Songwriter Advisor Blog

We, as human beings, either consciously or subconsciously tend to fall into routines in pretty much every aspect of our lives because we like staying in our “comfort zones,” and we feel more safe and secure with things that are familiar to us. 

Songwriters are no exception to this rule, especially when they find they’ve written a few solid songs using the same “routine” and “formula,” so to speak.  In songwriting, it is sometimes hard to break free from a proven method of songwriting,  and some songwriters resist change by sticking to “their style of songwriting,” while declaring, “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.”

So consequently, as an example, some songwriters stay focused on the classic song forms of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus, in pop and country music , or verse-chorus-verse-chorus-rap-chorus in r&b with little or no variation.  After a while, songs start to sound the same and you not only risk losing your listeners, but you also run the risk of having music industry people think you’re one-dimensional.

It’s not that difficult to add some variety in your songs and give them a definite boost if you know where to inject them with song form variations.  That’s right!  All you have to do is start experimenting with song forms.  This is the easiest way to lend variety to your future collection of original songs.   

If you find yourself in these songwriting shoes and you want to break free from the “all too familiar” type of song, try using the following song forms to help your songs be more original and stand out in a crowd:

1.  Instead of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus (ABABCB) format, use:

For rock, pop, r&b, and country music

verse-verse-chorus-verse-instrumental-chorus-verse-chorus
verse-chorus-verse-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus
chorus-verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus
chorus-verse-chorus-verse-instr-bridge-chorus
verse-chorus-instr-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus
verse-prechorus-chorus-verse-chorus-instr-prechorus-chorus

also:

try using the rarely-used verse-verse-chorus-verse (AABA) format, and variations such as:

verse-verse-bridge-instr-verse-bridge-verse
bridge-verse-verse-bridge-verse-new section-instr-verse

This list can go on and on–there’s no limit, and this works well for many other genres!
Try making a 2nd verse only half of a verse, or a 2nd chorus a half-chorus—You get the idea! Cut a song section in half and go into an instrumental part.
Don’t always settle for what’s expected. Sometimes rearranging a song’s form can bring out the life you never expected in that song. Big-time music producers routinely and instinctively rearrange song forms to make songs more powerful because oftentimes they’re presented with twelve songs that basically have the same song forms. Why not take care of all that work by yourself by being original in the first place?

These days, to stay competitive and original, songwriters are thinking outside the box far more often than just a few short years ago. Don’t get left in the dust! Always look for new ways to add spice and originality in your songs even if it means rearranging your song form in a small way to add that extra “ooomph,” and you can’t go wrong. Yes, human beings love familiarity, but didn’t someone say once that, “Variety is the spice of life?”