Information about Song Structure (popular Music)
The structures or musical forms of songs in popular music are typically sectional forms, such as strophic form. Other common forms include thirty-two-bar form, verse-chorus form, and twelve bar blues. Popular music songs are rarely through-composed.
The verse and chorus are considered primary, while the introduction and coda or ending may or may not be used in different performances and are not considered essential to the identity of most songs. A bridge is slightly more important. The verse and chorus are usually repeated throughout a song though the bridge, intro, and outro are usually only used once.
Chorus is used to mean the refrain of a song, which often sharply contrasts the verse melodically, rhythmically, and harmonically, and assumes a higher level of dynamics and activity, often with added instrumentation. Chorus form, or strophic form, is a sectional and/or additive way of structuring a piece of music based on the repetition of one formal section or block played repeatedly.
When two or more sections of the song have basically identical music and lyrics these sections are probably instances of the chorus.
In song writing, a bridge is an interlude that connects two parts of that song, building a harmonic connection between those parts.
Normally you should have heard the verse at least twice. The bridge may then replace the 3rd verse or precede it. In the latter case it delays an expected chorus. The chorus after the bridge is usually last and is often repeated in order to stress that it is final.
If and when you expect a verse or a chorus and you get something that is musically and lyrically different from both verse and chorus, it is most likely the bridge.
Thirty-two-bar form uses four sections, most often eight measures long each (4×8=32), two verses or A sections, a contrasting B section, the bridge or "middle-eight", and a return of the verse in one last A section (AABA).
Sections are often defined through the use of different chord progressions in different sections. However, the repetition of one chord progression may mark off the only section in a simple verse form such as the twelve bar blues.
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The verse and chorus are considered primary, while the introduction and coda or ending may or may not be used in different performances and are not considered essential to the identity of most songs. A bridge is slightly more important. The verse and chorus are usually repeated throughout a song though the bridge, intro, and outro are usually only used once.
Verse
In popular music a verse roughly corresponds with a poetic stanza. When two or more sections of the song have basically identical music and different lyrics these sections are probably the verses of the song.Chorus
- Main article: Refrain.
Chorus is used to mean the refrain of a song, which often sharply contrasts the verse melodically, rhythmically, and harmonically, and assumes a higher level of dynamics and activity, often with added instrumentation. Chorus form, or strophic form, is a sectional and/or additive way of structuring a piece of music based on the repetition of one formal section or block played repeatedly.
When two or more sections of the song have basically identical music and lyrics these sections are probably instances of the chorus.
Bridge
- Main article: Bridge (music).
In song writing, a bridge is an interlude that connects two parts of that song, building a harmonic connection between those parts.
Normally you should have heard the verse at least twice. The bridge may then replace the 3rd verse or precede it. In the latter case it delays an expected chorus. The chorus after the bridge is usually last and is often repeated in order to stress that it is final.
If and when you expect a verse or a chorus and you get something that is musically and lyrically different from both verse and chorus, it is most likely the bridge.
Vocal Runs
A Vocal Run is a melismatic variation on the chorus of a song. It is mostly used at the end or beginning of a song and adds a new layer to a chorus.AABA form
- Main article: Thirty-two-bar form.
Thirty-two-bar form uses four sections, most often eight measures long each (4×8=32), two verses or A sections, a contrasting B section, the bridge or "middle-eight", and a return of the verse in one last A section (AABA).
Variation on the basic structure
Verse-chorus form or ABA form may be combined with AABA form, in compound AABA forms. a1 and a2 can also be used..Twelve bar blues and other chord progressions
- Main article: chord progression.
Sections are often defined through the use of different chord progressions in different sections. However, the repetition of one chord progression may mark off the only section in a simple verse form such as the twelve bar blues.
Music
Definition: The creation of an audible collage of music - or the use of color, shape and substance to embody a musical concept.Further reading
- Sheila Davis. "The Craft of Lyric Writing", Writer's Digest Books (1985)
- Sheila Davis. "Successful Lyric Writing", Writer's Digest Books (1988)
- Sheila Davis. "The Songwriter's Idea Book", Writer's Digest Books (1992)
- Richard Middleton. "Form", in Horner, Bruce and Swiss, Thomas, eds. (1999) Key Terms in Popular Music and Culture. Malden, Massachusetts. ISBN 0-631-21263-9.
