Many developing songwriters resent having to be a businessperson. I’ve heard them lament, “I’ve written the songs–now let somebody else take care of the business.” But the reality is that this is the music business. The greatest song in the world will not become a hit if it’s neither demoed or brought to the attention of music business professionals. Although it’s perfectly acceptable to write solely for your own pleasure, if your goal is to be successful in the music business, you have to pay as much attention to the business as you do to the music.

For starters, it would be helpful to understand the difference between a music publishing company and a record label. A publishing company’s primary function is to generate income from songwriters’ songs. This income typically results from getting these songs recorded by recording artists, or included in television shows or films. The term “publisher” is often used interchangably to refer to an individual who’s employed by a publishing company to pitch songs, and to the company itself.

A record label is a company that’s in the business of producing, distributing and seling albums. A rercord label signs recording artists. If these artists do not write their own songs, members of the label’s A&R department will meet with publishers in the hopes of finding hit songs for their artists.

Songwriters’ incomes come from a variety of sources. Songwriters earn money primarily from mechanical royalties, performance royalties, print royalties, synchronization licenses and publisher advances. If a songwriter is also a recording artist and/or producer, he will earn additional royalties, but those royalties are totally separate from monies generated by the songs themselves.

Mechanical Royalties

Mechanical Royalties is the name given to revenues paid for the “mechanical reproduction” of musical compositions on sound recordings. It refers to the royalties paid for the sale of a physical, tangible product containing music–audio cassettes, CDs, record albums, and videocassettes all generate mechanical royalties. In plain english, mechanical royalties are the monies you are paid for the copies of your songs that are sold.

In the United States, the mechanical royalty rate is established by Congress and is called the “Statutory Rate.” With one exception (the 3/4 rate which we’ll discuss another time), the Statutory Rate is not negotiable and applies equally to all songwriters. Therefore, Michael Jackson, Diane Warren, Garth Brooks and you, all receive the same mechanical royalty for each album or single sold.

Payment is made per unit. A “unit” refers to one recording of a song on an audiocassette, CD, or record, whether it’s an album or a single. Each song included on an album is considered one unit. If you are lucky enough to have written 10 songs on an album, you will be paid for 10 units for each album sold.

Occasionally, more than one version of a song may be included on an album or single–the radio mix, the dance mix, the urban mix, etc. In these instances, the writer is paid for each version of the song, just as if it were a separate song.

For single releases, mechanical royalties are paid equally for the “A” Side (the song that is sent to radio stations and marked as the probable hit) and the “B” Side (a song that the buyer is probably not familiar with). Therefore, the writer of the hit song and the writer of the unknown song receive the same amount of money for the sale of each single. Although this may not seem fair, you should know that the writer of the hit will earn the bulk of his income from performance royalties.

Next time, we will take a look at exactly how much mechanical royalties actually pay, based on the Congressional chart which was negotiated through the year 2006.

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From 6 Steps To Songwriting Success by Jason Blume. © 1999 by Jason Blume. Published by Billboard Books, an imprint of Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, New York.

In Part One, we defined “Mechanical Royalties” and gave you several instances regarding how those royalties are paid to writers. In this issue, we’re gonna talk about the actual rate of payment. The Mechanical Royalty Rate for the United States has been negotiated to allow for increases in songwriters’ income through January 1st, 2006. The rate structure, which took effect January 1st, 1998, is as follows:

• January 1st, 1998 7.10 cents
• January 1st, 2000 7.55 cents
• January 1st, 2002 8.00 cents
• January 1st, 2004 8.50 cents
• January 1st, 2006 9.10 cents

These rates are applicable for compositions of up to five minutes in duration. Compositions exceeding five minutes are paid 1.3 cents per minute. Some quick math shows that, using the rate in effect January 1st, 1998, a song included on an album (or a single) that sells 500,000 units, generates $35,500 in mechanical royalties. Using this same rate, each song on a million-selling album earns $71,000. The mechanical royalty earned by one song included on an album that sells 20 million copies is $1,420,000!

