Musical Elements, Styles & Music Technology

Intro

Songs have to start somewhere, don’t they?

A lot of tracks just bypass the intro and jump right into a verse or chorus, but in other cases, songs will have a dedicated intro of 2, 4, or even 8 bars!

In our post on “song intro ideas,” we talk about Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” which has a melancholy instrumental piano part that ONLY takes place in the intro – you don’t hear it again at all throughout the rest of the song.

In reality, the intro might be a few bars of the main instrumental hook, a few strummed chords, or even a spoken intro (like in T.I.’s Whatever You Like). Another common intro trope is the main riff or chorus backing track, but with the drums removed. This allows for a buildup, a big drum fill, and then an exciting resolution when the full drum part kicks in!

So, why should you have an intro to your song?

Well, you don’t necessarily need it…

Many songs don’t have a dedicated, unique intro, especially today. In decades past, your song would have a musical intro to give the radio DJ a chance to finish reading off his script while the song fades in. Intros also help transition between two songs on an album where one plays before the other!

But in the age of streaming, having an intro is much more about artistic taste and less about these practical concerns.

Verse

Verses are the parts of a song that exist in the sweet spot between repetition and novelty. Choruses are built to repeat and bridges are one-time use, but the verse splits the difference: your second verse will sound a lot like your first, but it will likely be substantially different. 

Pre-Chorus

Most songs follow a basic structure that involves alternating verses and choruses. But sometimes, you need another song element to split the two up.

It might be for dramatic reasons, breaking up two high-energy sections with a short, slow one to build up the sense of anticipation. It could be for musical reasons, using a few bars to set up for a key change.

But what’s for certain is that if you have a few bars after the verse and before the chorus that feel like a transition, that’s a pre-chorus.

Not every song needs a pre-chorus. That said, they’re a wonderful tool for building interest as you move from your verse to your chorus.

Take a look at The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside.”

The verse is fast-paced, but slows down during the pre-chorus. Simultaneously, the wall of sound behind the vocals start to build. It accumulates, then drops out for the last lines of the pre-chorus, only to return dramatically for the chorus.

Beautiful! Powerful! Unforgettable! 

Chorus

More often than not, this is the part of a song that will stick with your listener forevermore. The chorus is the most likely place for your song’s hook – and the title of the song – to appear. 

Choruses usually convey the main message or theme of the song.

Think of a song like a play: parts of the song like the intro and verse deal with exposition and moving action. But the chorus is an opportunity for the speaker to have an “aside” with the audience and tell them how they REALLY feel. A good chorus gets across the feeling that the song is supposed to get across, both through lyrics and music.

Because it’s the central idea of the song, choruses tend to repeat as well.

Sometimes, the verse or bridge in between can help paint the chorus in a new light each time it comes up.

Before we move on from the chorus, we ought to talk about the difference between a chorus and a refrain. The distinction is subtle, but it essentially comes down to how attached the chorus is to the verse.

Musically, most choruses are distinct from the sections around them. They might feature a key change, new instrumentation, or even a dramatic pause during transitions – but a refrain is simply appended to the end of a verse.

A great example is Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ In The Wind.”

Every verse ends with the same two lines.

Bridge

Just as a bridge over a river connects the two sides, the bridge of a song connects two parts that are distinct from each other. A bridge is really any section that is difficult to classify in a different category. In general, the bridge makes a one-time appearance within a song, usually anywhere from 50% to 75% of the way through. 

Solo

When your band wants to show off someone’s awesome musicianship, the solo is where that can happen. For example, the solo in Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”:

Middle 8

Like a bridge, a Middle 8 can have a different rhythm, melody, and accompaniment than the verse, chorus, or any other part off the song. But what really distinguishes Middle 8s is that a Middle 8 tends to connect one chorus to another, whereas a bridge doesn’t necessarily do that.

Outro/Coda

The outro is the ending of the song. It can be its own new musical idea, but it’s most often just a bombastic version of the chorus. It usually brings back other tags or hooks from earlier in the song, while also including elements not heard before to bring everything home. 

In the old days, songs often faded out while the band played on. That sort of outro is less popular these days, but that doesn’t mean outros themselves are less popular.

On the contrary, I’d wager more songs have outros than proper intros today – because you need the intro to hook people immediately, but after they’ve been listening a while, you can afford to get more creative with your outdo!

Some songs have purely musical outros (the Red Hot Chili Peppers song “Slow Cheetah” has nearly a minute of music after the last lyrics is sung).

Breakdown and Build Up

The build up it is essential to EDM song structure, as it creates the tension that will be released throughout the drop. The build sections are paramount to driving the track forward and help build excitement for the impending drop.

