| You know what they say about rules? Actually | | | | sing. It's what they buy the record for. It's |
| they say lots of things about rules but | | | | usually the chorus although it need not be |
| here's two - rules were made to be broken, | | | | the entire chorus, but simply a two- or |
| and you have to know what the rules are | | | | four-bar phrase. It could be an instrumental |
| before you can break them. While Judge Dredd | | | | riff as in Whiter Shade of Pale or Smoke on |
| may not agree with the first, the second is | | | | the Water, or a processed vocal as in Cher's |
| certainly true and nevermore so than in | | | | Believe. |
| writing a song. | | | | |
| | | | All together now |
| The song structure may not be the first thing | | | | |
| you think about when you start writing. You | | | | Having described the parts of a song, let's |
| probably work on the verse or chorus, or | | | | see how they are commonly arranged. The most |
| maybe you have a good riff that you want to | | | | popular arrangement by far is simply |
| expand into a song. So you get that down and | | | | verse-chorus and repeat. Here are two |
| then you start to think about the other parts | | | | variations on the theme: |
| - the intro, how many verses, middle eight, | | | | |
| do you want an instrumental, the ending... | | | | Intro |
| | | | |
| Some song genres have a fairly rigid format, | | | | Verse 1 |
| others are more flexible, and you need to | | | | |
| know where you can bend the rules and why you | | | | Chorus |
| may not want to do so in order to make your | | | | |
| song stand out from the others. Let's look at | | | | Verse 2 |
| the sections you'll find in most songs and | | | | |
| the part they play in song construction. | | | | Chorus |
| | | | |
| Song parts | | | | Chorus |
| | | | |
| Intro. Yes, this leads you into the song. It | | | | Outro |
| may be two, four or eight bars long or | | | | |
| longer. Some songs don't have any intro at | | | | Intro |
| all. A pop song intro will often be | | | | |
| reminiscent of the chorus or the hook. In a | | | | Verse 1 |
| club song, it's often a good idea to have | | | | |
| eight bars of rhythm to help the DJ to mix | | | | Verse 2 |
| match your song. They say that music | | | | |
| publishers typically only listen to the first | | | | Chorus |
| 20 seconds of a song before deciding whether | | | | |
| to reject it so if you're sending material to | | | | Verse 3 |
| a publisher, keep the intro short and get | | | | |
| into the song as quickly as possible. Save | | | | Middle eight |
| the 5 minute intros for the CD version. | | | | |
| | | | Chorus |
| Verse. This is the preamble to the chorus. It | | | | |
| sets the scene, certainly lyrically, and as | | | | Chorus |
| the verses progress they often tell a story | | | | |
| or recount episodes from a situation although | | | | Outro |
| that's by no means essential. They are | | | | |
| typically eight or sixteen bars long and | | | | You get the picture. However, these are |
| melodically not usually as strong as the | | | | conventions rather than rules so you can |
| chorus although, again, that's by no means | | | | adapt, change or ignore them as you see fit. |
| essential. However, it often seems as if the | | | | But they have developed for a reason and that |
| songwriter ran out of ideas when writing the | | | | is simply to make the song as immediately |
| verse. One of the strengths of The Beatles' | | | | appealing to the listener as possible. |
| songs is that verses and choruses are equally | | | | |
| strong and most people could hum or sing | | | | Listen to some of the Stock, Aitken and |
| their way through most Beatles hits. Not so | | | | Waterman hits of the 80s (it's not compulsory |
| with many songs where the verses are little | | | | if you really can't bear to) and you'll see |
| more than fillers to get you to the chorus. | | | | that most follow the simplest format, |
| | | | guaranteed to brainwash the listener with as |
| Chorus. This the bit everyone remembers, | | | | many repeats of the hook as possible. They |
| whistles and sings along to. It should be the | | | | tend to be: |
| strongest part of the song and generally is | | | | |
| or contains the hook. It's usually eight or | | | | Intro (similar to the chorus) |
| sixteen bars long. | | | | |
| | | | Verse 1 |
| Middle eight. As a song progresses, there's a | | | | |
| danger of boredom setting for the listener. | | | | Chorus |
| The middle eight offers them a break and | | | | |
| typically comes after a couple of verses and | | | | Verse 2 |
| choruses. Some people think of it as an | | | | |
| alternative verse and that's one way to look | | | | Middle eight |
| at it. It often modulates to a different key | | | | |
| or introduces a new chord progression and it | | | | Chorus |
| usually doesn't include the song title. | | | | |
