READ ABOUT

Morton Gould Young Composer Awards

INTERVIEWS

Tamara Savage

Matt Serletic

Tom Waits

NEW ARTISTS

Bosson

Maxim Dembow

Goapele

FEATURE STORIES

Lee Ann Womack

U2's Bono

Dave Matthews Band

AUDIO PROFILES

CONSTRUCTION OF A SONG

The Basic Forms

1. AAA

A Title/hook in first or last line unless there is a repeated chorus with the same melody
A "
A "

This is an old form, used commonly in traditional folk music but rarely with good results in contemporary songs, because there is no chorus or bridge to help sustain melodic interest. The title line usually appears in the first or the last line but occasionally, there are two repeated lyric phrases, one in the first and one in the last line. The form can have any number of verses. You might use this form if you had a lot of important lyrical content, but wanted to eliminate the time spent repeating choruses. In the absence of a chorus that "sums up" the song, you'll want the verses to end with a dramatic kind of "payoff" line.

EXAMPLES: Johnny Cash, "I'll Walk the Line"; Bette Midler, "The Rose" (Amanda McBroom); "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" (Jimmy Webb), Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changin'"

The following examples are AAA form melodically, although they contain a chorus lyric that repeats: Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA," "Achy Breaky Heart" (Don Von Tress), Goo Goo Dolls "Iris" (John Rzeznik).

VARIATIONS: There are variations of this form, like Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry," which uses a short refrain between every couple of verses. It's not a standard AAA because the refrain isn't a part of the basic melodic structure of the verse, and the refrain isn't a chorus because it's very short and does not contain the hook line (which is contained in the verse).

Musically, Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The U.S.A." is an AAA: although it has a chorus, its melody is the same as the verses. That's very unusual, and if you had written this song instead of "The Boss" and you weren't already a successful artist, your publisher probably would have demanded a rewrite. Without a powerful performance, the song would be musically boring.

Another variation of the AAA form is an extension created by repeating part or all of the last line. This special focus on that line however, makes it important that it be the title line. A short instrumental section or melodic instrumental hook can be used to break up the potential monotony.

CAUTION: You need to be very careful to make the melody as interesting as possible without making it too complex to be remembered easily. This is generally accomplished with a melodic variation in the last two melodic lines of each verse. Hum any of the examples mentioned to see what I mean.

2. A A B A

A Title/hook in first or last line.
Four 8-bar sections
A Title/hook in first or last line
B New melody and lyric (referred to as the "bridge" or "middle 8"
A Title/hook in first or last line

-------------variations --------

A As above
A
B New melody and lyric
A
B Repeat B section with or without new lyric or make up a totally new bridge as Sting did in "Every Breath You Take," (which would make it a "C" section)
A Repeat first A or part of first and part of second A or part of first A and new lyric
A Repeat second A

AABA is a classic song form with a long and popular history. At one time, it was considered the ultimate song form: it's short, concise, melodically seamless and easy to remember. It is used in all styles of music and all tempos, but most frequently in slow or mid-tempo ballads, because its 32 bars (four 8-bar sections) make for a very short song at fast tempos. Variations have developed which can accommodate faster tempos and the need for more room to tell the story. You'll find your own as the need arises. Hook/title placement is usually in either the first or last line of the verse but it can occur in both (like "Yesterday"). You'll hear songs in which the title will also be recapped in the "B" section, although the objective is to go to a totally new place in that section both musically and lyrically.

Note that despite its illustrious history, the AABA form is not usually considered the most commercially viable and most of the ones you'll hear are written by the artists who perform them. When given a choice, most producers will choose to record a song with a repeating chorus.

EXAMPLES: "Yesterday" (Lennon/McCartney), "Just the Way You Are" (Billy Joel), Bruce Springsteen's "Fire" and "Streets of Philadelphia," Shania Twain's "From This Moment On".

3. VERSE/CHORUS FORMS

The varieties of this most popular form provide a maximum of chorus repetition and two or more verses to tell your story.

Version #1 gives you a maximum verse and chorus repetition. A potential problem is that, if you have a lot of melodic repetition within each verse or chorus, such as an 8-bar section made up of three 2-bar melodies with a slight variation in the fourth 2-bar melody line, you may have too much repetition. In that case, #2 with the substitution of a bridge for the third verse helps to break it up. Version #3 with the chorus first can give you more repetition of the chorus in a shorter time. The choice of whether to start with a chorus depends on the lyric development of the song. If it's important to generate a dynamic opening to the song, try the chorus first unless you want the verses to build interest and suspense and "set up" the chorus as a "payoff." Many '60s Motown hits used variations of this form. It's always a good idea to give it a test by switching the verse and chorus positions to see which works best.

#4 with two verses in front is also a much used form. Its workability depends on a very strong lyric continuity between the first and second verses to offset the delay in getting to the chorus. This is a much greater problem in a slow ballad than an up-tempo song because of the additional time it takes to get to the chorus. Every word has to propel the story forward. Repetition of information is deadly. If each of the two verses cover the same information in a different way and don't depend on each other, this may not be the best form to use since you should have a very important reason to delay the chorus. If you do need to use two verses, you may want to look for some arrangement devices or write a variation of the first verse melody to help sustain musical interest in the second verse. You could also consider using your title in the first line of the chorus to avoid even further delay in reaching the hook line.

Variations of this form opening with three verses (AAABAB or AAABAAB) are rare and the two examples that come to mind; The Eagles' "Lyin' Eyes" (Don Henley/Glen Frey) and Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" (Don Schlitz) both have such exceptional lyric continuity that a chorus any earlier would be an unwelcome intrusion.

You'll also occasionally hear an AABAABB variation, particularly on up-tempo songs. Again, those choices will be different for each song but the guiding principle is that you don't delay the chorus unless you have another good way to sustain the listener's interest.

#5 offers the excitement of three different melodic segments. The pre-chorus is the segment that makes the difference here. This form works best in up-tempo dance songs where the three segments go by quickly. Many variations are possible with this form including repeated instrumental versions of any of the segments and instrumental breaks between segments. Here are some examples:

AABC ABC BC BC or
ABC ABCD BC or
ABC ABCD ABCD, the "D" being a bridge with a new melody, with or without lyrics.

With the increase in the number of dance songs in the four minute range on the Pop and R&B charts, we see much more experimentation with these extended forms. Dance records are developed for pop, rock and R&B radio and 12" singles for the dance club market. The records are usually formatted in a way that allows the record to be re-edited or re-mixed. This means that, originally, a longer version is recorded with more segments that can be removed to make a shorter version for radio or left in for the dance club market or for radio stations that like to play the long versions.

Records earmarked specifically for the dance club market, and not for radio, can break more rules. Since there's a captive audience and you don't need to get their attention and since records well over four minutes are the norm, there can be long, slow-building intros, additional sections and long instrumental breaks that would be too monotonous on radio. The records' major appeal is based on having a relentlessly exciting dance groove. Beyond that, there are no rules and aside from a few conventional arrangement tricks like dropping out and bringing in instruments or repeating "loops," there is a lot of room for creativity in vocal and instrumental textures particularly for songwriters with arranging and producing skills. Dance music is usually "written" with the groove first, then other instruments, loops, vocals, etc, added later.

Next: Exercises in Form