[Shameus]

VERSE AND CHORUS IN CONTEMPORARY SONGS.

Following a recent critique of mine on a members song lyric, I thought this may be of some interest to some of you.
If your songs format involves a Chorus as opposed to a simple Refrain
The following could be helpful.
First a little about myself. In  1979 , I was one of the first to obtain a Masters Degree , when I  Majored in Song Writing ,Patt Pattison was  and still is, a senior lecturer at Berklee College and we have remained good friends ever since.

VERSES

1 To introduce ideas
2 To set up the CENTRAL IDEA
3 To develop or continue ideas
4 To set up structural standards for the lyric
5 Verses should close  down

Patt Pattison is a senior lecturer at The Berklee College Of Music.  where he has taught lyric writing and poetry since 1975.   He played a central role in developing  Berklee’s unique song writing major, the first complete song writing degree offered anywhere.
Doctoral work in Philosophy at Indiana University  and a Master of Arts in literary Criticism “………gave  me wonderful tools for digging into lyrics to see what makes them work”    In addition to his work
For TV and Films, as well as numerous clinics and workshops Pat writes monthly articles for “Home  And Studio Recording”magazine.

CHORUS
1 Completes, Comments or Summarizes Ideas
2 Contains the CENTRAL IDEA
3 Is typically the lyrics most balanced section
4 Stops forward motion

Because  every song that has a Chorus has one or more verses, a Chorus is usually a contrasting element. The verse ideas move toward, or “come home” to the Chorus. Because the chorus is a CENTRAL SECTION—a place where ideas are completed—the end of the Chorus should stop forward motion.  This creates the feeling of “Starting over again”   An example of an excellent chorus that fits all four of the prescriptions for the Chorus. Is ‘ Beth Neilsen Chapman’s “YEARS”   It Summarizes and comments on the verses, it contains THE CENTRAL IDEA:  “Years are so fast and slow at the same time.”  look up the song on the web and see for yourselves.

Another beautiful example of the above  Chorus definition is  “A Slow Healing Heart”    by Jim Rushing. Give this song  the once over and you will get the picture.

BRIDGE

This section is also called a “release”  or boredom breaker: the place where you try to get away from the ideas and structures the lyric has already established. But it is also much more.

1   It is a DEVELOPMENTAL section
2 It develops a new perspective or contrasting idea
3 It unbalances the section by moving away from established structures, creating structural tension.
4 It is resolved by a return to previously established structures
5 Thus it is frequently the lyrics most unbalanced section

Another fine example is HAITIAN DIVORCE the bridge of this song
Includes all of the five pointers of good bridge structure.

Successful “verse –chorus- bridge.  songs all pay attention to the above rules , of course rules can be broken, but “first you have to know the rules”   

When we submit songs for critiquing on any web forum, the idea surely Is to improve our knowledge of the Art Of Song Writing.

We all have to start somewhere, but we must at least learn the basics,
Because once you have mastered the above, it’s a very long road, of hard work, listening to people who know what they are talking about as opposed to a few who, think they know it all.  I’m still learning I learn something new every day.     And so can you,  don’t take umbrage when someone dares to give you what may look like a severe
Critique, if you change at least ten per cent of your views you are learning something new,  have the good grace to thank them for their time, be respectful, Professional writers Work At It  Amateurs Play at It, that’s the difference.

And a simple rule to remember is “ The Verses Should Show, Whereas The Chorus Always Tells.”       

 
Every Writer that has had success in the last Sixty Years. Uses all of the above,  Chancers and losers just ignore it all or never understand it.


Song Examples that use these structural development’s

THE GAMBLER

COWARD OF THE COUNTY

TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING

MOST OF THE SONGS BY GEORGE STRAIT

AFTER THE BALL IS OVER  probably the first song who’s author set a standard for everything that has gone on since 

SLOW HEALING HEART

SEX BOMB

DELILHA

AMARILLO

NEARLY  ALL “LADY GAGA’S”  SONGS

LIKE A VIRGIN

MANY OF DIANNE WARRENS SONGS including

I DON’T WANNA MISS A THING

TAKE ME HOME COUNTRY ROADS

I CANT GET KNOW SATISFACTION

TWENTY FOUR HOURS FROM TALSA

 SIXTEEN TONS

Oh Bla Dee Oh Bla Da

LOOK ON THE BILLBOARD THIS WEEK FOR OTHER EXAMPLES.

