I just read an online article that’s prompted me to write this post. The article gives songwriting advice and when I read the following I knew I had to write this post:
“Always add colour: By this I mean create more than what is already there. If there is a D Major chord being played, try singing a note other than those in a D Major chord.”
At best, this advice is incomplete. The problem with the above statement is that it totally depends on the effect needed for the song. If your lyric has an easy going quality, then it’s probably best to compose the melody predominantly around the triad (root, 3rd, and 5th) of that D major chord being played at the time. The melody will have a more easy going quality, and better match your lyric.
If your lyric requires a more dramatic melodic treatment to match the subject, then writing your melody around notes that extend beyond the 5th works well.
The article continues with this:
“The average song will have the following arrangement (although this is only a guide):
Up tempo Song:
Intro, Verse 1, Bridge, Chorus, Verse 2, Bridge, Chorus, Chorus, Middle 8, Chorus, Chorus
Slow Song:
Intro, Verse 1, Bridge, Chorus, Verse 2, Chorus, Middle 8, Chorus, Chorus”
Both examples are WRONG. These are not the forms that “the average song will have”.
Other than the AAA and the AABA form, virtually all popular song in our lifetime has been given to us in one of the following forms:
V - (V opt) - C - V - C - inst - C - out
V - (V opt) - C - V - C - B - inst - C - out
V - climb - C - V - climb - C - inst. - (climb opt.) - C
C - V - C - inst. - B – C
You’ll find variations/alterations within all of these forms, but the bridge immediately following the 1st verse in “the average song” is completely wrong. In fact, I’ve never heard a song with a bridge after the first verse of a V/C song. The sheer purpose of a bridge contradicts this. The author of the article apparently also doesn’t understand that “middle 8” is itself a common reference to a bridge, particularly in the AABA form.
So the real lesson here is, beware of what you read on the net and look for someone’s credentials before heeding their advice. Otherwise they just might lead you down the wrong path.