Mechanical royalties are paid from the record label to the publisher. The publisher distributes the writers’ share of the income to the writers, either quarterly or bi-annually. Payments for sales within the United States are made approximately six months after the sale of the product. However, it sometimes takes eighteen months or longer to receive mechanical royalties generated outside the U.S.

Collecting the money is not always an easy job for music publishers. Therefore, the majority of publishers contract an outside firm (the Harry Fox Agency or Copyright Management, Inc.) to handle the paperwork involved in the collection of their mechanical royalties.

The Harry Fox Agency (HFA) is the main organization for the administration of mechanical rights in the United States. HFA represents more than 19,000 music publishers, licensing the use of music on records, tapes, and CDs. They distribute more than $400,000,000 per year in royalties.

Although the mechanical royalty rate is set by congress, there are instances in which a record label contacts a publishing company and requests that it (acting on a songwriter’s behalf), accept only 3/4 of the regular mechanical royalty rate. This is referred to as the “3/4 rate” or “controlled composition clause,” and most commonly occurs when the record label anticipates that the recording artist or record producer will be writing or co-writing his or her own songs. If you collaborate with a recording artist or producer, some of the record labels insist that the artist, producer and his or her co-writers agree to accept the 3/4 rate.

Other instances in which the record label might feel justified to pay a 3/4 rate include the re-release of a product as part of a lower-priced catalog series, inclusion in a compilation, or inclusion in a box set that will be sold at a lower price. When these situations occur, the songwriter may be consulted by the publisher, but it is the publisher’s decision as to whether to accept a reduced mechanical royalty rate.

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From 6 Steps To Songwriting Success by Jason Blume. © 1999 by Jason Blume. Published by Billboard Books, an imprint of Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, New York.

Within a verse, there may also be a pre-chorus–a two or four line section, rarely exceeding four bars musically, immediately preceeding the chorus. It is crafted to propel the listener, both melodically and lyrically, into the chorus.

The pre-chorus is optional. However, if the first verse includes a pre-chorus, all subsequent verses typically also include a pre-chorus section. The pre-chorus is sometimes referred to as the lift, the channel climb or B-section.

• All pre-choruses in the same song have the same melody.
• It is acceptable for each verse’s pre-chorus to repeat the same lyric or to introduce a new lyric.

The bridge serves as a departure or a release from the rest of the song. It usually consists of two or four lines of lyric, and four or eight musical bars. The bridge’s job is to add a new dimension to the song, take it to the next level, and lead the listener back to the chorus, title and hook, from a new angle. If that’s not enough of a challenge, the bridge needs to accomplish all of this while still managing to sound consistent with the rest of the song.

When using a structure that includes verses and choruses, the bridge can occur in only one place–between the second and third choruses

(Verse–Chorus–Verse–Chorus–Bridge–Chorus). When utilizing the A-A-B-A song form, the bridge will be between the second and third verse. (Verse–Verse–Bridge–Verse).

The bridge is a release or departure, both lyrically and melodically, from the sections that surround it. Note that outside the United States, the bridge is sometimes referred to as “the middle eight.”

Lyrically, the bridge presents an opportunity to add a new dimension, a new perspective to your story. It is your last chance to lead the listeners back to your title and make it pay off one final time.

The tools that can help differentiate your bridge lyrically from the rest of the song are:

• Revealing an added element to the story that ties it together.
• Changing the person-from I to She or He.
• Switching from specific, detailed imagery to general statements.
• Alternating the time frame-looking back on the past
• Disclosing a surprise

Musically, effective bridges may add an element of contrast by:

• Introducing one or more chords that haven’t been used previously.
• Changing the rhythm.
• Using notes that are either higher or lower than those used in the other sections.

Additional guidelines for creating effective bridges:

• Do not include the title.
• Limit yourself to two or four lines of lyric.
• Occasionally, bridges can be instrumental.

