What's your ideal song time length?

[Stefan87]

Was listening to youtube on the way to work and a song came on with a massively long video clip for 3.5 minute song, so it made me think about putting this question up.

So what is your ideal song time length? whether it be listening to or writing?

Me personally, I am good for 3.5/4 minutes otherwise I start to loose interest, don't get me wrong there are a few songs that I don't mind and will listen too that go for 9-10 minutes but not many.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Emergence]

I’m 72. Four minutes is my limit for concentration. Dylan stuff? Five verses in four minutes. That’s about right. The solo doesn’t count. For some reason it’s a lot easier than memorizing and recalling lyrics.

 

[gentlemanbass]

First define what is a song

If pop depends on the song - is it just a simple hook - verse same as chorus - no bridge

So anywhere from 2 minutes to an hour and a half

Echos by Floyd

Bruckner's 8th Symphony 3rd movement

Hey Jude is too long as it is repetitious

some jazz numbers are an hour and a half long - Davis, Taylor, Sun Ra, etc

 

[audept]

Depends on the song. I could listen for ages on solid grooves but the ideal rap length is measured in nanoseconds

 

[Runamok]

A friend’s passing.
At the visitation, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” on endless loop was a bit much. I think the friend himself would have chuckled & agreed.

Alls I know is, Dust in the Wind
needs a Reader’s Digest Abridged version.

 

[wabash slim]

Depends on the song.
I'd be happy with a two hour "Green Onions" jam.
30 seconds of urban yodeling is too much.
How many verses are there to "Halleluiah"?

 

[OzzPocket]

Years ago, I always wanted to write that.....magnum opus song.....the "Thick as a Brick" ala Tull, or more realistically, "Stairway to Heaven" ala Zep, or "The End" ala Doors.....

But....lately, whether it's recording covers with a friend, or playing for some folks......I prefer ridiculously short songs....2:30 or under....that "kick you in the face" from the get go, and it's over.......leave people wanting more, rather than wishing you'd wrapped it up ten minutes ago....lol

 

[juks]

2 minutes and 14 seconds

 

[BohemianLikeMe]

However long "Sister Ray" is.

 

[thunder58]

8:37

 

[Ricochet]

Depends. I'm fine with a 2 min Ramones song, but some songs by Queen or Led Zeppelin wouldn't have worked if they were cut any shorter. Bohemian Rhapsody is about 6 min and Stairway to Heaven is closer to 8.

 

[Highroller]

Hey Jude is too long as it is repetitious

Couldn't agree more, one of my least favorite Beatles songs for that exact reason.

I remember when In-A-Gadda-da-Vida came out. OMG! It took up the whole album side! 17 minutes! Brilliant ... or so I thought so as an 11 year old. I still like it 50+ years later, great fuzz guitar tune.

Guided By Voices has a ton of really short songs - lots of them under a minute. Robert Pollard seems to subscribe to that Talking Heads philosophy: Say it once, why say it again!?

I don't mind a long tune if it's not repetitious. It can't be like Hey Jude - just drawing out the chorus out over and over. There's certainly enough prog rock stuff out there that works as long pieces.

But otherwise, yeah - for my own playing, I stick to that 2-4 minute range most of the time. That's long enough to cover a musical idea and make it stick.

---

 

[Runamok]

Do kids nowadays write lyrics?
I thought it was all just a hook.

Watching late shows, rarely is the closing musical act anything I even remember DURING the performance, let alone afterward.

You don’t need long tunes for a song that doesn’t evolve, especially lyrically. Crimson & Clover. Over & Over & Over & Over.

OK. They wrote this 40 or 50 years ago, too.

 

[Gregor]

How many verses are there to "Halleluiah"

Too many, and as much as I love the simple melody and have the song in my repertoire, I play it with 2 key changes to relieve the monotony.

 

[wabash slim]

You don’t need long tunes for a song that doesn’t evolve, especially lyrically. Crimson & Clover. Over & Over & Over & Over.

...or the ending to any Jose Feliciano song.

I'll instantly turn off anything if someone shouts, "One more time!"

 

[Shock]

During these hard economic times, all of my songs are now 10% longer! All part of being your best entertainment value.

 

[afire]

A little under two and a half minutes. That's about how long most of my favorite songs are.

 

[hcsterg]

I'd be happy with a two hour "Green Onions" jam.

So I would, @wabash slim !

In EM, a 10mn tune is quite common, often much more - this one for example, among so many others :

Nimanty - Time Space Light | Full album | Space Ambient Music​

A+!

 

[wabash slim]

So I would, @wabash slim !

In EM, a 10mn tune is quite common, often much more - this one for example, among so many others :

Nimanty - Time Space Light | Full album | Space Ambient Music​

A+!

I've been to many Grateful Dead shows. Half hour jams are common.

 

[Runamok]

I've been to many Grateful Dead shows. Half hour jams are common.

Not every band is capable of being interesting on one tune for 10 minutes, let alone half an hour, nor its audience as uh, absorbed.