Hi folks,
I just can't get it. I mean, how is the verse not section A and the chorus section B? I don't understand how one isn't the other? Can anyone shed a bit of light for this poor unfortunate soul?
I am SO excited about this song, and this is killing me. The instrumental beat of the verse, as well as the melody and flow of the verse vocals, were up to that point the best thing I had created and I was so excited about it. I just needed a chorus.
Months later I finally had my “yes” moment writing the eighth chorus for the song. It’s exactly what I was looking for, and if anything, I like it even better than the verses (which I didn’t think was possible).
Have any of you dealt with this before? Speeding up the verse or slowing down the chorus makes each seem pretty unnatural, and the idea of splitting the song into two songs is not sitting well in my mind. Both sections definitely feel like the same song, only that the verse is at 118 BPM and the chorus is at 130 BPM.
Any advice for a lost soul?
https://forms.gle/TUNbMNAxBBV3FYeN9
I want to create a song (a mashup) with all the best parts of Kpop songs (inspired by those 'best prechorus' or 'best bridges' videos and ZSunder's ultimate LOONA song), so if you have time, please fill out as many parts as you like /have ideas for, it would help a lot and I think this could be fun idea to try.
Thanks for reading!
C'mon People (We're Making it Now) by Richard Ashcroft made me think of this question.
Most songs use the chorus for the vocals to perhaps soar so they have singing at a lower register in the verses. But in this song it's opposite even though it does eventually get higher as the chorus progresses.
Can anyone name any others? Also apologies if I'm not using the right terminology in my question. I'm new to music theory.
I keep reading this ad nauseum, but whenever I try it it's so jarring, like it rips me out of immersion. So I tried finding a reference track to mix off of, and for the life of me I can't find one.
I know these tracks exist, can someone help me out?
After 2 days of wondering why you people complain about this transition I finally realised why I truly love this part. As a person with BPD that sudden switch of emotions and tempo is just a natural thing for me and something that I can honestly refer to.
Today, recognizing the musical structure of a "classical" composition often requires multiple listens and close examination of the score. Did people who lived during the Classic era, for example, have to do any of that to recognize a sonata-allegro? Or were they just so familiar with pieces in that form that they could recognize it by ear on the first listen?
I've tried googling the fragments of lyrics I can recall but nothing comes up. Please help!
I walked past a gym playing a song a few years ago, and I'm still curious what it was. It's a mid-tempo pop/rap song. A male raps the verses, while a female sings the choruses. The chorus melody is jaunty and "cutesy." I've recorded a Vocaroo of me playing the vocal melody on a keyboard as best as I can remember it. Last time I asked TOMT about this, we were able to rule out a couple possibilities, but didn't reach the right answer. I'd appreciate any assistance you can provide!
I was fiddling around on guitar and this chord progression was immediately recognizable but I have no idea what it is. It sounds like it could be a folk-inspired rock song from the 1970s, but honestly it could be from any era since then.
Some lyrics that seem right:
- "Looking back"
- "on my own"
- "Time is..."
Here is a recording with some mumbling in place of lyrics: https://voca.ro/11dUy1BTvBM8
Please help, it's driving me insane.
SOLVED
Its Halves and Quarters by Guantanamo Bay Surf Club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xG_E9Ttg_w
"Video Killed The Radio Star" is the song that got me thinking about this and I am curious as to what others do this as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRXeBKys-Sw (happens at 2:30 mark)
I find it to be a neat way to arrange a song.
So sometimes in the chorus, you may sing a higher key which requires more energy and power, so it may be much louder or different than the verse. So it may need more compression or diff eq or even auto tune. So do you usually have the same mix for the chorus and verse? Or do you mix them separately
I cannot remember the melody of this song, only that it was very sweet and the singer’s (male) voice was very raw.
The song had three repetitions, where the guy compared his love to different experiences. The first was about finding wild strawberries, making a basket with his shirt and picking them.
Another verse might have mentioned tennis shoes? I wish I could give more information but this is all I remember
You know when the song starts off slow, or even acoustic, and then going into the end it's explosive and you can really get into it. I don't know how to describe it. I'm sure there's a better way to put it. I just want more of these because they are fun to sing in the car and would like to hear what other people enjoy.
