From the course: 20 Unofficial Rules of Songwriting
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Rule #19: Think of songs as having three parts
From the course: 20 Unofficial Rules of Songwriting
Rule #19: Think of songs as having three parts
- Rule number 19, think of songs as having three parts. As I mentioned earlier, songs are actually quite a bit simpler in structure than we imagine. So, when you think of three parts for a song, that could be a verse, a pre-chorus, and a chorus, or it could be a verse that goes straight into a chorus and at a bridge. Really, thinking of songs in their simplest, elemental parts can be really helpful in terms of putting a song together that works well. In our song example, No Turning Back Now, we used the verse, pre-chorus, and chorus approach. For our Grammy-winning song example, this is more of a verse and chorus and bridge approach and that's You've Got a Friend, the James Taylor popularized, written by Carole King.
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Contents
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Introduction to song structure33s
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Rule #16: Three commercial song structures1m 35s
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Rule #17: Keep your song's introduction short1m 12s
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Rule #18: Only use a double verse before the first chorus2m 29s
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Rule #19: Think of songs as having three parts51s
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Rule #20: When in doubt, make your song shorter47s
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