From the course: The Songwriter's Toolkit: Learning from the Masters

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Use the rondo song form

Use the rondo song form - Sibelius Tutorial

From the course: The Songwriter's Toolkit: Learning from the Masters

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Use the rondo song form

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- [Instructor] In my songwriting courses, I've talked about the most common song forms we see in pop music, their elements, and the ways we can tinker with them to great effect. One interesting and effective type of form that I haven't covered is called rondo. It's a form we rarely see in popular music, but is very common in the classical world. The rondo form and its variations date as far back as the 13th century, and it was established in the 17th century as an instrumental musical form. It's centered around a principal theme and alternates with more contrasting themes. If you're noticing a similarity to the verse/chorus/bridge song form we find throughout pop music, you're not wrong. It's this similarity that lets us use rondo and its variations in pop songs, without losing the listener's interest. I can only think of one famous example of a pop song that borrows its form from the classical rondo, and that's The Police's Every Breath You Take. Every Breath You Take's form is a…

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