Mozart’s Classical Melody Reappears in Pop Music

Mozart is still alive and well in pop music today

People don’t usually associate Classical music and pop music together. For most of us, music from Classical composers like Mozart rests on a totally different tier from the trendy pop music of today. But I can’t help but notice that pop music likes to borrow melodies from Classical music. Just an example: the melody from the first movement of Mozart’s Symphony 40 in G minor is prominently featured in quite a few pop songs in Asia.

If you’re not familiar with Mozart’s Symphony 40, I’m sure that once you hear it, you’ll recognize it. It’s a famous melody that has sort of seeped into society’s consciousness. The motif is marked by a descending melody comprised of series of 2 eighth notes and 1 quarter note. Because the music in a minor key, the music lends a moody, dramatic and suspenseful atmosphere. The momentum inherent in the music really tugs at the listener’s emotions.

Main Theme from first movement of Mozart's Symphony 40

Click here to listen to the original symphony by Mozart.

Now get ready to hear totally different reincarnations of that memorable melody.

In 2004, the Korean boyband TVXQ came out with a rock song called “Tri-angle” that borrowed the  exact original instrumentation of the symphony as their song’s musical accompaniment. Mozart’s melody maintains it’s prominence throughout the song, even though the pop song itself has its own melody. The song itself is talking about disillusionment with society, very existentialist actually.  So in that way, I think using the melody from Symphony 40 makes sense because it evokes that dramatic, moody, and profound feel. I think it’s a clever use of Mozart’s famous melody; betcha never thought Mozart can be rock eh?

In 2005, the Taiwanese girlband S.H.E came out with a pop song called “Don’t Want to Grow Up (不想长大).” This time, Mozart’s melody is used for the chorus of the pop song itself. They basically inserted lyrics into Mozart’s melody. You can also feel this dramatic/disillusioned quality in the song, especially since its talking about not wanting to grow up because it means losing innocence, purity, and idealistic dreams. So I guess it’s a reasonable application of Mozart’s melody, but I thought the cutesy voices of the singers really didn’t fit…

In 2006, the Korean drama “My Girl” featured a song in it’s OST called “Never Say Goodbye.” This song puts a funky hip-hop spin on Mozart’s melody. The upbeat rhythm and rapping gives Mozart’s melody a completely different character, but the message of the song is ultimately still more serious, about unrequited love. So even though the song sounds happy, the lyrics are actually quite depressing. Maybe the music writers chose Mozart’s melody as a reminder of the serious message of the song.

It’s kind of interesting how pop music ripped off Mozart’s Symphony 40 for three years consecutively. What do you think? Did they use Mozart’s melody effectively?

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Here are the respective pop songs for you to listen and compare:

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