“5 Reasons EVERY SONGWRITER Needs to Hear This Song!”

A song worth studying

Willow’s “Symptom of Life”, the lead single from her sixth album, empathogen, blends so many styles that calling it pop doesn’t quite cover it. It’s full of contemporary songwriting techniques worth understanding.

Two time feels

The verses and pre-choruses are in 7/8, an odd, less stable time signature, while the chorus switches to 4/4, the most familiar and grounded. The shift changes how our bodies respond to the music and how we hear the mood. The verses feel uncertain and floaty, and the chorus arrives with strength and confidence, a useful way to deliver a song’s central message.

Rich chords and a touch of light

The chords use sevenths and ninths rather than simple three-note chords, which gives a more complex, nuanced sound. The verse draws on both A minor and A major (a parallel modulation), and landing on A major brings a moment of warmth. The pre-chorus briefly makes F major home, and the chorus strips back to bass, drums and voice.

Contrasting melodies

The verse melody starts off the beat, leaps around and almost entirely avoids the home note, which keeps it unresolved and a little mysterious. The chorus melody is rapid and repeated, almost like a drum part. Writing melodies with different shapes and rhythms is one of the most effective ways to make sections contrast.

A form full of surprises

Counting the bars reveals the quirks. The second pre-chorus is five bars, with an extra beat in its last bar setting up the chorus. The chorus doesn’t arrive until 1:06, late by pop standards, and appears only twice. A longer third verse and a brief one-off section before the final chorus keep building anticipation.

Why it matters

Written by four songwriters and exploring personal themes of nature and spirituality, the song challenges the listener and rewards repeat listening. Its success shows that bold, experimental choices can still reach a lot of people.