Song Section Titles

I recently went through a lesson on learning a song with one of my students. In that lesson we mapped out a song bar by bar, and section by section. Much like a story plot, songs also have a song structure, and have different names to differentiate the sections they are comprised of. Thus, a big part of song structure is knowing the names of each section, and how to identify them. In this, I wanted to briefly outline the different song sections and names used in most modern day music.

[It is important to note that, like any art, there aren’t really hard fast rules. Much of what I tell you will be up to interpretation. I.E. I have heard many breakdown sections in music that, if analyzed from a vocal perspective, could still be a chorus. Much of this is very subjective. So use discretion and open mindedness when using these terms.]

Lets dig in!

Intro

Intro (perhaps obviously) is short for Introduction. The Intro is exactly what it sounds like. It is the opening bars of any piece of music. Similar to an open to a movie, the intro might start out soft and build up, or it could start strong and then leave space to fill later. It could be forward about the plot, or maybe open in a more obscure manner. We don’t really know. But it’s the opening piece of music that sets the stage for the rest of the song. Note that there is typically not any lyrical content, or lead lines at this point in music.

Verse

Most often after an intro, particularly in pop music, we will then move from the Intro into a section called a Verse. The Verse is typically the start of any lyrical content. And we start to get a feel for the main lead melody as well. The Verse’s of songs will usually have the most diversity in lyrical content, typically telling a story of sorts. The lack of lyrical repetition, along with the particular musical phrasing, is usually setting the stage with a bit of tension to be resolved at a later time in the song.

PreChorus

We don’t know what a Chorus is yet. But we know one thing…The PreChorus is going to come before it. This section of music is exactly what it sounds like. It is a section of music that preludes the Chorus of a song. It is more repetitive and homogeneous with other PreChorus Sections. This will usually add resolve by it’s very nature of always preceding a Chorus, particularly later in the song when it becomes recognizable, while at the same time, the melodic phrasing can add a little more tension as well.

Chorus

Of course, naturally, a Chorus will directly follow a PreChorus. [The transition can be direct, but of course, sometimes if it is later in the song, and you really want to maximize the intensity, you might add a small rest just before the Chorus to really sling shot the Chorus home.] The chorus is going to be much more repetitive, lyrically and melodically. Between the two it will add lots of resolve to the motion that had been set forth and building from the Intro and Verse’s. This could be seen as a ‘Climax’ of sorts.

Post Chorus

You may, rather than a PreChorus, find a Post Chorus in music. This is sort of like the scene in a romance movie, after the intense love making scene, where the couple is just laying there staring at the ceiling. This is a way to add resolve and a conclusory sense after the Chorus to help transition back to the next section. Note: you will not typically have a Pre and a Post Chorus in the same song.

Interlude

This serves a similar purpose to the Post Chorus, in that it also adds a sense of conclusion to the chorus, but the melodic phrasing is usually closer to what a verse would be and there is no lyrical content, hence it being called an “Interlude.” The interlude is also typically going to be shorter in bar count than your Verse’s or Chorus’s.

Tag

You have heard about “Tagging” a chorus. This is something that may be done on the fly by a MD(Musical Director) of sorts. A tag is when the most punchy and sweetest section of the Chorus is repeated directly after the Chorus. You can also tag a Post Chorus as well. It will typically consist of 1/4 to 1/2 the bar count of the section its “tagging.” This is to add more resolve to “drive home” the Chorus of a song.

Bridge

This is a piece of music found later in a song. As an interlude might separate a set of Verse+Chorus’s, the bridge will separate the first couple of Verse Chorus’s from the last Chorus(or Verse+Chorus). In most cases it is the last large section of music that is just before the final Chorus. The Bridge will incorporate the MOST diverse lyrical content and melodic content and it will stand apart from the rest of the song in that way, thus adding more resolve for whatever subsequent sections are to follow (usually a Chorus)

Breakdown

This is best part of any metal song. It serves a very similar purpose as the Bridge would, but it goes about it in a slightly different means; Rather than changing up the melodic structure or lyrical/vocal content as much, it usually just ‘breaks down’ in instrumentation. It will become less complex, with boiled down elements respective to each instruments original parts. The bassist heads back stage and calls his mom and checks his mail at this point in the song.

Vamp

This is similar to an Interlude section. It is a piece of music that incorporates the main melody in a repeating manner, but it has more moving melodic pieces within it. It tends to build some energy between a chorus and a Bridge. Or between a Chorus, and a final double Chorus.

Refrain

A Refrain is usually a small piece of repeating content in music. It’s not quite a chorus. So its a Refrain.

Outro

Lastly, we have the Outro. This is listed last, similar to how it is organized in music, as it is the final piece that you will hear before the close of a song. It will usually contain elements of the Chorus, or the Verse. And it will not have any lyrical content. It is similar to the Intro…Except it’s the Outro.

Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or comments please contact me! I am also very open to feedback! 

Till next time…

GO PRACTICE!!!