Many new songwriters often end up with individual sections in their songs that are either way too long, much too short, or not the same length each time they are used.
Such an imbalance in the structure of a song can make it sound clumsy and difficult to understand. The song may also lack the essential symmetry that gives listeners a reassuring sense of predictability which can subconsciously influence their opinion of a song.
The best way to develop a good understanding of the ideal length for each building block in today’s hit songs is by analyzing these individual sections yourself, by ear. Take your favorite songs apart, see how they are constructed, and time the length of each intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus and bridge.
INTRO
You are likely to find that an intro is typically between 10-14 seconds long (4-8 bars) and the first verse is usually reached within 15 seconds. Intros for ballads tend to be shorter in order to get the listener into the body of the song faster.
VERSE
Most verses last for about 45 seconds, on average, and are usually eight bars long (although some may have 12 bars or 16 bars).
PRE-CHORUS
If a pre-chorus is used, it is often two or four bars in length (about 5-10 seconds)— with the verse correspondingly shorter to allow the song to hit the first chorus within 60 seconds.
CHORUS
Most choruses are often four bars or eight bars long (about 30 seconds).
BRIDGE
The bridge is frequently about 30 seconds long, about the same length as the chorus.
The overall length of your song is also important because listeners may lose inter- est if it is too long (because they think it’s boring) or too short (because they feel it lacks substance and they don’t find it satisfying).
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