Estimated reading time 5 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Not sure about how to write a pre-chorus or a bridge? Are you confused about how to shape the form of your song? Look no further! Read more to learn the elements of songwriting construction.
In instrumental music, the form of the music centers around the chord progression. With songs, the form focuses on the lyrics, which then has an impact on the music.
The Hook’s Role in Songwriting Construction
Your hook needs to be catchy, because the hook’s role in songwriting construction centers on the ability to hook your listener.
The hook makes your audience want to hear more. It can be a riff, lick, vamp, or a melody – either vocal or instrumental. Usually, you’ll find it in the intro of a song.
Carry on My Wayward Son sort of has two hooks. It starts with a light version of the chorus melody followed by a full-on rock riff.
Carry on My Wayward Son Video
The Chorus’ Role in Songwriting Construction
The chorus has a vital role in songwriting construction for modern pop and rock songs. Your chorus normally will contain the catchiest, most singable, and most memorable melodies in the song.
The melody’s tessitura will usually be higher so that it rises above the verse melody. Also, it will have a tendency toward a soaring quality. The listener should be able to remember at least the chorus of your song after just six listens.
Also, the chorus functions as the subject of your lyrics. The title states the lyric’s subject. Then, everything in the chorus supports the title, and everything in the rest of the song supports the chorus.
Help starts with the chorus. The title states the song’s subject, while the rest of the chorus supports that by stating the singer’s need for companionship. The verses then fill out the details.
In this song, the chorus also functions as the hook. Click here to view the lyrics.
Help Video
The Verse’s Role in Songwriting Construction
The verse’s role in songwriting construction revolves around moving the story forward. Verse melodies will have a speech-like quality, with lower tessituras than the chorus. In other words, the verse melodies should sound like you’re talking in music.
The song Smoke on the Water gives an example of an engaging story. Based on a true story, the singer tells of how a casino on Lake Geneva burns down. This forces the band to find another place to record their album.
Also, the opening guitar riff acts as an effective hook. Click here to view the lyrics.
Smoke on the Water Video
The Pre-chorus’s Role in Songwriting Construction
Sometimes called a build, climb, transitional bridge, or lift, the pre-chorus’ role in songwriting construction centers around building energy and momentum into the chorus.
The pre-chorus in Fireworks (the ignite the light section of the song) does a good job of leading into the chorus. Click here to view the lyrics.
Fireworks Video
The Bridge’s Role in Songwriting Construction
The bridge’s role in songwriting construction involves providing contrast – both in the music and lyrics. It keeps the song from getting too repetitive.
Guitar solos in rock songs often provide the musical equivalent of a bridge. However, a true bridge will provide both a change in music and lyrics. In addition, the lyrics should reveal a new perspective on the vocalist’s state of mind.
A more extreme version of this is the twist, which gets used a lot in country music. Basically, the bridge takes everything you thought you knew about the story and turns it upside down.
The song What’s Love Got to Do with It explores the feelings the singer gets around a man she’s interested in. She’s intensely attracted to him and claims that it’s just a physical response.
However, in the bridge, she confesses that her feelings terrify her. So, what’s love got to do with it? Answer: everything. Click here to view the lyrics.
What’s Love Got to Do with It Video
The Outro’s Role in Songwriting Construction
Often called a coda, the outro’s role in songwriting construction is to finish up the song. In pop and rock songs this often take the form of a fade out. In other words, the music just keeps repeating as the volume gets lower until the sound disappears.
The advantage to the fadeout, from the songwriter’s perspective, is that the song will never have a final cadence. In other words, the song lacks the V7 to I chord progression that gives a sense of ending. Without this, the song goes around and around in the listener’s head, prompting them to go out and buy your song.
The song My Girl gives a good example of an outro that fades out. Click here to view the lyrics.
My Girl
Conclusion
Gilligan’s Island Video
By now you should have a good grasp of the role that the different parts of a song have in songwriting construction. In the next songwriting post, we’ll look at how we can organize the different parts of the form. From this we can then create an outline for the song, which you can then use as a template for writing new songs.
One final thought, Ralph Murphy has said that you need to make your songs catchy, but not too catchy. If you make them too catchy, your listeners may burn out on the song before it can reach the number one spot on the charts. This explains why slow ballads often top the charts.
An example of a song that could be considered to be too catchy: The Gilligan’s Island theme song. It’s a well-constructed song with lyrics that do a good job of explaining the premise of the show.
However, the song is a real earworm, and you hear it before every episode. After a few episodes, most people get really sick of it.
Does this mean that if you have a really catchy song, you should toss it out? Of course not! Nonetheless, some of your catchy, but not too catchy songs may turn out to be the most successful ones. Have fun writing!
© 2022 Geoffrey Keith
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