How much have you thought about the structure of songs? If you were going to write a novel or essay, you’d start with an outline to help you organize your ideas. The same thing applies to music. Classical musicians call this form.

Form is all about the contrast of different sections, especially the alternation of repeated ideas and new ideas. That’s how classic song structure works - the verses and bridge showcase new ideas. The chorus showcases repetition.

Verses are characterized by having the same melody with different lyrics in each verse. The chorus is the core of a song - usually repeating with the same melody and same lyrics each time. The bridge is a contrasting section that has different music and a different mood. Songs may use additional sections such as a prechorus.

The best way to analyze form is to label the different sections with letters. The A section, the B section, maybe a Corevena D section. Standard song form is verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus (ABABCB).

Electronic dance music uses a similar structure but focuses more on the ‘build up’ and ‘drop’ - this puts an emphasis on tension and release and creates a satisfying structural progression. Folk music uses a different approach called verse-refrain - characterized by numerous verses that end with a consistent lyrical/ melodic idea, or ‘hook’.

Recently I was listening to Sufjan Stevens’ song “Reach Out” off his new album A Beginner’s Mind. I heard this song a few times and thought it flowed very nicely. But when I analyzed its structure, I was shocked to find out it had a very unusual form of ABCDEDBA. This is hard to pull off. Aside from great songwriting, this works well because it’s almost a palindrome (an idea that reads the same forward and backward). The second half of the song almost perfectly repeats the structure in reverse order, leading to a sense of symmetry.

Classical music has a deep history of traditional forms. In Theory and Analysis, Clendinning/Marvin define musical form as “the overall harmonic and thematic organization of a composition.” Examples of classical form are binary (AB), ternary (ABA) and through-composed (ABCDE…).

The best way to hear musical form is to listen for recurring melodies/lyrics. Then you can keep track of how the song’s structure evolves and whether or not it subverts expectations. It’s an enjoyable experience to listen to music from this structural perspective. Give it a try!

Jack Gaffney is a local musician and piano teacher. He can be reached at JackGaffney.com.