| However, all too often it's simply an excuse | | | | Chorus |
| for waffling on for a few bars. Although it's | | | | |
| called the middle eight it could be four or | | | | Outro |
| sixteen bars long. | | | | |
| | | | Notice that the hook's there straight away in |
| Bridge. Many people use the terms 'middle | | | | the intro, there's only one verse before the |
| eight' and 'bridge' synonymously and so | | | | chorus so you get to it quicker, and the |
| popular is this usage that it would be | | | | chorus tends to repeat at the end, just to |
| churlish to disagree. However, among those | | | | imprint the hook firmly in your mind. |
| who prefer to note the difference, a bridge | | | | |
| is a short section used to bridge the gap | | | | There are obvious exceptions to these |
| between verse and chorus. It may only be two | | | | formats. Ambient, trance, chill-out music and |
| or four bars long and it's often used when | | | | the like, are obvious candidates. With these |
| the verse and chorus are so different from | | | | you can start at the beginning and work |
| each other that a 'joining' phrase helps | | | | through to the end creating an evolving music |
| bring them together. | | | | form without any clear verse/chorus |
| | | | structure. Genres such as trance tend to |
| Instrumental. This is part of the song | | | | build to a series of crescendos several times |
| without any vocals. Yeah, okay. It's often an | | | | throughout the song. However, even these |
| instrumental version of the verse or chorus, | | | | types of song often have a hook or two on |
| it may be an improvised variation on one of | | | | which listeners can hang their hat. |
| these, or it may be an entirely different | | | | |
| tune and set of chords altogether. Sometimes | | | | Build ups and downs |
| it fits into a song where a vocal middle | | | | |
| eight would otherwise go. | | | | Bearing in mind that the purpose of a song is |
| | | | to keep the listeners listening and not allow |
| Breakdown/Break. This term has been high | | | | them to get bored, you need variety within |
| jacked from songs from the early 1900s when | | | | the song. Simply strumming a guitar and |
| it was common to either to reduce the | | | | singing verse/chorus/verse/chorus won't cut |
| instrumentation or stop it altogether while a | | | | the mustard unless you're in a folk club. The |
| tap dancer would strut his stuff. The term | | | | usual method is to start with a simple |
| 'break' is still sometimes used to indicate | | | | arrangement and add to it as the song |
| an instrumental section. 'Breakdown' is now | | | | progresses. |
| most commonly used in dance music for the | | | | |
| section where the percussion breaks down or | | | | So, the first verse might consist of light |
| is reduced, and it may be the dance | | | | drums, bass and rhythm guitar. As you move |
| equivalent of the middle eight. | | | | into the second verse you could add strings |
| | | | or a synth pad. A drum fill takes you into |
| Outro/Ending. Once upon a time, songs had | | | | the chorus which would include busier drums, |
| definite endings but the mid 1950s heralded | | | | maybe some additional percussion, a fuller |
| in the era of the fade-out and songwriters | | | | string arrangement and perhaps a lead line. |
| thought they would never have to write an | | | | When you dip back to the verse, you revert to |
| ending again. However, fade-outs became such | | | | the simpler arrangement. |
| clichés to the extent that fade out meant | | | | |
| cop out so songwriters started writing | | | | The middle eight is usually a lighter |
| endings again. With that in mind, you can do | | | | arrangement than the chorus and gives you the |
| as you wish, and considering that the endings | | | | opportunity to use different instrumentation |
| of most songs get talked over or cut short by | | | | if you want to. When you hit the second |
| radio DJs and mixed over by club DJs, you | | | | chorus, add backing vocals and a lead riff. |
| have only your artistic integrity and your CD | | | | The final chorus is the culmination the song |
| listeners to answer to. Some songs work | | | | and you can add more backing vocals, more |
| extremely well with fade outs but listen to | | | | percussion and additional lead lines. |
| songs in your chosen genre to see how other | | | | |
| writers approach endings. But whatever you | | | | Listen to songs in the style you are writing |
| do, avoid like the plague the three time tag | | | | and analyse their formats to see how far |
| ending. | | | | other exponents have stuck to or departed |
| | | | from the traditional formats. when you're |
| Hook. The hook is not a song part as such; | | | | familiar with the rules or conventions that |
| rather it's the term used to describe the | | | | they use, then you can experiment by breaking |
| part of the song that people remember and | | | | them. |