1. Form

We call the overall structure of a piece of music its “Form”. We’ll start here because it’s the big-picture view which the other elements exist within, but remember: that doesn’t necessarily mean you must decide the Form before tackling any of the other elements.

You can think of Form as the blueprint or skeleton of a song or piece. We’ll give an overview here with some specifics for songs, but you may also want to refer to Chapter 5: Active Listening.

Form consists of a series of sections. Each section is defined by some noticeable change. This could be in the lyrics, the melody, the arrangement, or any other aspect, and often some combination. In written music notation, sections are often clearly marked, but if you’re identifying sections purely by listening (or when creating them yourself) it can be open to interpretation exactly what the sections are.

Form also exists at different levels of scale. For example a song might have a clear sequence of verses and choruses, but within each verse you could also analyse the form of the lyrics in terms of their rhyme scheme. Larger orchestral works might have a series of “movements”, each with its own main sections lasting for a few minutes each, and within those sections the pattern of phrases might reveal its own structure.

So Form is a very versatile term, simply meaning “the structure or patterns in music”.

Our main focus here will be on the top-level organising structure, for example how a song breaks down into verses and choruses, or a jazz standard has an “A section” and a “B section”.

We put particular labels on the different sections, which help us to see the commonalities and differences, and how everything fits together. For the examples just given, we would expect that the “verse” sections had a very similar melody to each other but different words, while the “chorus” sections had the same melody each time (probably a catchy, memorable one!) and the same words each time. Similarly all the instances of the “A section” of a jazz standard would be almost identical, while any section we label “B” would be noticeably different to the “A” section and similar to each other.

There are many conventional words used as labels, like “verse”, “chorus”, “movement” already mentioned. The principle that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” applies (i.e. it doesn’t fundamentally matter what labels you use). But like with the Ear Training building blocks from Part II, using standard shared terminology helps keep things clear and consistent, and helps us to communicate with other musicians.

Common Song Forms

The particular types of song section used, and the labels put on them, vary across different styles and genres. Let’s look at some of the most common, so that you can start listening for them and using them yourself. Do keep in mind that although often the sections and their types are clear, these terms can also overlap and be debatable!

The most commonly-used and well-known types of section in Song Form are:

• Chorus: A section which is repeated multiple times in the song. The melody and lyrics will be the same each time, or have only small variations. This is often the most defining or memorable part of the song, typically used to communicate the main message and emotion of the song. Also commonly known as the “refrain”, though that term can also be used to mean a shorter melodic phrase, such as a particular line of the chorus.
• Verse: A section which has the same melody but different lyrics each time. Typically used to tell the “story”, with each verse playing a different part in that story-telling.
• Bridge: A section which is noticeably different from both the chorus and the verse, often appearing just once. The bridge is typically used to add interest amid a pattern of alternating verses and choruses. A “middle eight” is a particular kind of bridge consisting of eight measures, close to the middle of the song’s overall form.

Then there are several other common types of section, including:

• Intro: The introduction to the song. This can be of very varied lengths, from no introduction at all through to multiple minutes. It is often instrumental, leading up to the first verse or chorus where a vocal part enters.
• Outro: The ending of the song. Again this can be non-existent, with the song ending with some other type of section (e.g. the final verse, or a final solo), or of any length. It’s common for a song to “fade out”, with another section continuing but gradually reducing in volume, so that the “outro” is a variant of a prior section rather than being something musically unique.
• Solo: A section where a different instrument takes the prominent lead part. Typically this is an instrument taking the place of vocals, but it could also be a vocal solo (e.g. jazz scatting). This usually has its own distinct melody which isn’t repeated elsewhere, though can also build off a riff or hook from elsewhere in the song.
• Pre-chorus: A section occurring before the chorus, typically shorter, and used to increase the musical effect of the chorus. Can often be labelled a “bridge” instead, as it “bridges” from a verse to a chorus, for example.
• Post-chorus: A section occurring after the chorus, typically similar musically to the chorus but distinct. If a chorus seems to have two distinct parts to it, often the second part can be seen as a post-chorus instead.
• Hook: The term “hook” refers to a catchy phrase which “hooks” the listener. Although it can be a section in its own right, distinct from the chorus, it can also just be an element (often melodic) such as a prominent guitar riff or a vocal phrase which appears as part of another section.

You can think of these all as “ingredients” for creating your song’s form. None are better or worse than the others. They all serve a particular purpose, and your own taste can guide if and how you choose to use them.

How To Recognise Form

The best way to start understanding and appreciating Form is by analysing existing music.

For example, you might first write down the start time of each section you heard, and label them as:

A B C B C C D

You might then decide that A = “Intro”, D = “Outro”, and based on the lyrics being the same or different, B = “Verse” and C = “Chorus”. You could then write the form as:

Intro, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Chorus, Outro

Repeat this with a few familiar songs in different styles.

Since Form is the overall structure, it’s not particularly interesting or meaningful to create or write Form in isolation. Instead, as you continue through all the other song elements which follow, you can try incorporating Form into what you write. For example, in the lyric exercises below, you could aim to write a chorus and three verses.

We mentioned above that Form also exists within sections. Let’s explore this through the same kind of analysis.

Again, this is a concept you can take with you as you try creating the other elements which follow. For example with the melody exercises, you can begin by deciding to write an AAAB melody for a chorus, which repeats the same 2-measure phrase three times before wrapping up with a new 2-measure phrase.