Second Chorus

Any Fred Astair fans out there? :)

Now that you have your song outlined, you need to know how a song is arranged before you start writing the lyrics. Pop songs (popular music) are usually divided into several parts, each with a different purpose. In this post, I'll show you what each part is and its function in a song.

The most important part of a song is the Chorus. The chorus holds the main idea that you are trying to get across. For example, in "Holy," the chorus gives the main idea of praise and worship before the throne of God.

Some songs are made up only of a chorus. An example is the old tune, "Seek Ye First":

Seek ye first the kingdom of God
And His Righteousness
And all these things shall be added unto you
Hallelu, Hallelujah

This song is very simple (consequently, very easy to learn), yet it brings out the passage of Scripture that it was written from in just four short lines. It doesn't have to be complicated. Simple is good--especially if it's a praise and worship song. However, you'll probably want to spend more time writing the chorus because the chorus is what people remember. You can probably easily think of the lyrics of your favorite song, but it is a little more diffucult to recall the lyrics of the rest of the song.

Another very important element is the Verse. The verse takes the main idea of the chorus and goes into a little more detail. It sets up the chorus. In "Holy", the verses describe the setting in which the song is being sung, and gives the reason for singing holy; "'Knowing you are worthy..."

Many simple songs are made up of one verse and a chorus. Once again, these songs are easy to learn, and they have a bit more variety than just one chorus. "Stand in Awe" is a good example. Some songs are are made up entirely of verses. Hymns like "Amazing Grace" follow this pattern--there is no chorus. However, you'll notice that the melody in each verse (called "stanzas" in a hymn) are all the same. This is how verses should be, although slight variations are acceptable.

One more thing. There is usually a difference in melody between the verse and the chorus. Sometimes the the verse will be minor and the chorus major, or vice versa. All of this adds interest and variety to the song and allows for dynamics. We'll discuss melody later, and there is more to say about the structure of a song, so...

Until Next Time,
So Long!

Tim Heider