A good breakdown provides a momentary pause and an opportunity to reset the energy level of the track after a high-intensity drop section. These sections often remove the bass, cut back the percussion, and sometimes even fade to near silence before the energy begins to build once more. Contrast is created in these calmer sections, which make the following drop that much more impactful by comparison. 

Most dance records will consist of two breakdowns, a shorter one towards the beginning and a longer one towards the middle of the track.

Drop

This most important section of EDM song structure needs little introduction. These peak moments must make people move, as the core musical ideas are brought in full force.

Most dance tracks have more than one drop, but each genre often has its own conventions of how a drop is arranged. Bass genres like dubstep and drum and bass often feature three varying sections that comprise the drop, each developing, expanding, and reiterating the main bass line idea. Progressive house genres feature a classic two-drop structure, with every eight-bars of the arrangement gradually introducing new layers and elements as the track builds to its climax.

Riser

A riser is a sound effect that rises in pitch, volume, or another modulation parameter over time, usually used during a transition to create tension and anticipation for the listener. EDM producers often use white noise or a synthesized sound that rises in pitch and volume to create a riser effect. The riser is usually accompanied by a snare roll, which adds to the anticipation and energy of the build-up.

While risers are most commonly used in electronic dance music (EDM), they can be found in other genres as well, including pop and rock music. They can be used to introduce a new section of a song, signal a drop or chorus, or simply add excitement and energy to a track.

In electronic music, risers are usually created using synthesisers or samples. A typical riser might start with a low-frequency sound, such as a sine wave or a noise burst, and then gradually increase in pitch and volume over a few bars. The length, speed, and shape of the rise can vary depending on the style of music and the desired effect.

Short risers are typically used to create a sense of anticipation or tension in a track. They are usually less than one bar in length and can be created using a variety of sound sources, such as white noise, filtered synths, or reversed cymbals. Short risers are often used to build up to a drop or a breakdown in a track.

Long risers are typically used to create a sense of progression or momentum in a track. They are usually longer than one bar in length and can be created using a variety of sound sources, such as pads, drones, or arpeggiated synths. Long risers are often used to build up to a climax or a breakdown in a track.

Through-Composed

A through-composed piece of music is known for being continuous, non-sectional, and non-repetitive. In letters, it would look like ABCD, with every section being different and none of them repeating. A song is said to be Through-Composed if each new section of lyrics is accompanied by different music.

Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen is a good example of a through-composed piece of music. The song has repeated sections, but once a section is left it is never revisited. So, the letter structure might look something like AABCCD… which is still considered through-composed.

Strophic (AAA)

Strophic Form is a form of music in which one verse, passage, or structure is repeated over and over.

The most common version of strophic form – in fact, the only version you’ll see examples of – is when a song has a single verse of melody and harmonic structure, and then that verse is repeated with different lyrics.

Binary Form (AB)

Binary form in music is when a piece of two music has two similar sections that are then repeated throughout the piece.

It is usually written as an AABB or AB form.

These sections are usually somewhat similar harmonically and roughly equal in length, and the A section can be repeated before moving to the B section. 

An example of binary form is the folk song “Greensleeves”.

Ternary Form (ABA)

Ternary Form is a type of musical form, called “ternary” because it deals with a base of three. Just like binary form is in two parts, Ternary Form is in three parts. However, what’s unique about Ternary Form is that the first section and third section are the same. Because of this, it is usually written as ABA.

Arch Form (ABCBA)

Arch form, as the name implies, carries musical structures in the form of an arch. It’s represented by the figure ABCBA.

In arch form, every section comes with new material. Once the composition reaches the C section, the music moves in the opposite order; going back through the B material and ending the composition with the main A material.

Rondo Form (ABACA)

Rondo form is often viewed as an extension of either binary form or ternary form. Rondo form alternates between an A section that keeps repeating and new sections which are labelled as B and then C.

12 Bar Structure

This structure is used in Blues music. It only uses 3 different chords, which are the main 3 major chord in a key.

For the exam you need to understand scales and intervals. Firstly lets deal with intervals, the term means the gap between any two notes. Below are the names of different intervals between notes. Major intervals are always one semi-tone bigger than minor intervals, so this is true of 2nds, 3rds, 6ths and 7ths. 

Suspended Chord

Chord Progressions

Diatonic

Chromatic

Rhythmic Devices

Syncopation- This term means to play off the beats or in between the beats

Triplets- This is a technique where you play 3 notes in the time it usually takes to play 2 notes.

Dotted Rhythms

BPM- Beats per minute. This aligns speed with time so a tempo of 60bpm would be 1 beat per second. 120BPM would be 2 beats per second