Call-and-response hook
A call-and-response hook is a two-part melody: the first phrase (the call) ends up in the air, and the second (the response) answers it by landing home. Here the call ends on D and the response ends on A, the home note of A minor.
Also called call and response, question and answer melody, hook.
Play it
- Bar 1Am
- Bar 2F
- Bar 3C
- Bar 4G
Faded lanes are a guide: they are there so the pattern has something to sit against. The loop runs over four chords, Am, F, C, G, one bar each. Tap any box to change it.
Try this
Try this · change one box
In bar 1, add an A on step 11. Now the call lands home too, and the response has nothing left to answer.
Hear it without the grid
A short recording of the loop above at 120 BPM, made with Swung’s own sounds.
How it works
Both phrases start the same way, E, D, C, so the ear hears them as a pair. Only the ending changes: the call stops on a note that wants to move, the response finally rests.
Repeat the pair and you have a hook: short enough to remember after one listen, with a built-in reason to hear it again.
The pattern in words
- E (E5): steps 1 and 17 of 32, each held for 2 steps.
- D (D5): steps 4, 11 and 20 of 32, notes held for 1 and 6 steps.
- C (C5): steps 7 and 23 of 32, each held for 2 steps.
- A (A4): step 27 of 32, each held for 6 steps.
| Part | Steps, 1 to 32 | Plays on |
|---|---|---|
| E (E5) | x–··············x–·············· | steps 1 and 17 of 32, each held for 2 steps |
| D (D5) | ···x······x–––––···x············ | steps 4, 11 and 20 of 32, notes held for 1 and 6 steps |
| C (C5) | ······x–··············x–········ | steps 7 and 23 of 32, each held for 2 steps |
| A (A4) | ··························x––––– | step 27 of 32, each held for 6 steps |
x a hit, o a quiet hit, 2 or 3 a quick roll inside one step, – a note held on, · nothing.
Variations
The call twice
No answer: the hook never lands.
The answer twice
It lands home both times: settled, but nothing pulls you on.
Where it’s used
House
120–128 bpmA kick on every beat, everything else in the gaps
Signature: Four-on-the-floor GenreReggaeton
88–100 bpmThe dembow rhythm: boom ch-boom-chick
Signature: Dembow GenreDrum & bass
170–176 bpmA fast two-step break and a growling bass
Signature: Two-step breakAlso common in Pop, Funk, Blues and Gospel.
Learn this pattern step by step
The course builds up to it from Unit 1, which is free. Sign up with Google and start with the first lesson; it plays in your browser, like this page.
Pick up where you left off
Carry on with Unit 1, then Call-and-response hook comes in Unit 5: Melody.