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Copyright 1999 by Jason Blume.
From the book 6 Steps to Songwriting Success by Jason Blume. Published by Billboard Books, an imprint of Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, NY. Available where books are sold.

I once read an interview with legendary songwriter Leonard Cohen (“Suzanne”), in which he said that when he writes a lyric, he might spend the day filling an entire notebook and if one line actually makes it into the song, he’s had a good day! At first, that seemed incredible to me, but then I realized that most songs don’t have more than eight lines in each of two verses (sixteen lines); a maximum of another eight lines in the chorus, and at the most, another four lines of lyric in the bridge. That’s a total of 28 lines (and many songs might have less).Taking 28 days to write a song with each line being an extraordinary line could produce twelve incredible songs per year. It’s easier to get one great song published and recorded than a hundred pretty good ones.

Exercise: Rewriting A Verse Lyric

In your notebook, rewrite each of the following verse lyrics three times. For each rewrite, keep the idea the same, but change the images and the specific words. Feel free to change the length of the lines and where the rhymes occur. Remember to:

Use detail
Keep it conversational
Use fresh imagery
Allow the listener to watch the scene unfold.

I held you close
That first night we danced
And when I took you home
I took a chance.

There’s really good music
Where I go on Saturday nights
Everybody has a lot of fun
And they’re feelin’ alright.

When you said that you were leaving me
The first thing I did was cry
Then I got really angry
And then I told you why.

When you’ve completed the exercise, answer the following questions:

• Did you use detail?
• Is the language conversational?
• Does it incorporate fresh imagery?
• Does the lyric allow the listener to watch the scene unfold?
• Did the work get stronger with each rewrite?

Exercise: Rewriting The Lyrics To An Existing Song

Copy the lyric to a recent hit song that you love and wish you had written. Be sure to select one that was written by an outside writer. In crafting your new lyric, use the same

• Basic Idea (positive love song, sad love song, social issue song)
• Song Structure (A-A-B-A-A-B-A-B-C-B)
• Number of Lines In Each Section
• Rhyming Scheme (rhyme lines 2 & 4 in verses, 1&2 and 3&4 in chorus)
• Approximate Number of Syllables in Each Line
• Tone of the Lyric (clever, heartfelt, twists on words)

Create a new title, fresh images, and new ways to express the essence of the original lyric while using the same set of tools that led to success for the writer of the existing lyric.

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Copyright © 1999 by Jason Blume
Excerpted from 6 Steps To Songwriting Success by Jason Blume. Published by Billboard Books, an imprint of Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, New York.

We’ve had the good fortune to personally experience, witness and celebrate the successes of many songwriters from the first day they got off the bus to their recent #1 party. (It seems there’s one almost every week here in Nashville!). While each writer’s success story is unique, we’ve found there are several common denominators that contributed to their successes. As we looked them over, we discovered five different levels, one building upon the other, with each level having its own “subset” of factors that serve as the bricks and mortar.

We’d like to pass those bricks on to you. We know how much you want that first cut, how you can taste it and how sometimes it feels insurmountable and out of reach. But we can tell you first hand that it isn’t. No, we can’t guarantee that you’ll get your first cut by putting the bricks into place, but we can pretty much guarantee that if you don’t start building, you won’t see your name in tiny letters in parentheses under your song title anytime soon. So get out your trowel and let’s go to work.

Think of the process as building (and then climbing) a staircase – – a songwriting staircase – – with each level supporting the one above it. It might look a little like this:

Your First Cut!

Level Five – Professional Relationships Working for You

Level Four – Solidifying Professional Relationships

Level Three – Developing Professional Relationships

Level Two – Connecting to the Music Business

Level One – Your Commitment to Songwriting

By the way, we found one more common denominator not listed above: writing a great song. Don’t forget you have to do that too.

There are 4 “bricks” that make up Level One:

Your Commitment To Songwriting

As you look them over, check off the ones you have put into place and work on creating the ones you haven’t.

