FOR ONLINE-ONLIVE Music Theory Lesson Purposes ONLY.
TOPIC: Song Structure
Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of
the songwriting process. It is typically sectional, which uses repeating forms
in songs. Common forms include bar form, 32-bar form, verse–chorus
form, ternary form, strophic form, and the 12-bar blues. Popular music songs
traditionally use the same music for each verse or stanza of lyrics (as
opposed to songs that are "through-composed"—an approach used
in classical music art songs). Pop and traditional forms can be used even
with songs that have structural differences in melodies. The most common
format in modern popular music is introduction (intro), verse, pre-chorus,
chorus (or refrain), verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge ("middle eight"), verse,
chorus and outro. In rock music styles, notably heavy metal music, there is
usually one or more guitar solos in the song, often found after the middle
chorus part. In pop music, there may be a guitar solo, or a solo may be
performed by a synthesizer player or sax player.
Elements:
The introduction is a unique section that comes at the beginning of the piece.
Generally speaking, an introduction contains just music and no words. It
usually builds up suspense for the listener so when the downbeat drops in, it
creates a pleasing sense of release. The intro also creates the atmosphere
of the song. As such, the rhythm section typically plays in the "feel" of the
song that follows. For example, for a blues shuffle, a band starts playing a
shuffle rhythm. In some songs, the intro is one or more bars of
the tonic chord (the "home" key of the song). With songs, another role of the
intro is to give the singer the key of the song. For this reason, even if an intro
includes chords other than the tonic, it generally ends with a cadence, either
on the tonic or dominant chord.
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Verse
In popular music, a verse roughly corresponds to a poetic stanza because it
consists of rhyming lyrics most often with an AABB or ABAB rhyme scheme.
When two or more sections of the song have almost identical music but
different lyrics, each section is considered one verse.
Musically, "the verse is to be understood as a unit
that prolongs the tonic....The musical structure of the verse nearly always
recurs at least once with a different set of lyrics." The tonic or "home key"
chord of a song can be prolonged in a number of ways. Pop and rock songs
often use chords closely related to the tonic, such as iii or vi, to prolong the
tonic. In the key of C Major, the iii chord would be E Minor and the vi chord
would be A Minor. These chords are considered closely related to the tonic
because they share chord tones. For example, the chord E Minor includes
the notes E and G, both of which are part of the C Major triad. Similarly, the
chord A Minor includes the notes C and E, both part of the C Major triad.
Lyrically, "the verse contains the details of the song: the story, the events,
images and emotions that the writer wishes to express.... Each verse will
have different lyrics from the others." "A verse exists primarily to support the
chorus or refrain...both musically and lyrically." A verse of a song, is a
repeated sung melody where the words change from use to use (though not
necessarily a great deal).
Pre-chorus
An optional section that may occur after the verse is the pre-chorus. Also
known as a "build", "channel", or "transitional bridge", the pre-chorus
functions to connect the verse to the chorus with intermediary material,
typically using subdominant (usually built on the IV chord or ii chord, which in
the key of C Major would be an F Major or D minor chord) or similar
transitional harmonies. "Often, a two-phrase verse containing basic chords
is followed by a passage, often harmonically probing, that leads to the full
chorus." Often, when verse and chorus use the same harmonic structure,
the pre-chorus introduces a new harmonic pattern or harmony that prepares
the verse chords to transition into the chorus.
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For example, if a song is set in C Major, and the songwriter aims to get to a
chorus that focuses on the dominant chord (G Major) being tonicized (treated
like a "home key" for a short period), a chord progression could be used for
the pre-chorus that gets the listener ready to hear the chorus' chord (G Major)
as an arrival key. One widely used way to accomplish this is to precede the
G Major chord with its own ii–V7 chords. In the key given, ii of G Major would
be an A minor chord. V7 of G Major would be D7. As such, with the example
song, this could be done by having a pre-chorus that consists of one bar of
A minor and one bar of D7. This would allow the listener to expect a
resolution from ii–V to I, which in this case is the temporary tonic of G Major.
The chord A minor would not be unusual to the listener, as it is a shared
chord that exists in both G Major and C Major. A minor is the ii chord in G
Major, and it is the vi chord in C Major. The chord that would alert the listener
that a change was taking place is the D7 chord. There is no D7 chord in C
Major. A listener experienced with popular and traditional music would hear
this as a secondary dominant. Harmonic theorists and arrangers would call it
V7/V or five of five, as the D7 chord is the dominant (or fifth) chord of G
Major.
Chorus or refrain
Main article: Refrain
"The difference between refrain and chorus is not always cut-and-dried; both
refer to passages of unchanging music and text providing a periodic sense
of return." "At times, the term 'refrain' has been used interchangeably with
'chorus.' Technically, the refrain may be considered anything that's not the
verse....a song part that contains the hook or title and appears more than
once in a song is usually called 'a chorus.' "The chorus contains the main
idea, or big picture, of what is being expressed lyrically and musically. It is
repeated throughout the song, and the melody and lyric rarely vary." A refrain
is, "a repeated line or musical phrase that ties a song together...A refrain is
only a phrase, or a word, while a chorus contains many more words." A
refrain is a repetitive phrase or phrases that serve the function of a chorus
lyrically, but are not in a separate section or long enough to be a chorus. For
example, refrains are found in The Beatles' "She Loves You" ("yeah, yeah,
yeah") AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long", Paul Simon's "The Sound
of Silence", and "Deck the Halls" ("fa la la la la").
