Songwriting Infobox

Song Model
Songwriting
Lyrics - Melody - Harmony - Rhythm - Form
Song Form
Title - Chorus - Verse - Prechorus - Bridge
v • d • e

The Verse

The verse is a recurring song section and is generally the first section of the song that the listener hears. Each time the verse repeats, the melody stays the same but the lyrics generally change. The verse is more like a narrative which tells the story.

Effective verses should connect to the chorus, build up intensity into the chorus, and strongly contrast the chorus.

Tips

• Present the song's story from the singer's point of view. This solves any problems with verb tense, setting, literary point of view, gender, and so on.
• Setting your verse's melody and lyrics to short notes is more conversational than longer notes. This will help draw your audience into the story. The chorus can then be made of longer notes, where you emphasize just a phrase or two to make it contrast the verse and give your listeners the opportunity to think about the lyrics.
• Big ideas in the chorus, small details in the verse.

Common Verse Types

a b a b (rhyme scheme)

• Fire and Rain, James Taylor
• I Shall Be Released, Bob Dylan
• She Loves You, The Beatles
• I Want to Hold Your Hand, The Beatles
• Back in the Saddle, Aerosmith

a a a a

• Roxanne, The Police
• Feelin' Alright, Joe Cocker
• King of Pain, The Police

x a x a

• Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, The Police
• New Kid In Town, The Eagles
• Born To Be Wild, Steppenwolf
• Owner of a Lonely Heart, Yes

a a b b

• Rolling In The Deep, Adele
• My Generation, The Who
• My Life, The Beatles
• Message In A Bottle, The Police
• Magic Carpet Ride, Steppenwolf

Other Verse Types

• x x
• a a

• a a b a
• a b a a

• x x a x x a
• x x a b b a
• x a a x a a
• a b b a b b
• a b c a b c
• a a b c c b

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