1. You Play Guitar Or Piano. A song consists of lyric and melody. While there are successful lyrics-only writers, playing an instrument enhances your creativity in melody, rhythm, meter and timing.
2. You Set Aside At Least A Three-Hour Block Once A Week To Write And Co-Write. Productivity equals quantity and quality. The more you write, the better your songs will be. Having a disciplined time to write demonstrates to you and the world that you’re serious. Co-writing is another way to give and receive ideas in lyric, melody, song development and every other creative aspect to your songs. It helps you maintain discipline, makes you a teacher, student and a better writer.
3. You Are Involved In A Local Songwriting Organization. A songwriting organization in your area is the best place to connect for information, ideas, networking and your passion for songs and songwriting. Get involved!
4. You Do At Least One Thing Each Day, No Matter How Large Or Small, To Further Your Songwriting Career. These are small, do-able tasks. Write down a song idea, call a co-writer, study songs on a new CD. Every day. When you act like a songwriter, you think like a songwriter. This may be your most important brick and will last you your whole career.

If these first 4 bricks are in place, you’ve created your foundation for your success. Now let’s go to the 3 bricks in Level Two:

Connecting To The Music Business

1. You Visit A Major Music Center To Attend And Play Writer’s Nights, Co-Write, And Network At Least Three Times A Year. The music business is a contest in which you need to be present to win. You’re increasing your chances for success when the powers that be can hear your masterpiece. The music business is a business of relationships. Start visiting and start connecting.
2. You Drop Off Your Songs or Play Them in Person (on CD or tape) To A Music Center Publisher Who Has Agreed To Listen To Them. The music publisher is your agent and you need an agent to get your songs heard. Because you’ve been disciplining yourself to write and co-write, you now have songs that deserve to be listened to. Make some calls, get permission, and get them out there. Somehow your songs sound better in person. Once you’ve had some success with dropping off your songs, ask for an appointment. Strengthen that connection.
3. You Perform You Songs Regularly In A Major Music Center. You never know who’s in the audience.

How are you doing so far? If you’ve made your commitment to writing and becoming involved, and have begun to network by visiting a music center and pitching your songs, your first two levels are firmly in place. If there are some bricks missing, work on putting them in. No matter where you are on your journey, acknowledge how far you’ve come and keep going.

In Part II, “Developing and Solidifying Professional Relationships and Making them Work for You”, we’ll climb even higher. Keep writing!

See you on the charts!
Jerry & Gracie

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© 2002 Jerry Vandiver and Gracie Hollombe
Jerry Vandiver is a staff writer for Talbot Music in Nashville with songs recorded by Gene Watson, Barbara Mandrell, Phil Vassar, and Tim McGraw, totaling over 12 million records. Gracie Hollombe, former Regional Workshops Director of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), is a full-time songwriter living in Nashville. Their book, “Your First Cut, A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting There” (11/22 Publishing, ISBN 0-9717745-0-1), is a 224-page hands-on, goal-oriented workbook designed to put you and keep you on the path to your songwriting dreams. The authors can be reached by visiting www.yourfirstcut.com.

In Part I we explored the first two levels in building the stairway to your first cut. We discussed making a serious commitment to songwriting by disciplining yourself to write and co-write, getting involved in a local songwriting organization and accomplishing daily tasks aimed at thinking like a songwriter. In addition, we began making a connection to the music business by beginning to visit a music center regularly, and pitching and performing your songs there. Now let’s finish building that stairway.

If Levels One and Two are in place, it’s time to put in the four bricks of Level Three:

Developing Professional Relationships

1. You Live Or Frequently Participate In Music Industry Events In A Major Music Center. Don’t start packing just yet. Frequently participating is the key. This is where relationship building starts to kick in. You need to be there more than once or twice a year.
2. You Co-Write On A Regular Basis With Someone Who Has Signed A Single-Song Contract. If your co-writer has an established relationship with at least one publisher who believes in him, you’re writing with someone who takes songwriting as seriously as you do and you’re increasing your contact opportunities.
3. You Have Signed A Single-Song Contract With A Music Center Publisher. Now a professional believes in you. This is a big step. You’re on your way!
4. You Co-Write On A Regular Basis With A Writer Who Has An Exclusive Songwriting Agreement With A Music Center Publisher. The political connection is obvious. Your co-writer’s publisher is willing to part with dollars because he believes in your co-writer and is anxious to work those songs hard. Now he will be working your song hard too.