Some examples of what I mean:
The Story So Far - Placeholder
All Time Low - Remembering Sunday
Waterparks - 21 Questions
EDIT: WOW I am absolutely loving all of your responses. I'm listening to every single one, even the ones I know and love already. I'm having a great time, thank you so much, keep the rec's coming! ♥
YEA I GOT THE KNIFE I DONT WANNA USE IT TONIGHT. HAVE THE STARS DECIDE IF IM GONNA LIVE OR DIE.
Also who the fuck told them to play the snare forward and then reverse it right back? Is that allowed?
I've been thinking a lot lately about pop songs that actually don't change the chord progressions, just the melody, for the chorus. Seems like it was brought into vogue by Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" which simply goes from quiet to loud (a la Pixies) for the chorus without any change in the rhythmic four chord progression that the song loops. Seems like it's a post 1980s hip hop idea (since hip hop loops so many samples) that worked its way into alt music of the 1990s and became dominant as an idea over the past few years. "Crazy" by Gnarles Barkeley. Recently so many quasi-techno Avicii styled synth pop songs all seem to follow this idea. "Something Just Like This" by Coldplay and The Chainsmokers. Lorde's songs mostly do this as well, "Royals" and "Solar Power" just looping the progression and changing melody for chorus. Of course there's often a minor chord change here and there, or a bridge, but I'm fascinated when verse and chorus are the same progression. Is there a term for this form of songwriting?
enough.
I was listening to 1988’s “There She Goes”, by The La’s, when I noticed the song had no verses. Just the chorus repeated several times (sometimes changing a couple words in one line).
That seemed unusual to me and I had trouble thinking of other modern pop/rock songs that skip verse altogether.
What do you guys think?
https://youtu.be/eu2iv-vMKT8
...and here it is (listen to the song and read the sheet music):
>hey i don't notice you
you don't notice me
could it be you're not noticing my disease [thanks u/bippitybop23]
every day i try to win a game that i'm not playing
and i'm not sayin i'm not you, but that ain't me
>
>you don't have to try
you don't have to know the reasons why
i don't need this
we're gonna make it
I've been thinking about this recently, partly after trying some experimentation in my own composing. I come from a more classical/jazz background in terms of writing music, but I listen primarily to popular genres like metal, hip-hop, folk, country, pop, rock, and so on, and generally the song structure in those is heavily based on verse-chorus-bridge ideas.
When trying to apply that to writing something basic -- I tried a solo melody instrument with harmonic accompaniment in guitar -- I found that, at least the piece as an instrumental work, felt very boring. Repeating a section to add length and to allow for it to be musically legitimized in the context of the structure I was working with ended up making the musical content feel stale very quickly, even with interesting harmonic content making up the chord-cycles/loops of each section.
A part of what made me also wonder about this was listening to another song using a more-or-less pop-song structure, Fee by Phish. The opening verses repeat 3 times, more-or-less with the exact same content with exception to the lyrics, yet it doesn't feel like it gets boring. The content of the chorus is then an A-A' type idea, where the same lyrics repeat but with a slight change in the melodic contour. Then the bridge is a small piano solo connection to the next verses. This then loops. My question here is, is the only reason this isn't boring because there are lyrics? When I play the chords and melody myself on piano I feel it gets boring quite easily, but when I listen to the actual song I enjoy it a lot, and it makes me want to conclude that pop music only works because it has lyrics, but I'm not sure.
Does anyone else have input or thoughts about this? Can one write an instrumental pop song that has the exact same level of repetitiveness found in pop-song structure, but that doesn't get boring, or does that fundamentally not work because of the lack of lyrics?
Please answer in the comments
the beatles are another example, especially in their early careers. oftentimes their third/final verses would just be a repeat of the first - a nifty way of tying things back.
for beginners who are just starting out, consider this as a more approachable way of getting into songwriting. grant yourself some permission to repeat yourself, at least to start out. you'll get more done more quickly. you can always tackle more complex song structures as you get more practice under your belt.
What are some songs where the verses or pre-chorus go harder than the actual chorus?
What songs do it well? Which fall flat in your opinion?
I might say Sweet Mary even though the chorus is solid
For me those music are very similar, but I think verse chorus verse is better
"Video Killed The Radio Star" is the song that got me thinking about this and I am curious as to what others do this as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRXeBKys-Sw
I find it to be a neat way to arrange a song.
