CONSTRUCTION OF A SONG
Analyzing Form
It may look complicated when you see a song described as "AABA" or something similar, but it's not. To start, consider the first melodic segment you hear (not including the intro) as "A." The next complete melodic section that has a melody different from "A" is designated "B," the third "C," etc. Repeats of any melodic segment get the same letter they got the first time.
Count bars or measures starting at the downbeat as follows:
For 4/4 time: 1-2-3-4, 2-2-3-4, 3-2-3-4, 4-2-3-4, etc.
For 3/4 waltz time: 1-2-3, 2-2-3, 3-2-3, 4-2-3, etc.
When the next melodic segment starts, begin counting at bar one again. Enter the total number of bars in each segment. Be sure to include any instrumental breaks, using "inst." or a dash or some other shorthand to designate them, along with the number of bars they run. You'll end up with a diagram that looks like this:
A-8, A-8, B-8, A-8, or A A B A
Here's a more graphic way to lay it out quickly so you can easily add extra bars and make notes. Each of the slash notes represents a beat (in 4/4 time).
INTRO 1 / / / 2 / / / 3 / / / 4 / / /
A 1 / / / 2 / / / 3 / / / 4 / / / 5 / / / 6 / / / 7 / / / 8 / / /
B 1 / / / 2 / / / 3 / / / 4 / / /
C 1 / / / 2 / / / 3 / / / 4 / / / 5 / / / 6 / / / 7 / / / 8 / / /
INS 1 / / / 2 / / /
Try this exercise with songs on the radio. It will give you a repertoire of basic forms and, more importantly, it will show you a wide range of variations that work, such as extra bars of music between sections and unexpected chord changes. Even though you'll find the forms falling into predictable patterns, the variations often give the song the sense of surprise that makes it special and exciting.
Note how the form contributes to the memorability of a song by helping it achieve a balance between predictability and surprise, repetition and new information, all within a commercially acceptable time limit.
Next: The Basic Forms
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