The Beatles tended to write a short Chorus or even just a repeated refrain , with tremendous success , they have to be the most recorded writing duo of all time.  you never get bored with a Beatle Song.  How many country songs have stood the same test of time?

I hope there is enough here to convince you that it’s worth while knowing the basics of song structure, before spending money on demo’s of songs that are not ready to pitch, if your song passes the test , best wishes and I wish you all the best, with your writing.


Shameus


   

[tone]

Hi Shameus and thanks very much for this informative and extended post.

I agree that knowing how a song works is a good idea if you want to write a song, just like knowing how harmony works is a good idea if you want to write a good chord progression.

However, I disagree with the notion that knowledge is a requirement. There are lots of excellent writers out there who just have an instinct for a song. They have no musical or technical knowledge whatsoever, but their songs are fantastic.  I've lost count of the number of times I've seen/ read interviews with songwriters and they've said the same thing: they did it all by ear, with no formal education or instruction.

I do agree that we can all learn from every critique we receive, and that nobody ever stops learning when it comes to music or songwriting. Nobody knows everything, and everybody has their own methods and understanding.

Of course, I've never been a staff writer, and I don't know what sort of artists you've been writing for, but I think so far, this forum has only really attracted singer/ songwriters, which are probably a different breed of songwriter.

Come to think of it, out of my three favourite songwriters, only one has formal musical training, and that's classical, not pop (Rufus Wainwright) - the other two are Paul Simon and Neil Finn.  The idea that there's a distinction between amateur and professional when it comes to songwriting is something I find hard to settle with. To my mind, the songwriters I like are amateur by your definition. By which I mean self taught, despite making their living from it.  I understand the need to make this distinction from your point of view as you've worked hard at gaining your knowledge and qualifications, and at building a career.  I just don't think it's the only path for aspiring songwriters.  Sometimes we break the rules without knowing them in the first place, but when it works well, it no longer matters.

Good to have you on board Shameus - good to get some proper discussion of this craft started

[Dutchbeat]

Shameus!

This really informative, thanks for that
I didn't know that rules about the structure for succesful songs are defined that clearly, in case of pop music...
at the same time again, I am wondering about classical music, that stood the test ot time

seriously, I wouldn't have imagined rules like that would have been applied to Lady Gaga or Sex Bomb (I have to listen to those because I can not really recall the bridges, but I am pretty sure they are is in there)

simply because I don't like that music,

it sounds uninteresting to me, I hope you agree

I would certainly expect certain rules to apply to the beatles, or one could might perhaps even say (?) they defined some rules for pop that followed?


(yes, I am somewhat older)

best wishes

Dutchbeat

[hofnerite]

Shameus,

Most of what you have written is factually correct, the examples you have given fit the formula but there are millions of successful songs that do not. The forumla you suggest is one of hundreds of ways to write a song, not necessarily the best way, just possibly the most commercially successful in terms of averages.

It would be interesting to hear how many of those who have studied songwriting have gone on to be successful in terms of the amount and level of published songs. My instinct would say very few, for one reason- those who have to pay someone to tell them how to write a song don't have the ability themselves to write a song. The vast majority of professional songwriters taught themselves how to do it, many are untrained and some can't read music.

There is no formula to write the perfect song, if there was you'd be a billionnaire. A perfect song is a song that feels right and gives you a special feeling, not one that ticks boxes on a checklist.

[loisglasspool]

Some potentially useful info there for sure, have to say though that pretty much all the songs on the examples list I absolutely hate, so perhaps I should use different rules to make songs that don't make me cringe! Plus I think in any artistic endeavour 'rules' are made to broken, played with, defied, and subverted in order to continue being innovative and move art forward. They are useful to beginners learning the basics though, to help them get started.

[emmapeel]

I agree that these are just some idea's out of many in which you can write a song. There are no rules and you can do what you want really.

Songwriting is a bit different from other musical fields where knowledge and training can be important in making you better at doing it; mixing a song for instance. There is no basic understanding that you need to know before you can write a song - three year old children can write songs even before they learn to play an instrument. Three year old children will have little idea how to mix a song though as this is an area which requires learning.

People should find out what the best way is for them to write a song. This may mean learning a ton of music theory, or it may mean adhering to some rules like those of the OP. It also may mean little knowledge and doing things more by feel. There are a lot of very talented people in the last category who might actually become less good if they learnt too many mechanics.

What might be good advice for some may be poor advice for others.

EP