“The chorus to me is the gist of the song; that’s where the idea is delivered … If I don’t get the chorus right, it’s no use in me writing the song” —Toby Keith
The chorus is the section that is meant to really sell a song. But one of the most common traps that new songwriters fall into is creating a chorus that sounds too much like the verse and therefore isn’t distinctive enough to stand out from the rest of the song.
If your chorus doesn’t contain the most memorable melody and lyrics in the whole song, it is unlikely to get stuck in the listener’s head and won’t sustain his or her interest.
A chorus that is based on the same set of four or five notes as the verse may lack a unique shape. This can result in a song that resembles a flat, boring landscape with no dramatic peaks that stand out and fill the listener with awe.
So how do you create a standout chorus that lifts the energy level and keeps the song memorable?
Firstly, there has to be a significant difference between the verse melody and the chorus melody. One of the most effective ways of achieving this is to build a ‘lift’ into the chorus melody by placing the chorus higher in the scale than the verse. Many hit songwriters even change to a higher key at the chorus to make it stand out and give the hook extra potency.
Using the same chord progression in the verse and chorus can also make both sections sound too similar, even if you write the verse in a lower melodic range. So surprise the listener.
—Use a different chord sequence that involves more (or fewer) chord changes than in the verse.
—Make the first chord of your chorus different from the first chord of the verse.
—Make the number of lines in the chorus different from the number of lines in the verse.
—Make sure the last chord of the chorus is different from the first chord of the verse.
— Make the rhyming pattern of the chorus lyrics and the cadence of the syllables different from the verse.
— Make the information conveyed in the chorus simple enough for people to remember the words easily.
The chorus should also contain a big ‘pay-off’ line in order to give the listener a sense of satisfaction and completion. The pay-off is usually the hook or title line and can come at the beginning or the end of the chorus. It should pack a big punch to add extra emotional impact.
You can also make the chorus stand out—and really drive it home—by repeating it several times throughout the song. If you analyze some of today’s hit songs, you’ll find that the chorus is often repeated at least four times … and even more frequently in many dance-oriented pop songs.
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