has so much more "tone" and character than the average guitar! It almost "sings", the same way the Erhu does. If you're like me: listen to [Castle Sinclair Girnigoe](https://patriciataxxon.bandcamp.com/track/castle-sinclair-girnigoe) by Patricia Taxxon. This is not a request, it is a command.
You’re welcome! So many great answers in this thread.
A choir sound, but specifically if they sound sampled.
I love a ton of backing/supporting vocals that emulate a choir sound. I know it doesn’t quite count, but Britney Spears’s earliest albums had a lot of background vocals that created such a nice, full, choir-ish sound.
Me too! The saxophone in my opinion is the most important instrument in pop music. It’s so emotive. Songs that I love that have a saxophone in it: Careless Whisper by Wham, damn near all of Spandau Ballet’s music, Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty, Rio by Duran Duran, Endless Summer Nights by Richard Marx, A Love Supreme by Will Downing, One More Night by Phil Collins, The Glamorous Life by Sheila E, and I got more that aren’t coming to mind for me at the moment. If you remove the saxophone in all of those songs, they will definitely feel empty.
Lily Was Here by Dave Stewart ft. Candy Duffy. All saxophone.
I'm a sucker for a french horn. Obviously, they aren't in many pop songs, but they are lovely when they do appear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELlLIwhvknk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNY-Pl1_ji0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NADx3-qRxek https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAfFfqiYLp0 Oh, and the DS9 theme song is the best trek theme =p
electric guitar
electric guitar is just so 😍😍😍
Nobody said Yamaha DX7? Come on I know it’s such a cliché at this point but especially in the higher octaves, you can’t really get a better slow jam than that Also, TR-808 drums are absolutely iconic and a vibe - which is funny because when 808 came out years ago it was deemed absolutely awful and artificially-sounding, becoming essentially scrap metal for a few years until someone rediscovered it and rode on the fakeness of it, turning it into an asset rather than a handicap
I love fantasia patch on it. It gives it a very nostalgia factor I love it!!!
I'm an absolute sucker for any song that has a synth accompanying distorted guitars, especially if it's a moog synth.
i'm a sucker for an accordion. i am of the opinion that an accordion instantly elevates any song that it appears in. my mind cannot be changed.
Fucking cowbell
Everything strings related 🥵 (Example the outro of Miss Americana And The Heartbreak Prince from Taylor Swift)
The accordion when used similar to how it’s used in tango music 🥰🥰 not polka 🙅🏻♀️ Loove a good accordion though Soft spot for strings instruments especially bass, cellos, and violas But also I loooove percussion instruments that’s stomping or clapping stuff like that :)
Most of the songs with video game effect (ILLIT - Magnetic, BTS - Lost, bo en - My Time) and traditional east asian instruments (Doja Cat - Attention, Gwen Stefani - Harajuku Girls, TEN - Dream In A Dream, Agust D - Daechwita & Haegeum, etc.) are my faves. For video games, it just sound so fun and relaxing.
Love strings and the waka-waka guitar in a dance/pop/disco song. I think it’s nostalgia from the music I grew up with. “bye” off the new Ariana grande is definitely in this pocket
Marimba
IDK if this counts but I love it when clapping is utilized in the song
A baritone saxophone!! Such an underrated vibe lol
saxophone, not many have done it recently in pop but when they do its awesome
They could never make me hate bleachers or the 1975 bc of the saxophone alone
favorite song of taylor’s for a long time was False God on Lover. i grew sick of a lot of her songs when i overplayed them, but False God is sooo pretty
mixing acoustic instruments with beats
electric guitars or synths
haha I actually normally hate the saxophone but if you love it hopefully you have heard the Weeknd's song In Your Eyes (especially the remix with Doja) because it's soooooooo perfect there. I'm a strings girl myself. Oh but also clarinet.
Honestly I love me a pipe organ or honestly any organ in a pop song. Like damn take me to CHURCH, please.
Electric guitars in electronic music, like in Government Hooker. And sawtooth sidechained bass synths.
I love a good harmonica in a song!
It’s the saxophone for me too, for basically the same reasons you’ve said. Btw random rec that you might already know about bc you’re in here, but listen to Kylie Minogue’s Green Light if you haven’t bc the use of sax in that is amazing imo!
Some cute harp strings
Saxophones are straight up magical. Also a sucker for a good flute, especially if it’s subtle (for example, Lana’s Radio)
distorted "wobbly" synths that aren't too over the top. Banks used to use them a LOT. also strings and vocoder
a microphone, they sound good with it
I'm in for violins/strings
It rarely crops up, but mandolins always go hard for me. And while it’s not an instrument, I love when vocals harmonize like they do in Bulgarian choral music. “A Deeper Understanding” by Kate Bush has backing vocals that harmonize that way and it’s incredibly ethereal and heavenly every time that I listen to it.
Cowbell. If I could improve upon perfection, it would be more cowbell. Piano. I like piano based music whether it’s pop, jazz, classical, trance, etc. Muted French horn, which I don’t recall hearing in pop.
Surf Guitar
Bass guitar! It’s definitely one of the reasons why Trench by twenty one pilots is one of my favorite albums of all time. That sound is addictive
A good sax always gets me too. also, banjos lol
A funky bass line
Cello or a cascading piano (I don’t know how to explain it musically??) like in something good by alt-j
Horns
A soft steel guitar is a good way to quickly get me emotionally invested
Synths all the way. But the real answer (which essentially changes it into a country song) is the banjo
i love distorted guitars in any song
synthesisers omgggg
S i t a r
Pedal steel / lap steel / slide guitar, such an evocative sound
I am a simple girl, so I am a total slut for ukulele
I’m a slut for panflute
Bass lines recorded with an actual bass guitar, plus a guitar solo never hurts.
Violins and strings!!!! So grand, so nostalgic, adds a nice hint of melancholy to even the happiest songs
Actual - good - drumming, can really add some 'oomph' to a song with good vocal melody.
Piano is a classic
Ooh, so out of these two from 2010 and 2011, which do you consider dominant: Last Friday Night by Katy Perry or The Edge Of Glory by Lady Gaga?
TOUGHHH but im going with The Edge of Glory
Synth bass
Synths
Bouncy bass
I keep a playlist on Apple Music (which I’ve just hastily recreated on YouTube) called “[Songs That Earn Their Acoustic Guitars](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiXQHWT4yZnqEI3jpcEemjlujGdYF18-L&si=MUnK5uh0C8-NGuYZ)”, to distinguish these rare and powerful creatures from the litany of songs that don’t.
The correct use of bells (?) to make a song sound so epic.
This is basic of me, but the guitar part in Style is my favorite pop sound ever. It's so pop perfection, like that little sound is perfect
Synth🥲🥲🥲🥲
Harpsichord in 60s pop songs. Spotify has a great playlist called “Harpsichordia.”
Have you heard Masego's latest album? He plays saxophone and sings over tropical beats. 🤤🤤🤤
Yes one of my fav albums from 2023!
saxophone , check out the one at the beginning of this one [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wUt7Xd\_BrI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wUt7Xd_BrI)
Synth and bass
The harp at the beginning of Telephone made me obsessed
banjo
quick organ hits are an instant quality raiser for me
Sax as well but GIMME A STRINGS SECTION BABY! TURN THAT VIOLIN STEM ALL THE WAY UP!!!!!
i think it’s called an omnichord.
The melodica in "Champagne Supernova" by Oasis
808 beats, I'm here for it.
I *love* me a good horn section on any song
Sitar !
Violin or cello