Climbing higher makes you stronger. You’ve made the commitment and you’re connecting and developing relationships. Let’s keep going.

Lucky you. There are only two bricks in Level Four:

Solidifying Personal Relationships

1. You Co-Write With A Major Label Recording Artist. Writing with a recording artist eliminates all the people whose job is to say “no” to your songs. (Well, most of the time!)
2. You’ve Signed An Exclusive Songwriting Agreement With A Music Center Publisher. When you’re a staff writer, your publisher believes in you so much that he is committing time, energy and bucks to get your songs recorded, and is going to do everything possible to get his investment returned.

If you’re this high up, don’t look down–only 3 more bricks. Keep going. Level five is just ahead:

Professional Relationships Working For You

1. A Publisher Has Dropped Off Or Played Your Song To A Major Label A&R Rep, Producer Or Manager. Teamwork is what this is all about. As a member of TAXI, your songs get played to the right ears. That’s a great start. It’s additionally important to have strong relationships in place (i.e., music publishers) that will continue to work your songs.
2. An A&R Rep, Artist Manager Or Producer Has Played Your Song To A Major Label Recording Artist. TAXI and/or your publisher have done their job. The rest is up to fate and a little luck.
3. A Publisher Has Played Your Song To A Major Label Recording Artist. The A&R Rep, Manager and/or Producer are out of the way. Now your song has its best chance.

Hopefully you’ve seen how each level builds upon the next and each brick supports the others. Look at where you are and where you need to be. Don’t be discouraged. Be determined.

See you on the charts!
Jerry & Gracie

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© 2002 Jerry Vandiver and Gracie Hollombe
Jerry Vandiver is a staff writer for Talbot Music in Nashville with songs recorded by Gene Watson, Barbara Mandrell, Phil Vassar, and Tim McGraw, totaling over 12 million records. Gracie Hollombe, former Regional Workshops Director of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), is a full-time songwriter living in Nashville. Their book, “Your First Cut, A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting There” (11/22 Publishing, ISBN 0-9717745-0-1), is a 224-page hands-on, goal-oriented workbook designed to put you and keep you on the path to your songwriting dreams. The authors can be reached by visiting www.yourfirstcut.com.

Among the most powerful tools you can use to make your songs more commercial and to impress industry pros with your command of the craft, is the use of contrasts and variations that I call “song dynamics.” I’ve also observed that it’s the tool most commonly overlooked and underused by amateur songwriters. In this section we’ll look at several devices you should have in your bag of tricks and why they work.

There are crucial points during a song at which the audience’s attention must be dramatically and positively captured in order to make it effective on radio. I had a very valuable experience that helped to confirm my information about these factors.

Len Chandler (my partner in the Los Angeles Songwriters Showcase) and I were asked to produce demos of some strong commercial songs by a company that regularly tested records on behalf of producers and record companies. Though this method of testing is no longer used by the company, we learned a lot from this experience. Here’s how it worked. Every Saturday, four hundred young potential record buyers of several demographic groups (divided into age, sex and racial groups) sat in a theater and turned a dial on the arm of their seats to indicate responses to a given song ranging from “don’t like it” to neutral to “love it.” As the song was played in the theater, lyrics were shown on the screen and, simultaneously, a computer totaling the combined responses of each demographic group drew a graph of that group’s reaction so that we could see how they responded at any given moment of the song. From watching those reactions and from the director’s interpretations of what we saw, we learned the following:

1. Intros for ballads should be shorter in order to get the listener into the body of the song more quickly. Intros for up-tempo songs can be longer because, if the groove and arrangement are interesting, people get involved physically almost immediately. People reflect on ballad lyrics in a more passive way, which increases the need for a blockbuster chorus to grab their attention.

