Song Structure
By Molly Leikin
Emmy nominee, Songwriting Consultant
It’s important for every song in any genre to have good song structure. Most songs have a very simple structure with three main sections:
A verse
A chorus
A bridge
Elements of Good Song Structure
The rhythm of the verse, the chorus and the bridge are all different from each other.
The words in the verse, the chorus and the bridge, are all different from each other.
The melody in the verse, the chorus and the bridge, are all different from each other.
And the rhythm of the verse, the chorus and the bridge, are all different from each other.
That’s good, commercial song structure.
Song Structure Examples
This pattern that has prevailed in the marketplace for my whole songwriting life is:
Verse/chorus
Verse/chorus
Bridge/chorus
Chorus
A song without a chorus is like a house without a kitchen. You might sell it, but it’s much easier to attract a buyer to a home that DOES have a kitchen.
Leikin’s Law is: give ‘em what they want.
Keep your song structure as:
Verse/chorus
Verse/chorus
Bridge/chorus
Chorus
Further, when you get to your chorus, go up.
And the interval that works best there is a major third. Not a second, minor third or fourth. A major third.
No matter the genre, the song structure you need is verse/chorus, verse/chorus, bridge/chorus.
It’s what you put in your verse, chorus and bridge that makes your song unique and yours. Just be sure to write a chorus that’s impossible to forget.
That’s song structure at it’s very best and most marketable.
© 2022 Molly Leikin