How to Sound Like… ABBA
Published on Friday 10 January 2025
In 2021, the moment finally came when Anni-Frid (1945), Björn (1945), Benny (1946) and Agnetha (1950) treated the world to a completely new album. Who’d have thought it? The band had long since broken up and even the promise of a billion dollar paycheck for a tour wasn’t tempting enough to bring them back together. However, this blog isn’t going to dig through the ABBA legend (you’ll be able to find plenty of ABBA history lessons documented in countless books and YouTube clips). Instead, we’re going to look at the musicality of this special band and the technical details that made it all possible. What are the necessary elements of the ABBA sound? Where do you start if you want to write a song like ABBA and how do you capture that distinct ABBA style?
The Instruments
ABBA was active in the ‘70s and early eighties, and the time period itself had a really big influence on the ABBA sound. The most recognisable ABBA arrangements combined acoustic instruments like pianos, bass guitars, guitars and drums with new electronic instruments: synthesizers. This blend coated every ABBA hit, B-side and even the more hidden gems that served as album fillers with a largely analogue-flavoured special sauce. When it comes to the synth side of things, the band stopped writing before FM synthesis became an affordable option, and before sampling became a mainstream writing tool, so the few synths that pianist Benny Anderson did play were the Yamaha GX-1, the Minimoog, the ARP Avatar and the ARP Odyssey. The GX-1 is now so rare it might as well be a myth – especially when it comes to the price (you’d pay the same for a two-bathroom house), mainly because the model was actually a prototype for the better-known Yamaha CS-80 that came after it. Luckily, these days you can get hold of all of these synths in a virtual software-based form that anyone can afford to pay for. So, if you want to imitate that side of the ABBA sound, it’s not too far out of reach.
Yamaha GX-1 – Photo (edited): Yamaha GX-1, by knothole eyes, licence CC BY 2.0
The Wall of Sound
Maybe one of the most well-known aspects of the ABBA sound is the way that everything is produced. This is also known as ABBA’s ‘wall of sound’, referring to the layered approach to the production – a technique that was the brainchild of the infamous producer Phil Spector (1939-2021). However contentious a character he was (who spent his final days serving time behind bars for murder), he was also an innovator. So it goes. ABBA’s steadfast producer Michael Tretow (1944) applied his own Wall of Sound to the ABBA productions and, just as George Martin (1926 – 2016) is often considered the fifth Beatle, so Tretow can be considered the fifth member of ABBA.
Overdubs, Double-Tracking & Harmonising
In practice, by building a Wall of Sound, ABBA arrangements didn’t revolve around a typical band format, but an orchestra of tens upon tens of tracks. Guitars were double-tracked, instruments were combined and synths and vocals were overdubbed. The voices of Anni-Frid and Agnetha were the main event, while Benny and Björn added occasional backing vocals here and there. Besides multiple, precise double tracks of exactly the same vocal lines, vocal harmonies were layered on to build the hallmark ABBA choir sound. Doubling the guitars, meanwhile, is pretty much a production standard. Metal production often hard-pans two electric guitars playing the same riff to the left and right of the stereo image to create a big and impressive sound. Double tracking acoustic guitars and hard panning them in the same way is also a great method for filling out the sound of a track and can sort of play the rhythmic role of a hi-hat, supporting the beat. Overdubbed recordings of various instruments is another classic element of the Wall of Sound, so pianos, harpsichords, synthesizers and guitars to the point where, when you mix them in so that they fall in line with one another, a new and full overall sound emerges. In the early years of Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound, he kept his production secrets well under wraps, so it took a while before other producers understood just how he pulled it all off.
Effects
A method that we haven’t even mentioned yet is the effects. There are some purists out there who prefer to keep the sound of their instrument clean and don’t like anything to be too fussy, but if you want that genuine ABBA sound, then you will need to give into the power of effects. Besides overdubs, one of the main ingredients of Spector’s Wall of Sound was reverb, which he would apply to a specific instrument in such a way that it would enhance and thicken up the sound of all the other instruments. In keeping with this, Spector was also a big fan of microphone crosstalk. This is where the microphone picking up one instrument would also pick up the instruments around it, so you always had a trace of other instruments on every track. This meant that when you panned one track, a little of all the other instruments was panned as well; when you tweaked the tone, the changes were also subtly applied to every instrument; and the same thing happened when you applied any effects. On ‘Lay All Your Love On Me’ you can hear this really bizarre effect on the vocals, just before the chorus kicks in. This kind of effect is something that’s carefully developed in the studio – so it takes time. It’s far harder to reproduce that kind of sound when you’re playing live. Generally, ABBA didn’t go too nuts with the effects and, what they did use could be described as pretty standard and conventional – but no less essential for recreating that true ABBA vibe.
A Real Studio Act
At this point, it’s worth noting that, thanks to the use of all of those effects and track layers, ABBA was a fully fledged studio act. The band members themselves have often said that they feel this way and that, at their core, touring and playing live isn’t really for them.
A live ABBA show can take one of three possible forms. The first is that all of the layers of the arrangement, including the vocal choirs are played as backing tracks. The second is that everything, so every track is performed live, which makes for an insanely large backing band, including a full choir that needs to sound (at least approximately) like Anni-Frid and Agnetha to really work. The final option is to reduce the ABBA sound right down so it can be played by a reasonably sized band. But the truth is that the big ABBA sound is a crucial aspect and without it, it just wouldn’t be ABBA any more. Playing the right notes won’t cut it. What you really need is a few weeks – maybe a few months – spent in the studio carefully mixing and tweaking everything until it comes together in glorious ABBA style.