2. Listeners will try to identify the voice when it’s first heard. If it’s familiar, it usually generates a positive reaction. People always feel more comfortable with a voice they know than one they don’t, because they have to decide whether or not they like an unfamiliar singer.

This phenomenon also contributes to the difficulty for an unknown artist to get exposure on the radio. A good example was that the demo we produced on an unknown male artist with a beautiful but very high voice got a negative reaction from the audience. We finally concluded that the audience was turned off because they didn’t know whether to identify a male or female (the lyrics didn’t immediately establish a gender). Remember that this wasn’t Michael Jackson or The Artist, both of whom have readily identifiable high voices. The problem here wasn’t the high voice in itself, it was the lack of gender identity.

3. The reaction at the first sound of a voice is critical to the audience’s continued reaction to the record. The longer it takes to respond positively, the harder it is to build interest through the rest of the song. In the absence of a familiar voice, the lyric content of the first line(s) is very important to the audience’s response. This is the audience’s first exposure to the song and artist, and there’s an automatic tendency to pay attention when someone starts to sing, just as there is when someone starts to talk. If people don’t understand or hear or like what’s being said, the reaction will be negative.

4. The chorus is another crucial place in a song. If audience interest doesn’t increase perceptibly at the beginning of the chorus and increase throughout, continued positive interest in the remainder of the record is unlikely.

In television, the pros say that there should be a new camera angle or other change at least every fifteen seconds to keep the viewer’s interest. (In music videos, that time is considerably shorter.) This principle has an analogy to radio. Since it is true that we remember only a fraction of what we hear compared to what we see, we begin to understand why we’re so easily distracted when we listen to the radio. That means that the battle for people’s attention on the radio is a heavy one and songwriters need all the ammunition they can get. Now that we understand what has to be done, how can we create the excitement that solves the problem?

One of the main components of the “SuperLearning” (www.superlearning.ca) techniques developed by Russian educators now being used in the West is that teachers vary the tone, intensity and pitch of their voice frequently as they deliver the material. Those contrasts continue to stimulate the student’s attention. Since this is the same effect you want to achieve in your listeners, you can use many different techniques, musically and lyrically, to achieve contrasts between different segments of the song. In the next article we’ll explore some of those techniques

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This excerpt from John Braheny’s book, The Craft and Business of Songwriting (2nd edition, 2002, Writers Digest Books) has been edited for length. It’s available at bookstores everywhere. For info about John’s critiquing and consulting services, go to www.johnbraheny.com.

If you want your songs to stand the test of time, you have to build them solidly from the ground up. These are ten things you’ll need:

1. The cornerstone: a unique title, a dramatic situation.
   The title is the emotional center of the song. Come up with as suggestive a title as you can, one that conjures up a strong emotional situation. If the title itself isn’t very dramatic, plot out the most evocative story and situation you can to bring fresh attention to an old title concept.
   
2. The foundation: a well-defined structure.
   The structure gives the song shape and is key to making a song memorable. Know the two main forms of song structure: verse/bridge and verse/chorus and make a clear choice as to which one you are using. That will tell you where the title will be placed in the song.
   
3. The building materials: associative words.
   Before writing a lyric line, brainstorm without judgment to come up with associative, provocative words and phrases that all lead to the title concept.
   
4. The paint: visuals aid.
   Use imagery, metaphors and similes, to show us, not tell us, what the singer is experiencing. A song is really a mini aural movie. Again, every image and word of lyric suggests the central concept.
   
5. Interior design: balance and contrasts.
   When writing lyrics, consider changing phrasing patterns from section to section. This will permit the music writer to create more interesting melodies. Once you have established a pattern, match it each time that section comes around so that strong melodic moments can be repeated.
   
6. Architecture: harmonizing emotion.
   You want the melody to match the lyric (prosody). The melody of a song helps interpret the emotional intention of the lyric, so experiment to come up with the most emotional intervals and rhythms to set the words.
   
