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Music Form and Analysis

From Wikiversity

Musical form relates to the structure of a given piece, its themes and the relationship between each theme. There are many varieties of form used in music, both popular and classical.

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Most popular music follows the basic structure of Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus.[1][2][3] Artists often vary and elaborate on this basic structure.

Verses and Choruses

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Most popular music is shaped around verses and choruses. Each verse has different words [and sometimes different melody and harmonies as well] while the chorus [generally] remains constant. Forms include VVCVCVC… [V-verse C-chorus], CVCV… CC, and variations thereof.

Bridges

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The bridge, at its most basic, is used in songs to provide contrast. Artists often introduce new musical or thematic elements in the bridge before returning to the familiar chorus.[4][5]

Binary

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In binary music, there are just two different themes which appear only once[6], one after the other like this:

AB


Ternary

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Ternary music has two themes, one of which appears twice, like this:

ABA


Rondo

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A rondo [rondeau] works as bit like the Verse Chorus form of popular music today. It is also called Ritornello.[7]

ABACADA


Canon

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A canon has a repeated melody line which starts at the same pitch, where each entry is delayed by a few notes. A canon must work so that the harmonies match.

See Also

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  1. Hutchinson, Robert. Verse-Chorus Form (in en-US). https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/VerseChorusForm.html. 
  2. "Music Crash Courses". www.musiccrashcourses.com. Retrieved 2025-03-09.
  3. Gateway, Music (2019-08-22). "What Is A Pop Song Structure?". Music Gateway. Retrieved 2025-03-09.
  4. "What Is a Bridge in a Song and How to Use It". www.iconcollective.edu. 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2025-03-09.
  5. Staff, Billboard (2021-05-13). "The 100 Greatest Song Bridges of the 21st Century: Staff Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-03-09.
  6. Needs revising; does not consider simple, rounded, continuous, or sectional binary designs.
  7. Rewrite; Ritornello is episode-based and typically used for fugue design.