The Drums
Since ABBA was busy recording in the ‘70s and it was the style of times, the drum sound was always really short and dry. Also, they always stuck to the same drummer: Ola Brunkert (1946 – 2008).
The Snare
ABBA always stuck to real acoustic drums, so there was never any sign of early drum machines, but if you want the true ABBA snare sound, then you’re going to have to get creative. Dampers probably need applying to the batter and resonance heads, or a tea towel will need to be draped over the top. You’ll also need some compressors on the snare mics and, to really dig down into the details, it’s also worth remembering that ABBA was heavily influenced by the disco music of the time. One of the standard disco production tricks was to use an equalizer to force a scoop around the 300 Hertz mark, which retains the treble and bass frequencies while taking a big bite out of the mid frequencies. Usually, this will remove a significant amount of resonance from your snare sound, but the frequency will naturally vary depending on the depth and diameter of the snare drum you’re using, so this trick will always need to be tailored a bit. Have a listen to this short example: the first part is clean and the second is processed by an equalizer.
The Cymbals
Another hallmark of the ABBA sound, and one that you might not have thought about just yet, is the modest role of the cymbals. The use of cymbals is pretty subtle, but they’re definitely there, and in your average ABBA number, the crash definitely never gets crazy. So, for example the hi-hat is there but pushed back, fitting in with the general rule that the hi-hat plays a supporting role for the beat while the crashes create an accent, usually to herald the start of a chorus or verse. Hi-hats are often played in eighths or sixteenths but, the thing is, there are a lot of layered instruments within ABBA songs that also fulfill this role – including the synthesizers, so the hi-hat is far less prominent in some songs than in others. And when it comes to the crash, I actually challenge you to try and find a crash accent in any ABBA song. You’ll have to listen really closely because, when they do happen, they are pushed right down in the mix.
Identity
The music of ABBA is far from simple. We’ve already talked about the complex layering, but the notes that ABBA use aren’t just any old notes. Also, there are plenty of pop hits out there where the vocals are the main event while the arrangement isn’t much to talk about, but with ABBA, things are very different. Usually, something pretty special is happening; something that’s immediately recognizable and even lingers in the mind. You could call it a hook or an earworm or you could call it the core identity of the song. The bouncing flute-like notes in the opening of ‘Gimme, Gimme, Gimme’ is just one of their many earworms, and later would provide the hook for ‘Hung Up’ by Madonna. And who could ever forget the high piano chords from Dancing Queen? If you want to write arrangements like ABBA then, as a composer, you need to give yourself a really central role in the whole song, making the vocals a part of the arrangement rather than the main event. If there are a few bars without any vocals or the vocal line has just ended, then grab that space and do something special with the instrumentation. All going well, that’s the moment where you can give the song its own unique identity.
The Notes
The theme is perhaps the most difficult part to deal with. The choice of notes is always closely related to the lyrics and, when it comes to ABBA songs, those notes are not easy to compare. You could cite the fact that Björn and Benny took a lot from the European folk they grew up listening to on Swedish radio, while the average listener might say that all of those synthesizers and all of that detailed production gives ABBA’s music a futuristic feel. A schlager (which is German for ‘hit’ and ‘schlager music’ is essentially German folk) is not what you immediately think of when you hear ABBA. However, in songs like I Have a Dream you can actually hear the simplicity that’s characteristic of a lot of schlager songs. Then there’s the Mediterranean folk influence in Chiquitita. An accordion even features on The Way Old Friends Do – an instrument that very rarely makes an appearance on pop records. Björn and Benny drew inspiration from all over the continent: from Italy, Spain, Germany and France, all while many other artists in the ‘70s were solely focussed on what was coming out of America. Essentially and musically, ABBA is a very Euro-centric band, which is another undeniable part of what makes them so unique.
Don’t Hold Back
When I said that, as the composer, you should give the arrangement a central role in the work, I really meant it. If, as the arranger and composer, you hold back when directing the vocalist then you’ll never make an ABBA song. The trick is to dare yourself to give the music a prominent role. You can pull this off by using less-standard chords, throwing in some expansive frills and by using other big and ostentatious writing and production methods. Above all, if you really want to achieve that ABBA sound, a massive more-is-more approach to the studio production is an absolute must. If you’re tempted to hold back because you’re busy wondering how on earth you’re going to perform any of it live without hiring in a hundred extra musicians, then you’ll never be able to write an ABBA song.
Great Expectations
In 2021 two new songs dropped: I Still Have Faith In You and Don’t Shut Me Down, signalling the release of the complete new album, Voyage that followed. Productionally speaking, it’s an exciting record. Does it sound like ABBA did in the ‘70s and early ‘80s? This isn’t an arbitrary question, especially because a lot of artists tend to lean into new technological trends when making new material, not realising that it was the sound of their era that also helped give their work its unique stamp. Whether or not this has happened on Voyage is up to the ABBA-loving public to decide.
Want to know more about the Wall of Sound? Let us know in the comments and if the public demands it, we will provide a dedicated blog on the subject.
See also
» How to Compose for Film Like Hans Zimmer
» How Do You Write Music for a Musical?
» How to Write Christmas Music?
» Music Composition for Beginners
» How to Sound Like a Jazz Drummer
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