Iambic WHAT!?

Did you decide what kind of layout your song is going to have? Now that you know how a song is laid out, you're ready to start writing the lyrics to your song. If you don't have a clue, don't worry; you will probably get some ideas as you write.

Writing lyrics for a song is like writing a poem. Actually, it is writing a poem, and your writing should follow the rules of poetry, at least mostly. A review of poetry-writing would be in order here. Don't worry. I won't go into all the technical stuff, like iambic pentameter and all that. Just the basics.

Poems are different from other forms of writing, like essays and novels, because of their structure. While novels and essays are made up of sentences that come one after the other, poetry is divided into lines. A stanza (remember that from the last couple of posts?) has a certain number of lines which usually rhyme at the end. The lines can have different rhyme schemes.

Songs usually have an even number of lines per section. For instance, "Holy" has 4 lines per verse. The chorus has five lines, but the last line is a repeat of the previous one. "Seek Ye First" is a chorus with four lines.

Often, a verse has 4 or 8 lines, and a chorus 4. A really long chorus could be 8 lines, and a prechorus or bridge could have 2-4. Of course, it all depends on how you want to write it. To have some variety within the song, you may want a long verse with a short, repetitious chorus. Or a short verse with a longer chorus.

There seems to be a trend in songwriting not to have very many rhymes at the end of the lines. I think this is partly because there are not very many rhyming words in the English language that have not been used over and over. However, these songs seem to be a little rougher and it is harder to predict where they are going. As a result, they are harder to learn. With end-of-line rhymes, it is easier to remember the song. Also, repeating of words and phrases in a song make it easier to remember, as well as repetitions in the melody. Is this starting to sound repetitious, repetitious? It is--a ballance of repetition and variety is what you want in your song.

Next post, I'll put in some examples of different poems and songs to show how they are put together.

Until Then,

Tim

Arranging 101

At last! The long awaited examples for song arrangements!

I believe the first type of song we talked about was made up entirely of verses, or stanzas. We'll abbreviate verse as Vs. So, a hymn arrangement might look like:

Vs. 1
Vs. 2
Vs. 3

And so on.

A song with two verses and a chorus (Ch.) would typically be outlined as:

Vs. 1
Ch.
Vs. 2
Ch. (2x)

Notice that there are two verses, but only one chorus that is repeated twice at the end. Very rarely will a song have two choruses. My song, "Holy," (read the lyrics in the entry "An Example") is a little unique in that the verses are sung back to back the first time and only the second verse is sung the second time:

"Holy"
Vs. 1
Vs. 2
Ch.
Vs. 2
Ch. (2x)

The chorus of any song is typically repeated at least once at the end both to add length and to give the listener time to "catch" the idea of the song.

The most common placement of the bridge (Br.) is after the second time through the chorus, wherever that may be.

Vs. 1
Ch.
Vs. 2
Ch.
Br.
Ch. (2x)

This makes or a more lengthy song. This is the typical layout of any three-minute pop song you hear on the radio. You may also use an arrangement like this:

Vs. 1
Br.
Ch.
Vs. 2
Br.
Ch. (2x)

However, I personally prefer not to use this method. There are a couple of other ways to have a similar arrangement. First, if the bridge will not be repeated anywhere else in the song, you can just make the bridge a part of the verse. This is especially useful if you want the lyrics of both bridges to be different. If you are going to repeat the section between the verse and chorus later, as a bridge, you can call it a prechorus (Pre. or Prech.) So, the above arrangement might look like:

Vs. 1
Pre.
Ch.
Vs. 2
Pre.
Ch. (2x)
Pre.
Ch. (2x)

Notice that there is not a bridge in this song; the prechorus acts as a bridge.

That about covers it. If you have any more questions about the arrangement of a song, please feel free to leave a comment.

Tim Heider

Building Bridges

So, now you know about the two major parts of a song, the Chorus and the Verse. There are two other parts that are often utilized in a song.

First, there is the Bridge. The bridge, very naturally, forms a bridge between two parts of a song. It usually goes between two choruses, or sometimes between a chorus and a verse. It is usually a high point in the song's dynamics.

(Dynamics are used to describe a "high" or "low" spot in a song. It is not just volume, although volume plays a part. Verses are on a somewhat lower level and give way to a more energetic chorus. Similarly, songs usually start out on a lower level and then build toward the end, often giving it a big, full, powerful ending. Volume, chord usage, and instrumentation are the major components in creating dynamics.)

As far as lyrical material goes, the bridge may reiterate what the chorus says, or it may go into more detail that is not covered in the chorus. It will probably have different chords and melody than either the chorus or the verse.

One element of a song that has appeared recently is the Prechorus. The prechorus is found between the verse and the chorus and functions as the bridge. In fact, it is often called a bridge. I would not suggest that a beginner songwriter try to use a prechorus in his or her song. However, I will briefly show you the difference between a bridge and a prechorus.

In general, a short segment that acts as a bridge between the verse and the chorus that is NOT repeated anywhere else in the song can be called a bridge. If you have two verses, each with its own bridge, you may call them bridge 1 and bridge 2. Personally, I prefer to make the part of the verse itself and not give it any special designation.

If the segment is sung, say, between two choruses, as a dynamic high point, you can call it a bridge. It will probably not be repeated again.

If the segment is placed between the verse and chorus AND is repeated as a bridge later in the song, I would call that a prechorus.

And now, if you're thoroughly confused, wait till next time for some examples. If you just can't wait that long, leave a comment!


Tim Heider