7. Inner spaces: how does it feel?
   The feel of the music has a lot to do with how we respond to a song. Is it aggressive, tender, angry, good time, etc.? Don’t just accept the first groove you come up with. Experiment, imitate feels of songs off the radio, ’till you come up with the best one. Too fast or too slow tempo also affects the impact of the song; is it dragging, is it too fast for the words to be sung, enunciated well?
   
8. The columns: the chords that bind.
   Use chords that support the message and the emotion of the melody. Stylistically keep chords in the tone of the genre you’re writing in (country, r&b, jazz, etc.). Also consider the frequency of chord changes line to line, section to section, as energy or intensity builds.
   
9. The floor plan: varying spaces.
   Contrasting phrasing from section to section helps keep musical interest up. Maybe the verse is rapid fire, and the chorus spreads out with fewer words to let the singer wail heroically away. Think about this also when you’re writing melody without existing lyric.
   
10. Design details: little things mean a lot.
    Look for catchy melodic and phrasing “moments” in every section and, when you find them, make sure you repeat them when that same section comes around.

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Songwriter/teacher/consultant Pete Luboff with his wife Pat, are co-authors of “88 Songwriting Wrongs and How To Right Them,” published by Writer’s Digest. (310) 674-9222.

No matter how creative and powerful lyrics or melodies may be by themselves, they take on a whole new life and a whole new power and magic when they’re together. The song is greater than the sum of its parts. Whether you’re a specialist at one or the other or a genius at both, an essential aspect of your craft is the understanding of how to make the parts fit together to create that magic. In the next few articles I’ll cover the elements of songwriting that relate most to words and music as a whole.

Form

The form, also called the “format” or “structure,” is a song’s basic shape or organization. In this and subsequent columns, I’ll examine and explain:

A: how a song’s basic components–verses, choruses, bridges and pre-choruses–work together to keep a listener’s interest;

B: a song’s basic forms and variations and their best uses;

C: how to analyze form so you can keep up with contemporary trends.

In the ’50s and early ’60s, there were hardly more than three different chord progressions (formulas) for any kind of popular music. If a song didn’t conform to one of them, the odds were heavily against its becoming a hit, so the chord progression formulas perpetuated themselves. The 1-6m-4-5 (eg. C Am F G) progression spawned hundreds of hits like “26 Miles,” “Silhouettes,” and “Earth Angel.” The twelve-bar blues format was also popular as it laid the foundations for rock and roll (e.g. E- 4 bars/A-2 bars/E-2 bars/B7-1 bar/A-1 bar/E-2 bars).

Those old progressions are familiar enough to make us feel at home with new songs and new artists. They’re predictable–the chords, the words and the tunes are different, but the basic shape of the songs is the same, so we can learn them quickly. Some basic forms and variations will continue as they have for many, many years for a simple reason–they work.

People have an unconscious desire for symmetry, and the repetition of rhyme, melody and form satisfies that need. The repetition of form also sets up a degree of predictability that’s reassuring and comfortable to a listener. It sets up a solid base on which we can create surprises without losing their attention.

The manipulation of form is a very important game to know. Classical musicians learn form as a basic part of their training, and for you, as a popular songwriter, to be able to make conscious choices about form is to be in control of your art. Once you understand the elements of form, what they do and why, you’ll be able to challenge yourself to go beyond the familiar as you write your own songs.

The Components Of Form:

VERSE
The verse is the major vehicle for conveying the information of the song. Its other major function, both lyrically and musically, is to “set up” (or lead into) the chorus, the bridge, another verse, or a title/hook line. If it doesn’t do one of those things well, it’s not working. Verses have certain basic characteristics:

1. The lyric, from verse to verse, is different or contains substantial new information each time. It may contain elements of previous verses (such as the title line if the song has no chorus).
2. The melody is essentially the same each time we hear it, although there is room for variation and some flexibility to accommodate the lyric. The reason for keeping the melody the same is because that familiarity makes it easier for the listener to focus on the changing lyric.

