Whether you’re an aspiring songwriter, just starting out, or an old pro, it’s helpful to look at the parts of a song and how best to arrange them. Playing with structure requires both sides of the brain. It uses logic and puzzle-solving capabilities while also demanding the purity of creativity and inspiration.
To help you out, we describe some common song structures and how each is typically used. Happy writing!
JUMP TO
These individual parts of a song can be used as puzzle pieces in any order you wish—whether in a common and intuitive way or chaotic and purposely surprising.
Intro
Quite simply, this is the beginning part of the song, something that invites the listener into the sonic and thematic world. This can be an instrumental melody or “riff,” a hint at an upcoming chorus, a spoken word piece, or anything else.
Example: Sum 41’s “Fat Lip” begins with a solo, palm-muted version of one of the main guitar riffs, before the band comes in as a whole.
Verse
Likely the longest-paced section of the tune, the verse explores the central idea in every nook and cranny possible, without necessarily stopping to define the central idea. It’s the evidence that supports the hypothesis. It’s less the musical version of an exclamation point and more the musical version of a comma.
Example: Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” has verses that keep asking impossible questions—no answer necessary (yet).
Pre-chorus
Musically and thematically, this is the crescendo that leads the listener to the song’s main idea. This is often just as melodically catchy as a chorus, with lyrics that inevitably conclude with the song’s thesis.
Example: Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” has a pre-chorus that lists all of the reasons the singer and her romantic rival are opposites, ending with her naming who the listener should wind up with.
Chorus
This is the point of the song, expressed as simply, bluntly, and intriguingly as possible. In hip-hop and pop spaces, this is sometimes called the “hook.” Often, this will be the literal title of the song.
Example: Brian McKnight’s “Back at One” has a chorus that lists all the reasons the singer loves his lover, before ending back at one.
Post-chorus
This is a brief, often instrumental idea that happens after the chorus to transition us either back into a verse or into a bridge. Think of it as a slow downshift into a different gear.
Example: Lasting just two beats, the post-chorus of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Tears” takes the listener into a different key, preparing us wholly but subtly for a new section.
Bridge
Here, the song presents something different than anything we’ve heard before, whether musically, thematically, or both. Sometimes in pop music, this section will seem identical to a previous section but with a purposefully different emotional register, such as a section of the chorus sung down an octave with a “sad” tone.
Example: Weezer’s “Island in the Sun” has a bridge that suddenly introduces distorted guitars and the evocation of emotional darkness.
Solo
The solo section of a song will usually take place over the chord changes of a section we’ve already heard, like the verse, and will simply give an instrumentalist (or scat vocalist) the room to improvise a piece of pure musical expression, with no lyrics present. This is very common in rock and jazz tunes.
Example: Santana and Rob Thomas’ “Smooth,” after a couple of choruses, erupts in a blazing guitar solo.
Outro
This is the ending part of the song that transitions the listener into the cold, hard fact that the song will soon be over. Sometimes this is a reprise of a part we’ve heard before (often a bookend of the intro); other times this is a brand-new musical idea to kick our butts out the door.
Example: The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” gives us a transcendent section of “na na na’s” in its final moments.
Here are some of the most common ways to arrange all of the above pieces, with the caveat that none are mandatory, but all have a proven track record of working. Experiment as you see fit, but remind yourself of the traditional playbook.
Verse-chorus
Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus
This is the main blueprint for the majority of popular music you’ll hear on the radio. Other sections like intros, outros, pre- and post-choruses, and solos can be inserted in between sections as needed, and some of these sections can be repeated if desired.
Example: Carly Rae Jepsen’s “All That” gives us verses, choruses, and a bridge in this order in a classic yet fresh fashion.
Verse-hook
Verse, hook (repeat as needed)
Common in hip-hop tunes, this form eschews a bridge in favor of as much exploration in the verses as possible, with the hook serving as a brief respite before jumping to the next verse.
Example: Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson” moves from a verse to a hook over and over again, never once getting boring.
Tagline
Verse, verse, bridge, verse
Instead of a chorus stating the thesis of the song, one line of the verse—the tagline—will sum up what’s going on in the song, and each verse will use that same tagline. The bridge does not feature the tagline. This is common in musical theater and jazz standard songs.
Example: “Grow for Me” from “Little Shop of Horrors” has a verse that always ends with the line “grow for me.”
AABA
Verse, verse, bridge, verse, solos, repeat
Similar to the tagline song, this form is often found in jazz instrumentals and early forms of popular music, especially the Beatles’ early catalog. But each “verse” section, which we might call the “main melody,” doesn’t need to have a repeated tagline.
Example: “Take the ‘A’ Train,” one of the best-known jazz tunes, follows this form to a tee.
Nothing but verses
No choruses, no bridges, just pure exploration—either in a series of verses or in one long stream-of-consciousness verse. You’ll find this kind of song in musical theater (especially the patter song), rap music, and some folk or punk tunes.
Example: Viktor Vaughn and Apani B.’s “Can I Watch?” tells a back-and-forth story using nothing but verses.