The song famously flopped twice before becoming a hit. Each attempt changed the instrumental's "feel": Sound Diving #2 - Take On Me - mu:zines
: The driving beat was created using a LinnDrum machine . Interestingly, to keep the energy high, the tempo (originally 169 BPM) was manually bumped up by 0.5 BPM during the final verse using a sync box a_ha_take_on_me_instrumental_version
: The main melody was primarily played on a Roland Juno-60 Go to product viewer dialog for this item. . To achieve its "metallic bite," the was layered with a Yamaha DX7 Go to product viewer dialog for this item. The song famously flopped twice before becoming a hit
: When Furuholmen and Pål Waaktaar-Savoy were in their previous band, Bridges , the riff was used in a song titled "Miss Eerie" . They actually considered scrapping it because they thought it sounded too much like "chewing gum" pop. They actually considered scrapping it because they thought
The story of the is one of persistence, technical experimentation, and a "chewing gum" riff that almost didn't make the cut. Before it became a global synth-pop anthem, the music's foundation went through several iterations that define its unique sound today. The Origins: From "Miss Eerie" to "Lesson One"
The instrumental track is a masterclass in 1980s music production, blending early digital and analog gear.
: The instrumental also features a PPG Wave for the bell-like sounds, a Go to product viewer dialog for this item.