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The art of writing and producing successful jingles has evolved into an elaborate and sophisticated process that can be rewarding both financially and personally.
 | A good jingle writer should be a good musician,
lyric-writer, and arranger. |
People sometimes associate the word “jingle” with music that is simple and non-serious. The truth is, jingle writing requires a certain unique aptitude, one that embraces creativity, musical talent, common sense, timing, a sense of humor, and the ability to recognize what the general public will enjoy and remember. It’s a viable way for one to use his or her in-bred talents to build a career in music without the pressures of seeking “superstar” status. Plus it’s an avenue for meeting top professionals in the music recording industry.
Prerequisites for a good jingle writer
A good jingle writer should be a good musician, lyric-writer, and arranger. He or she should understand advertising and be able to work under time-related pressure. A jingle writer must deal with clients (often ad agencies), musicians, vocalists, and studio personnel, so “people skills” are a must. He or she will often be acting as writer, producer, arranger, performer and music programmer, so creative versatility is required.
Jingle jargon
There are lots of ways to structure a jingle, and much depends upon the client’s guidelines and suggestions. The client often wants lyrics throughout the whole piece, along with mixes with vocals “punched” out for announcer voice-over. These are typical mixes:
- Full sing. Vocals are sung throughout the whole jingle.
- Open front. Music only at the beginning, with a vocal sing-out.
- Open end. Vocals at the beginning, music at the end.
- Donut. Vocals at the beginning and end, with a musical “hole” in the middle.
- Pretzel. Several musical “holes”.
The jingle writing process
I’ve written and produced many hundreds of jingles that have aired over the United States and beyond. Here’s the way I approach the process.
- Create a theme line. If you’re working with an ad agency, they will probably already have the theme line and will also give you an idea of the style of music they want. If you’re working directly for a business, you may have to start from scratch.
- Think of a catchy melody for the theme line and build the jingle around it. At this point it’s good to create a rough melody and chord pattern for the whole jingle and time it.
- Create lyrical ideas. A thesaurus and rhyming dictionary can be helpful at this stage. Sometimes words come quickly, but often not. Write down every idea you can think of and then choose the best from your list.
- Assemble the lyrics and melody in a structured form. The piece should be memorable and singable, and should be written in a flowing, sensible order.
- Record a demo of the jingle. All jingle writers should have their own studio, or quick access to one. The client may approve the first demo, but changes are often called for, so another demo may be required.
- Upon approval of the demo, record the final version. Some jingle writers record the final track at their own studio and do much of the work themselves. For higher budget projects a large studio and outside talent may be required. In larger markets it may be necessary to become a signatory (designated producer) for AFTRA and the American Federation of Musicians.
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