Music Form and Analysis
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.
Popular Song Form
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]In binary music, there are just two different themes which appear only once[6], one after the other like this:
AB
Ternary
[edit | edit source]Ternary music has two themes, one of which appears twice, like this:
ABA
Rondo
[edit | edit source]A rondo [rondeau] works as bit like the Verse Chorus form of popular music today. It is also called Ritornello.[7]
ABACADA
Canon
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Hutchinson, Robert. Verse-Chorus Form (in en-US). https://musictheory.pugetsound.edu/mt21c/VerseChorusForm.html.
- ↑ "Music Crash Courses". www.musiccrashcourses.com. Retrieved 2025-03-09.
- ↑ Gateway, Music (2019-08-22). "What Is A Pop Song Structure?". Music Gateway. Retrieved 2025-03-09.
- ↑ "What Is a Bridge in a Song and How to Use It". www.iconcollective.edu. 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2025-03-09.
- ↑ Staff, Billboard (2021-05-13). "The 100 Greatest Song Bridges of the 21st Century: Staff Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-03-09.
- ↑ Needs revising; does not consider simple, rounded, continuous, or sectional binary designs.
- ↑ Rewrite; Ritornello is episode-based and typically used for fugue design.