Chorus Differentiation - tips & tricks

[heinsite]

sorry mr. dees-dees co-wrote the tune Pretty Woman, just listened to it again and man oh man. roy and dees had it ALL done and recorded in a matter of a few days--back when no digital. as letterman would say, "now THAT'S entertainment.heinsite out

[milfus]

yeah I got that casey but I am saying the music should support the lyrics, if they arent tied together, the song was doomed way before structure came into it.

[Casey H]

And if you want some fun...Take Oh-Bla-Di-Oh-Bla-Da (Not kidding)

[edteja]

I think that you hit the nail on the head with those initial points Casey--they are the core of of sectional variation and apply dramatically to good bridges (in OVER THE RAINBOW, for instance) equally. So the thing about the chorus that is different, is that (today especially) it needs to really slam the hook home. (There's a fishing metaphor for Arkjack). CHAIN OF FOOLS is my favorite. It starts with a powerful hook and who cares what the damn song is about after that. You just flow with it.

[Casey H]

More thoughts...In "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" (Thanks Ed!) the large interval jump on the first 2 notes are very powerful in creating the hook. I added "interval" to my initial list of techniques at the top of this post. Also, in that song there is a clear transition to short "stab" notes in the bridge, much different than in the verses. That's a common and effective technique. Purely by accident (not having a clue what I was doing), I have that in my song, "What a World". I had a pro-review by John Braheny in which he said, "Now THAT's how a bridge should be done". I mentioned "Oh-Bla-Di Oh-Bla-Dah" because (I think - as I hear it with untrained ears) there is a good change of meter/cadence (whatever you call it, I'm not that technical) from the verse to the chorus. And the interval jump after "life goes on" really helps the hook. Most likely the great songwriters like McCartney didn't consciously think about these things. What I gathered from songwriting lectures I attended is that when you are stuck getting a strong hook, you can fall back on these things to make it work better.One challenge I have that others may share is I usually write within my own singing range, not a very wide one- maybe a little over an octave. And my ability to sing intervals on key is poor. I'm forcing myself out of the box lately with the help of friends ( ) here who CAN sing. As pure songwriters (not artists) if we only write what WE can sing, we can easily limit ourselves. Casey

[Mark Kaufman]

It all comes down to CONTRAST for me. I don't get too analytical while writing...sort of kills the process...but looking at finished products, it all comes down to contrast and hooky appeal.Here's two songs to consider, since we (of course) mentioned the Beatles: do a little self analysis of "You Never Give Me Your Money" and "Happiness Is A Warm Gun". Okay, I'll save you the trouble...they are both Through-Composed...they move along from one section to the next, and they never bother to return again. But the hooks are so strong, we barely notice. But, yeah, screeners will gitcha good if you try to pull that one...I absolutely love to make a startling change on the bridge...I try to find a chord change that just gives me a chill, then work it from there. I've noticed that if I can pull off an unusual and appealing departure into the bridge, it will usually lead to an unusual and appealing arrival back into the song, whether that be into the verse or the chorus.But yep, for me, it's all about contrast.

[mojobone]

I know this doesn't help move the thread forward but I just can't help myself: I will Always Love You is by Dolly Parton.and also Hey Jude has a chorus, it goes nahnahnah-nah.Sorry, I'll try to do better next time, but first, some shut-eye.

[milfus]

what I do is write in stages, just because I am way analytical, I go through and try to get all the theory solid, and then on the second listen, i try to ignore it all, and just pay attention to the feel.

[squids]

Well, you could skip step 1 and proceed directly to step 2 but I'm guessin' that would maybe make you crazy?

[milfus]

i find both are important, in an overall sense, a great feeling combined with really solid theory just magnifies the feeling, a great feeling with just great feeling is nice, but will never be as solid *shrug*