Discovering The Structure Of A Song

Summary

In this lesson, students will study the form of popular songs. They will find out what building blocks are used in verse-chorus form, what are their characteristics and functions. Students will identify the different sections in a song and compare forms in different musical styles.

⏰ Time: 45 min

🎓 Grades: 5-12

🎯 Objective(s): As a result of this lesson students will know and/or be able to...

• Learn what intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, interlude and outro is;
• Understand the function of different song sections;
• Identify the different sections in a song.

💻 Materials:

• Solfeg.io app best used with Chrome browser
• Projector or computer and access to WIFI
• Form Cards

Song suggestions:

Inspiration

🕐 10 min - Explore articulation

• Choose a song from the ‘Song suggestions’ list, for example, 'Radioactive' by Imagine Dragons. Tell your students about the song! You can pick some facts from the song description.

Warm-Up

🕐 15 min - Theory

• Shortly explain what form is. (The structure of the song, its basic shape and organization. The song is made of shorter sections. They work together, each one of them has a different function.)
• Mention that the most common form in popular music is verse-chorus form.
• Play the selected song and shortly explain students the characteristics and the function of different song sections:
• Intro: the section in the beginning.
• The melody of the chorus, or sometimes the verse, is revealed in instrumental form.
• Lacks proper lyrics, may include vocal riffing.
• Sometimes chorus in full or part can be played in the beginning.
• Verse: the section that reveals the storyline of the song.
• Conveys the basic mood and message of the song.
• Is repeated several times in the song - lyrics contain new information each time to move the story along, while the melody stays essentially the same (although variations are possible to accommodate new lyrics).
• Pre-chorus: a short transitional section before the chorus.
• Creates tension, builds the energy, leading to the chorus.
• Chorus: a section that repeats several times throughout a song, using the same words and melody each time.
• The part of the song that listeners easily recognize and are most likely to sing along to.
• States the central idea of the song.
• The song's title usually appears in the first and/or last line, and possibly more.
• Music may contrast the verse - different rhythm, chord progression, vocal register, dynamics, wider melodic range (higher or lower notes than the verse).
• When a chorus is just one or two lines long, it’s called a refrain.
• Usually placed at the end of each verse.
• Bridge (sometimes called “middle eight” ): a contrasting section.
• Usually placed after the second chorus. That's when listeners may begin to tire of melodic repetition, and the bridge relieves the boredom and helps to refocus on the song.
• Can be instrumental or contain lyrics.
• To create contrast, there can be changes of the tessitura, melodic or harmonic rhythm, phrase lengths, new lyrical content etc.
• Interlude: an instrumental section.
• Outro (coda): an ending section.
• May be totally new material or derived from chorus, verse or intro.
• The most common verse-chorus forms:
• Verse 1 - Chorus 1 - Verse 2 - Chorus 2 - Bridge - Chorus 3 (- Chorus 4);
• Verse 1 - Pre-Chorus 1 - Chorus 1 - Verse 2 - Pre-Chorus 2 - Chorus 2 - Bridge - Pre-Chorus 3 - Chorus 3

Practice

🕐 5 min - Exercise 1 - Moving form

• Discuss with the class and decide what movement would best suit each section of the song. Some ideas: walking at different speeds, sitting down, standing up, stopping, turning down, walking backwards, jumping, etc. All verses should have the same movement, as well as all choruses etc.
• Play the song once again and ask the class to follow the form and do the movements.

🕐 15 min - Exercise 2 - Form puzzle

• Divide students in small groups (up to 5 students in each).
• Ask each group to choose a different song category (pop, rock, indie, dance…) and select one song from it.
• Give each group a set of Form Cards.
• Each group listens to their song and pays attention to the form.
• Using Form Cards, ask each group to put together the form of the selected song on the table. Alternatively, they can write the names of the sections down. They should try to show the length of the sections, for example, leave longer spaces to indicate longer sections.
• Ask each group to present the form of their song to the class. They should also shortly describe each section.
• Discuss the differences and similarities between song forms in different musical styles.

Reflection

🕐 5 min - Discussion

• Have you ever experienced earworms? (A catchy song or tune that runs continually through a person's mind.) Which song was it? Which section of the song was it? Where do titles appear in your favorite songs?
• Do you know any songs in which the title doesn't appear in the lyrics? (For example, 'Empire State of Mind Part II' by Alicia Keys)

Beyond the Lesson

Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...

• Exploring different song categories, paying attention to their form and trying to find the following:
• Which song doesn't have a chorus? (For example, 'I Want To Break Free' by Queen)
• Which song starts with a chorus? (For example, 'Motivation' by Normani)
• In which song there's different vocal techniques in verse and chorus? (For example, 'See You Again' by Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth)

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