8.10.06

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

3 Comments:

Blogger You're a Princess said...

Did good! What's an example of a well-known song and how it's arranged?

3:08 PM  
Blogger Tim Heider said...

A well known song? Hmmm. How about "Blessed Be Your Name" by Tree63?

Vs. 1
Vs. 2
Pre
Ch.
Vs. 3
Br.
Pre.
Ch.
Br.

This one's kinda complicated. Check it out next time you hear it on the radio

7:09 AM  
Blogger Blessed Girl said...

Hi Tim,

Thanks for leaving me a comment on my blogspot. I want to continue to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ so others, especially the unsaved, can hear/read about the salvation offered through Jesus.

From time to time, I check out your blog and beta site. Keep writing and singing for the Lord. Many blessings to you Tim.

Peace and Grace,
Tawanda from Georgia

7:33 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home