Standards of Song Form

Standards of Song FormsA song needs to be listened too. That is why it exists! Song forms are just one mechanism, in a whole chain of mechanisms, intended to attract and hold onto listeners. We create songs with the elements of song structure. For a review of song structure, please see the post: What is Song Structure?

In a nutshell, a song can be broken into pieces that we can then use to string together into a songs form. Here are those basic building blocks of a song along with the letters that we use to denote  them.

[wpcol_1quarter id=”” class=”” style=””]I = Intro
A = Verse[/wpcol_1quarter] [wpcol_1quarter id=”” class=”” style=””]C = Chorus
B = Bridge[/wpcol_1quarter] [wpcol_1quarter id=”” class=”” style=””]X = Collision
S = Solo[/wpcol_1quarter] [wpcol_1quarter_end id=”” class=”” style=””]O = Outro[/wpcol_1quarter_end]

AAA Form


AABA Form

Traditionally a 32-bar song form where  each section is 8-bars long. Two verses or A sections, a contrasting B section (the bridge or “middle-eight”) and a return of the verse in one last A section.

Over the years there have been many songs written in AABA form. Here is a short list of songs that you probably know.


AB Form

 

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