- Covach, John. "Form in Rock Music: A Primer", in Stein, Deborah (2005). Engaging Music: Essays in Music Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-517010-5.
- Everett, Walter, ed. Rock Music: Critical Essays on Composition, Performance, Analysis, and Reception. Cited in Covach (2005).
- Covach, John and Boone, Graham, eds. Understanding Rock: Essays in Musical Analysis. Cited in Covach (2005).
External links
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The term musical form refers to two related concepts:
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- the type of composition (for example, a musical work can have the form of a symphony, a concerto, or other generic type -- see Multi-movement forms below)
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A song is a relatively short musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed with the human voice and generally feature words (lyrics), commonly accompanied by other musical instruments (exceptions would be a cappella and scat songs).
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Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. It stands in contrast to art music[1]
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In music, strophic form (or chorus form) is a sectional and/or additive way of structuring a piece of music based on the repetition of one formal section or block played repeatedly.
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The term musical form refers to two related concepts:
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- the type of composition (for example, a musical work can have the form of a symphony, a concerto, or other generic type -- see Multi-movement forms below)
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The thirty-two-bar form, often shortened to AABA, is a musical form common in Tin Pan Alley songs, later popular music including rock and pop music, and jazz. Though "there were few instances of it in any type of popular music until the late teens," it became "the principal
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Verse-chorus form is a musical form common in popular music and predominant in rock since the 1960s. In contrast to AABA form, which is focused on the verse (contrasted and prepared by the bridge), in verse-chorus form the chorus is highlighted (prepared and contrasted with the
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12-bar blues is one of the most popular chord progressions in popular music.
It has a distinctive form in both lyrics and chord structure which has been used in songs in many forms of popular music.
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It has a distinctive form in both lyrics and chord structure which has been used in songs in many forms of popular music.
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Through-composed describes music which is relatively continuous, non-sectional, and/or non-repetitive.
A song is said to be through-composed if it has different music for each stanza of the lyrics. It is opposed to strophic form, in which each stanza is set to the same music.
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A song is said to be through-composed if it has different music for each stanza of the lyrics. It is opposed to strophic form, in which each stanza is set to the same music.
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In music, the introduction is a passage or section which opens a movement or a separate piece. In popular music this is often called an intro. The introduction establishes melodic, harmonic, and/or rhythmic material related to the main body of a piece (Pease 2003, p.172).
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Coda (Italian for "tail"; from the Latin cauda, see below), in music, is a passage which brings a movement or a separate piece to a conclusion through prolongation. This developed from the simple chords of a cadence into an elaborate and independent form.
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In poetry, a 'stanza' is a unit within a larger poem. (The term means "room" in Italian.) In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse" (as distinct from the refrain, or "chorus").
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A refrain (from the Old French refraindre "to repeat," likely from Vulgar Latin refringere) is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song.
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bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section. The bridge may be the middle-eight in a thirty-two-bar form (the B in AABA), or it may be used more loosely in verse-chorus form, or, in a compound AABA form, used as a contrast to
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In music, melisma (commonly known as vocal runs or simply runs) is the technique of changing the note (pitch) of a single syllable of text while it is being sung.
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The thirty-two-bar form, often shortened to AABA, is a musical form common in Tin Pan Alley songs, later popular music including rock and pop music, and jazz. Though "there were few instances of it in any type of popular music until the late teens," it became "the principal
..... Click the link for more information.
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The thirty-two-bar form, often shortened to AABA, is a musical form common in Tin Pan Alley songs, later popular music including rock and pop music, and jazz. Though "there were few instances of it in any type of popular music until the late teens," it became "the principal
..... Click the link for more information.
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A chord progression (also chord sequence and harmonic progression or sequence), as its name implies, is a series of chords played in order. Chord progressions are central to most modern European-influenced music and the principle study of harmony.
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Notable individuals named Richard Middleton:
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- Richard Middleton (Lord Chancellor), medieval theologian, philosopher and Lord Chancellor
- Richard Middleton (writer) (1882–1911), British poet and ghost story writer
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