Morgan Page Reveals the Rule of 3 in Julia Michaels and Maroon 5

EPISODE #63

Your brain can only hear three things at the same time. What you may not know is that musicians use this cognitive limitation to guide your listening all the time. Charlie and Nate are joined by Grammy Nominee music producer Morgan Page to reveal the secrets of this ubiquitous technique. Listening to Julia Michaels’ hit “Issues,” we unveil how the rule of three is used to draw our attention and keep us free from sonic distraction. And we look at how Maroon 5’s “Cold” uses the same technique but creates an exceptionally different sound. Of course, it wouldn’t be Switched On Pop if wedidn’t dig into the classical past to find out if this rule really holds up in the history of music.

SONGS DISCUSSED

Morgan Page – Fight My Way

Julia Michaels – Issues

Julia Michaels – Issues (Acoustic)

Maroon 5 – Cold ft. Future

Skrillex – First Of The Year (Equinox)

Ed Sheeran – Shape Of You

DJ Khaled – I’m The One

Selena Gomez – Bad Liar

The Beatles – When I’m Sixty Four

Arnold Schoenberg – Pierrot Lunaire – III – Der Mondfleck

Dead & Company – Live at the Hollywood Bowl 6-1-17

The Beatles – A Day In The Life

Ike & Tina Turner: Deep River Mountain High

Swedish House Mafia – One