When you analyze your favorite writers’ songs, you will find there are five basic elements around which most of their songs are built: the intro, the verse, a pre-chorus, a chorus and a bridge (also known as a ‘middle eight’).
There are always variations, of course, but very few hit songs stray far from using one of these five well-established frameworks:
1. Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus.
2. Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus.
3. Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus.
4. Verse, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Chorus.
5. Verse, Pre-Chorus, Chorus, Verse, Pre-Chorus, Chorus.
The second of these structures (Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus) is the most popular song form today. The melodic ‘hook’ and title line are usually built into the chorus. Some writers also include a pre-chorus or ‘lift’ that connects the end of the verse to the chorus itself.
INTRO
Most songs start with a four-bar introduction (or ‘intro’), although some songs may open with the chorus or go straight into the first verse. The intro is usually a catchy melodic phrase or riff that establishes the feel and tempo of the song and prepares the listener for the first verse.
It is always best to create the intro as part of your song, rather than adlib it as an afterthought when recording your demo.
VERSE
The verse tells the story like a chapter in a book, with different words in each verse to drive the story forward. Although some verses may have 12 bars or 16 bars, most verses in today’s hit songs tend to have no more than eight lyric lines and are usu- ally eight bars long (the eight bars often comprise three two-bar melodies with a slight variation in the fourth two-bar melody line).
PRE-CHORUS
Typically only four bars long, the pre-chorus (also known as a ‘lift’) is designed to add a burst of extra energy at the end of the verse. Its function is to suddenly lift the melody and propel the listener into the chorus.
CHORUS
The chorus is the part of the song that is meant to get stuck in the listener’s head. While the lyrics are usually the same in every chorus, it should be melodically dif- ferent from the verse with different chord changes. The chorus must contain the song’s title and melodic ‘hook’, and should repeat the title line almost like a catch- phrase. Most choruses are typically four bars or eight bars long, with no more than eight lines of lyrics.
The chorus usually follows a verse, but songs that famously begin with the chorus include The Beatles’ ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘Imma Be’ by the Black Eyed Peas and Pink’s ‘Get the Party Started’.
BRIDGE
The bridge or ‘middle-eight’ is a four-bar or eight-bar section that usually only appears once in a song. It is designed to provide a temporary release from the repetition of the verse and chorus. It usually contains a whole new melody, with up to four lines of new lyrics that continue to expand the song’s story line (sometimes with an ironic twist).
To give your song symmetry, each verse, pre-chorus, chorus and bridge should be the same length every time. Straying too far from these established frameworks can make a song’s form sound confusing and the melody may lack a recognizable shape (and therefore won’t stick in the listener’s mind).
VERSE-REFRAIN FORM
While the majority of today’s hit songs are based on the verse-chorus format, some songs still use the more traditional verse-refrain structure.
A refrain is similar to a chorus, but musically and lyrically it is used to resolve and end a verse, whereas a chorus begins a distinctively new music section. Some verse-refrain songs may also include a bridge section.
REFRAIN
A refrain is typically a two-line repeated statement placed at the end of a verse. It usually includes the title line and the lyrics comment on or summarizes the pre-ceding verse.
The refrain section should play the same role as the all-important hook in the verse-chorus format. Melodically and lyrically it should be catchy and memorable so that it stands out, lets people know what the song is called, and gets inside the listener’s head.
One of the most famous examples of a verse-refrain song is Paul Simon’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’. The refrain at the end of each verse consists of the same line sung twice: “Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down”.
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