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This excerpt from John Braheny’s book, The Craft and Business of Songwriting (2nd edition, 2002, Writers Digest Books) has been edited for length. It’s available at bookstores everywhere. For info about John’s critiquing and consulting services, go to www.johnbraheny.com.

VERSE/CHORUS FORMS
The varieties of this most popular form provide a maximum of chorus repetition and two or more verses to tell your story.

#1	#2	#3	#4	#5
A Verse	A Verse	B Chorus	A Verse	A Verse
B Chorus	B Chorus	A Verse	A Verse	B Pre-chorus
A Verse	A Verse	B Chorus	B Chorus	C Chorus
B Chorus	B Chorus	A Verse	A Verse	A Verse
A Verse	C Bridge	B Chorus	B Chorus	B Pre-chorus
B Chorus	B Chorus		B Chorus	C Chorus

Version #1 gives you a maximum verse and chorus repetition. A potential problem is that, if you have a lot of melodic repetition within each verse or chorus, such as an 8-bar section made up of three 2-bar melodies with a slight variation in the fourth 2-bar melody line, you may have too much repetition. In that case, #2 with the substitution of a bridge for the third verse helps to break it up. Version #3 with the chorus first can give you more repetition of the chorus in a shorter time. The choice of whether to start with a chorus depends on the lyric development of the song. If it’s important to generate a dynamic opening to the song, try the chorus first unless you want the verses to build interest and suspense and “set up” the chorus as a “payoff.” Many ’60s Motown hits used variations of this form. It’s always a good idea to give it a test by switching the verse and chorus positions to see which works best.

Version #4 with two verses in front is also a much used form. Its workability depends on a very strong lyric continuity between the first and second verses to offset the delay in getting to the chorus. This is a much greater problem in a slow ballad than an up-tempo song because of the additional time it takes to get to the chorus. Every word has to propel the story forward. Repetition of information is deadly. If each of the two verses cover the same information in a different way and don’t depend on each other, this may not be the best form to use since you should have a very important reason to delay the chorus. If you do need to use two verses, you may want to look for some arrangement devices or write a variation of the first verse melody to help sustain musical interest in the second verse. You could also consider using your title in the first line of the chorus to avoid even further delay in reaching the hook line.

Variations of this form opening with three verses (AAABAB or AAABAAB) are rare and the two examples that come to mind; The Eagles’ “Lyin’ Eyes” (Don Henley/Glen Frey) and Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” (Don Schlitz) both have such exceptional lyric continuity that a chorus any earlier would be an unwelcome intrusion. Otherwise, you court boredom as much as you might with an AAA structure.

You’ll also occasionally hear an AABAABB variation, particularly on up-tempo songs. Again, those choices will be different for each song but the guiding principle is that you don’t delay the chorus unless you have another good way to sustain the listener’s interest. An interesting variation is the beautiful message story song “Chain of Love” (Rory Lee/Johnny Barnett) recorded by Clay Walker that has such strong lyric continuity that it was a hit as an AABAABA with only two chorus repeats.

#5 offers the excitement of three different melodic segments. The pre-chorus is the segment that makes the difference here. This form works best in up-tempo songs where the three segments go by quickly. Many variations are possible with this form including repeated instrumental versions of any of the segments and instrumental breaks between segments. Here are some examples:

AABC ABC BC BC or
ABC ABCD BC or
ABC ABCD ABCD, the “D” being a bridge with a new melody, with or without lyrics.

Remember that these are basic formats and each song is its own universe with different requirements based on the strengths of your lyric, groove, production and melodies. This information is meant to show that there are many ways to use song structures to hold your listeners attention by balancing predictability with surprise.

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This excerpt from John Braheny’s book, The Craft and Business of Songwriting (2nd edition, 2002, Writers Digest Books) has been edited for length. It’s available at bookstores everywhere. For info about John’s critiquing and consulting services, go to www.johnbraheny.com.