But before writing a song, it is like painting, which involves a blend of painting tools, color, emotion, and rhythm. On the most basic level, the words you communicate with must be able to touch your audience, but the style of your message will specify how well they are affected. This is called the lyric structure and is the basic format of every good song.
Choosing the correct lyric pattern depends on what song you’re coming up with; it can be an anthemic pop song, an emotional and soulful ballad, or even a fun and peculiar indie hit. Particular distinctions must be made concerning the degree of freedom one specific form affords, the amount of repetition, and the effect modulation.
This blog will discuss various types of lyric structures, examine what excellent songwriting strategies will allow you to improve your design, and learn how the balance of strapping and creativity stimulates music writing.
This article will reveal seven types of song lyrics and help you determine which type belongs to your song.
At its basic level, lyric structure refers to organizing a song's verses, choruses, and other subdivisions. It is like a map that prescribes where tension begins to rise, where feelings hit the climax, and where the movie is resolved.
There are various song forms, such as:
Picking the correct form of the song is one of the most basic songwriting strategies an artist should employ. It defines how those who listen to your music will apprehend it and, in one way or another, influence their relationship with the lyrics and melody.
For instance, while an ABAB format would apply well to pep formulæ such as pop music, the AABA formula fits better to ballads, jazz, etc. The critical point is to use the structure to reflect the mood of your song.
The verse-chorus form dominates modern music for a reason: that it is simple and efficient. This format means the former is storytelling in the verses, and the device on the latter is emotional in the chorus, so this format allows interest and is effective.
Example:
Take an example from one of the hit popular songs of recent days, Taylor Swift’s Love Story. The verses describe the feelings a man experiences having an affair with the forbidden woman, and the chorus summarizes the man’s frustration and determination in two simple lines.
As with the previous examples, AA, commonly known as the 32-bar form, is a classical lyrical structure used in jazz, ballads, and early and roll. The structure consists of:
This format provides a beautiful instance of the opposition between reproduction and borrowing. That is very useful for narrative and introducing emotions in a piece, so it is suitable for jazz or musicals.
Example:
The AABA form can be best explained with an example of a song hit by The Beatles known as Yellow Submarine, but more particularly, LONG TALL SALLY and YESTERDAY. Like in many pop songs, A sections represent the overall attitude of a song, and a briefly detached B section—the bridge—makes the song even sadder.
Ensure the B section produces some lyrical, melodic, or harmonic contrast. Sections should also contain elements that restate the central idea of the song.
In contrast, free verse forms are the opposite of restrictive, while traditional song forms may seem too limited. This approach eliminates the structured patterns that characterize dances, allowing the lyrics to harmonize freely with the song’s flow.
Free verse structures can be significantly used in genres such as alternative, indie, or experimental music because the focus is on words and music rather than the plot.
Example:
Radiohead’s Paranoid Android can be regarded as a combination of free verse lyric structures as its disparate sections may be combined to provide a coherent yet unexpected plot.
Middle eight or bridge in life is an excellent songwriting tool since it brings change to a tune and gets the listeners' attention. Placed fourth, it deviates from the standard formula much to the key’s advantage, resulting in interest being revived before one final chorus.
Example:
In Adele’s Someone Like You, the bridge of the song changes the overall feel of the music and makes the last chorus more potent for the latter part.
Choosing the best lyric structure does not dictate trends; it defines the proper structure necessary to fulfill an artist’s vision and the audience’s expectations.
As long as you stick with your chosen structure, understand there’s no set rule for a song’s correct format. The best one is the one that creates the best representation of your music
Every track's lyrics and melody constructions stand on the base of the lyrics, contributing to people's experience with your music. While there is freedom in listening to verse-chorus forms, the spare elegance of the AABA format, or the liberating chaos of free verse, the difference is made by trying.
Of course, you can imbue your music with drama and develop forms of songs that electrify or, better yet, build the desired emotions if only you elaborate upon the forms of songs familiar to you and apply new approaches to songwriting. Therefore, one should accept the process of composing songs and generate as many creative ideas as possible within the structure.
Start now and find which lyric structure to use for your next song.
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