The Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts has announced a new course launching this spring: “Max Martin: The Musical Architecture of the Number Ones.”
This class will examine the musicianship, theoretical foundations, and structural design behind the work of Martin, who is the single most successful hitmaker of the last 30 years: He has co-written and produced 28 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits, performed by Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, the Weeknd, the Backstreet Boys, ‘Nsync, Coldplay, Ariana Grande and many more.
He has won five Grammy Awards amid 25 nominations, but that is just one reflection of the ubiquity of the Swedish-born musician’s hits since the mid-1990s. The course will provide some much-needed perspective on his craft, as Martin (real name: Karl Martin Sandberg) rarely gives interviews.
The course will be taught by Associate Arts Professor Jeff Peretz, who is Music Director and Area Head of Musicianship and Songwriting at the Clive Davis Institute. According to the announcement, over 14 weeks, students will explore the harmonic language, melodic design, rhythmic vocabulary, lyrical construction, production principles, and signature devices that define Max Martin’s chart-topping catalog.
Designed for performers, songwriters, and producers, the course mirrors the structure of the Davis Institute’s Advanced Musicianship curriculum, where students will identify core tropes, patterns, and sonic identifiers within the 28 No. 1 hits, analyze the underlying mechanics, and then create original compositions inspired by the craft principles uncovered in class.
“Many producer-writers have enjoyed remarkable runs of success. No one else has sustained this level of cultural and commercial impact for nearly three decades. Max Martin hasn’t just participated in shifts in popular music—he has authored them, repeatedly, across multiple generations,” says Jeff Peretz.
There will be special guests throughout the semester. Jonny Buckland of Coldplay, a frequent Max collaborator and confirmed class lecturer says, “Max is arguably the most important songwriter of recent times and Jeff Peretz has rightly created a course exploring his biggest songs. Jeff knows more about music than anyone I know, making him the perfect guide to understanding Max’s extraordinary catalogue.”
Clive Davis Institute Chair Nicholas Sansano adds, “While musical styles come and go at breakneck speed, the underlying fundamentals of a well-written and well-produced song have remained fairly consistent. Max Martin has been incredibly successful navigating stylistic change because his work is always built upon strong musical fundamentals, clear structure, melodic sensibility, and intentionality. He consistently builds from a core that respects musicality and efficiently provides a song with clarity of intention.”
Prompted on how the class has been received amongst students, Jeff said, “The response from students has been unmistakable. The course filled on the first day of registration. My only remaining question is whether fourteen weeks is enough time to fully explore all twenty-eight number-one songs.”
Reached for comment, Martin responded, “Milking it huh? :)”
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source variety.com ’
