Sound of SongJuly 31, 2015

Songs are the soundtrack of our lives and it takes a kind of genius to create a true pop masterpiece. But, as Neil Brand argues, there is more to consider in the story of what makes a great song. Neil looks at every moment in the life cycle of a song - how they are written, performed, recorded and the changing ways we have listened to them. He reveals how it is the wonderful alchemy of all of these elements that makes songs so special to us.

Sound of Song was broadcast on BBC4 at Sunday 19 February 2017, 19:00. This episode was initially placed on Friday 16 January 2015.