Song Structure

I hope you read my last post on How To Write A Song (music first). It's really the foundation to begin writing your song.

This post should be a quick one. I just want to share a little bit about song structure. If I were to have an introduction to this post, it would be this:
No Formulas... Just Guides.

Think for a moment about some of your favorite songs; especially the more popular ones that you might hear on the radio. Most likely, the structure of the song goes something like this:

Verse 1, Chorus, Verse 2, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus 2x

Think about it. Am I right? Most likely. And there's really nothing wrong with that. There are plenty of really good songs out there that are written exactly in that order. But again, I want to remind you that even though there are rules and normalities in music, most of them can be bent in your favor depending on the circumstances. Song structure is no exception. Trust me. You don't want to get stuck in an overly formulaic mindset.

Don't get me wrong... Structure is a good thing; especially in the beginning. And maybe your style will always be a more traditional one that fits in the above template. I just don't want you to get stuck in that template. I'm only saying this because it happened to me. I thought every song was supposed to be like that. And when I finally broke free from that mindset I felt like I had been in a songwriting prison up until that point! Now some of the best songs I've written don't even have a traditional "chorus." Heck, some of my songs don't repeat themselves at all!

If you're just starting out, it's fine to use a more traditional song template. But please challenge yourself. Think of that template as a temporary guide- not a formula.