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The chorus or refrain is the element of the song that repeats at least once
both musically and lyrically. It is always of greater musical and emotional
intensity than the verse. "The chorus, which gets its name from a usual
thickening of texture from the addition of backing vocals, is always a discrete
section that nearly always prolongs the tonic and carries an unvaried poetic
text." In terms of narrative, the chorus conveys the main message or theme
of the song. Normally the most memorable element of the song for listeners,
the chorus usually contains the hook.
Post-chorus
Main article: Post-chorus
An optional section that may occur after the chorus is the post-
chorus (or postchorus). The term can be used generically for any section that
comes after a chorus, but more often refers to a section that has similar
character to the chorus, but is distinguishable in close analysis. The concept
of a post-chorus has been particularly popularized and analyzed by music
theorist Asaf Peres, who is followed in this section.
Characterizations of post-chorus vary, but are broadly classed into simply a
second chorus (in Peres's terms, a detached postchorus) or an extension of
the chorus (in Peres's terms, an attached postchorus). Some restrict "post-
chorus" to only cases where it is an extension of a chorus (attached
postchorus), and do not consider the second part of two-part choruses
(detached postchorus) as being a "post"-chorus.
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Bridge[edit]
Main article: Bridge (music)
A bridge may be a transition, but in popular music, it more often is "...a
section that contrasts with the verse...[,] usually ends on the dominant...[,]
[and] often culminates in a strong re-transitional." "The bridge is a device that
is used to break up the repetitive pattern of the song and keep the listener's
attention....In a bridge, the pattern of the words and music change." For
example, John Denver's "Country Roads" is a song with a bridge
while Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" is a song without
one.
In music theory, "middle eight" (a common type of bridge) refers to a section
of a song with a significantly different melody and lyrics, which helps the
song develop itself in a natural way by creating a contrast to the previously
played, usually placed after the second chorus in a song.
Conclusion or outro
Main article: Outro (music)
The conclusion or (in popular-music terminology) outro of a song is a way of
ending or completing the song. It signals to the listeners that the song is
nearing its close. The reason for having an outro is that if a song just ended
at the last bar of a section, such as on the last verse or the last chorus, this
might feel too abrupt for listeners. By using an outro, the songwriter signals
that the song is, in fact, nearing its end. This gives the listeners a good sense
of closure. For DJs, the outro is a signal that they need to be ready to mix in
their next song.
In general, songwriters and arrangers do not introduce any new melodies or
riffs in the outro. However, a melody or riff used throughout the song may be
re-used as part of an outro. Generally, the outro is a section where the
energy of the song, broadly defined, dissipates. For example, many songs
end with a fade-out, in which the song gets quieter and quieter. In many
songs, the band does a ritardando during the outro, a process of gradually
slowing down the tempo. Both the fade-out and the ritardando are ways of
decreasing the intensity of a song and signaling that it is nearing its
conclusion.
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For an outro that fades out, the arranger or songwriter typically repeats a
short section of the music over and over. This can be the chorus, for
example. An audio engineer then uses the fader on the mixing board to
gradually decrease the volume of the recording. When a tribute band plays
a cover song that, in the recorded version ends with a fade-out, the live band
may imitate that by playing progressively quieter.
Another way many pop and rock songs end is with a tag. There are two types
of tags: the instrumental tag and the instrumental/vocal tag. With an
instrumental tag, the vocalist no longer sings, and the band's rhythm
section takes over the music to finish off the song. A tag is often a vamp of
a few chords that the band repeats. In a jazz song, this could be a
standard turnaround, such as I–vi–ii–V7 or a stock progression, such as ii–
V7. If the tag includes the tonic chord, such as a vamp on I–IV, the
bandleader typically cues the last time that the penultimate chord (a IV chord
in this case) is played, leading to an ending on the I chord. If the tag does
not include the tonic chord, such as with a ii–V7 tag, the bandleader cues
the band to do a cadence that resolves onto the tonic (I) chord. With an
instrumental and vocal tag, the band and vocalist typically repeat a section
of the song, such as the chorus, to give emphasis to its message. In some
cases, the vocalist may use only a few words from the chorus or even one
word. Some bands have the guitar player do a guitar solo during the outro,
but it is not the focus of the section; instead, it is more to add interesting
improvisation. A guitar solo during an outro is typically mixed lower than a
mid-song guitar solo.
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Instrumental solo
Main article: Solo (music)
A solo is a section designed to showcase an instrumentalist (e.g. a guitarist
or a harmonica player) or less commonly, more than one instrumentalist
(e.g., a trumpeter and a sax player). Guitar solos are common in rock music,
particularly heavy metal and in the blues. The solo section may take place
over the chords from the verse, chorus, or bridge, or over a standard solo
backing progression, such as the 12-bar blues progression. In some pop
songs, the solo performer plays the same melodies that were performed by
the lead singer, often with flourishes and embellishments, such as riffs, scale
runs, and arpeggios. In blues- or jazz-influenced pop songs, the solo
performers may improvise a solo.
Ad lib
An ad lib section of a song (usually in the coda or outro) occurs when the
main lead vocal or a second lead vocal breaks away from the already
established lyric and/or melody to add melodic interest and intensity to the
end of the song. Often, the ad lib repeats the previously sung line using
variations on phrasing, melodic shape, and/or lyric, but the vocalist may also
use entirely new lyrics or a lyric from an earlier section of the song. During
an ad lib section, the rhythm may become freer (with the rhythm section
following the vocalist), or the rhythm section may stop entirely, giving the
vocalist the freedom to use whichever tempo sounds right. During live
performances, singers sometimes include ad libs not originally in the song,
such as making a reference to the town of the audience or customizing the
lyrics to the current events of the era.
There is a distinction between ad lib as a song section and ad lib as a general
term. Ad lib as a general term can be applied to any free interpretation of the
musical material.
