View source for Verse–chorus form

{{Short description|Musical form common in popular music}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
'''Verse–chorus form''' is a [[musical form]] going back to the 1840s, in such songs as "[[Oh! Susanna]]", "[[The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (song)|The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze]]", and many others.<ref>RMS 1 Census-Catalogue of Manuscript Sources of Polyphonic Music, 1400-1550, edited by Herbert Kellman and Charles Hamm in 5 Volumes. Vol. I A-J (Volume 1), [[American Institute of Musicology]], Inc. (1 January 1979), {{ISBN|1595513116}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gfpm-samples.de/Samples13/appenfrei.pdf |title=Aaba, Refrain, Chorus, Bridge, Prechorus — Song Forms and Their Historical Development |website=www.gfpm-samples.de |author1=Ralf von Appen |author2=Markus Frei-Hauenschild |access-date=March 27, 2021}}</ref> It became passé in the early 1900s, with advent of the [[Thirty-two-bar form|AABA]] (with verse) form in the [[Tin Pan Alley]] days.<ref>The Life and Death of Tin Pan Alley, David Ewen, Funk & Wagnalls; First Edition (1 January 1964) {{ASIN|B000B8LYVU}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Tin-Pan-Alley-musical-history |title=Tin Pan Alley &#124; musical history &#124; Britannica |website=www.britannica.com |access-date=27 March 2021}}</ref> It became commonly used in [[blues]] and [[rock and roll]] in the 1950s,<ref>Michael Campbell & James Brody (2007), ''Rock and Roll: An Introduction'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=RK-JmVbv4OIC&pg=PA117 page 117]</ref> and predominant in [[rock music]] since the 1960s. In contrast to [[32-bar form]], which is focused on the refrain (contrasted and prepared by the [[bridge (music)|B section]]), in verse–chorus form the chorus is highlighted (prepared and contrasted with the verse).<ref>Covach, John. "Form in Rock Music: A Primer", p.71, in Stein, Deborah (2005). ''Engaging Music: Essays in Music Analysis''. New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-517010-5}}.</ref>

The chorus often sharply contrasts the verse [[melody|melodically]], [[rhythm]]ically, and [[harmony|harmonically]], and assumes a higher level of [[dynamics (music)|dynamics]] and activity, often with added instrumentation. This is referred to as a "breakout chorus".<ref>[http://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.11.17.3/mto.11.17.3.doll.html Doll, Christopher. "Rockin' Out: Expressive Modulation in Verse–Chorus Form", ''Music Theory Online'' 17/3 (2011), §&nbsp;2.]</ref> See: [[arrangement]].

== Contrasting verse–chorus form ==
Songs that use different music for the verse and chorus are in '''contrasting verse–chorus form'''. Examples include:
* "[[That'll Be the Day]]" by [[Buddy Holly]] (1957)<ref name="Covach" />
* "[[Be My Baby]]" by [[The Ronettes]] (1963)<ref name="Covach">Covach (2005), p.71–72</ref>
* "[[California Girls]]" by [[The Beach Boys]] (1965)<ref name="Covach" />
* "[[Penny Lane]]" and "[[All You Need Is Love]]" by [[The Beatles]] (1967)<ref name="Covach" />
* "[[Foxy Lady]]" by [[Jimi Hendrix]] (1967)<ref name="Covach" />
* "[[Smoke on the Water]]" by [[Deep Purple]] (1973)<ref name="Covach" />
* "[[Can't Get Enough (Bad Company song)|Can't Get Enough]]" by [[Bad Company]] (1974)<ref name="Covach" />

== Simple verse–chorus form ==
Songs that use the same harmony (chords) for the verse and chorus, such as the [[twelve bar blues]], though the melody is different and the lyrics feature different verses and a repeated chorus, are in '''simple verse–chorus form'''. Examples include:
* "[[Shake, Rattle and Roll|Shake, Rattle, and Roll]]" by [[Big Joe Turner]] (1954)<ref name="Covach" />
* "[[Louie, Louie]]" by [[The Kingsmen]] (1963 cover), example not using blues form<ref name="Covach" />
* "[[La Bamba (song)|La Bamba]]" by [[Ritchie Valens]] (1959)<ref name="Covach" />

== Simple verse form ==
Songs which feature only a repeated verse are in '''simple verse form''' (verse–chorus form without the chorus). Examples include:
* "[[Evil Ways (Santana song)|Evil Ways]]" by [[Santana (band)|Santana]] (1969)<ref name="Covach" />
* [[Blues]]-based songs which are not simple verse–chorus form (above), such as "[[Heartbreak Hotel]]", "[[Jailhouse Rock (song)|Jailhouse Rock]]", "[[Hound Dog (song)|Hound Dog]]", and "[[Lucille (Little Richard song)|Lucille]]"<ref name="Covach" />
and with a contrasting bridge:
* "[[Eight Miles High]]" by [[The Byrds]] (1966)<ref name="Covach" />
* "[[Tomorrow Never Knows]]" by The Beatles (1966)<ref name="Covach" />
* "[[Purple Haze]]" by Jimi Hendrix (1967).<ref name="Covach" />

Both simple verse–chorus form and simple verse form are [[strophic form]]s.

== See also ==
* [[Song structure]]

== References==
{{reflist}}
{{Musical form}}
{{Parts of a song}}

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[[Category:Song forms]]