Song Structure in Music Explained (How To Arrange Your Songs)

In this video, you’ll learn about song structure in music. You’ll learn these topics at a beginner level, and apply them in Ableton Live. Use any DAW to follow along.

00:00 Introduction
0:21 Common elements of form and structure in music
0:49 Listen to the song that you'll analyze
1:06 Verse
1:56 Pre-Chorus and Chorus
2:49 Verse 2
3:16 Pre-Chorus and Chorus 2
3:27 Bridge
3:58 Double Chorus
4:42 Outro
5:04 Different Musical Forms You Can Use

First, you’ll learn about common musical elements that begin a song. You’ll label the sections in your DAW, and listen for different characteristics in the music.

Next, you’ll analyze and label the verse and chorus of the song. This is where you’ll gain a better understanding of what helps these sections of the music stand out.

After analyzing the intro, verse, and chorus, you’ll go to the bridge. You'll discover what elements help make the bridge feel different than the rest of the song.

When you're finished analyzing all sections of the song, you’ll label the complete form of the song in your DAW. You'll compare it to different types of forms in music.

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[LANDRmusic]

How do you like to arrange your songs?

[covertjellybaby]

this helped me become less of an amateur, a must watch for production

[memez]

Finally a proper video with good examples and simple short and professional explanation. Thanks!

[JMPit]

The moment at 5:35 where you pushed delete actually blew my mind! Thanks for a great, easy to apply tutorial- been trying to gain confidence and this helps tons.

[yatinagore]

Concise, and more educational that 99% videos I've seen on arrangement.

[darkknight]

Till today, whenever I came across the terms Chorus, Verse, Bridge, etc., I didn't know what they meant. I knew that there were different parts to the song, I just didn't know how to refer to them. Your video cleared up everything. I really liked the way you used both auditory and visual aids, to describe the different song parts. It made following along so much easier! Now whenever I'll listen to a song, I'll instantly know which part is which. Thank you so much!

[rawkinj]

"Blackened" By Metallica has the key signature E Phrygian.
Phrygian is a mode, neither of the more common major (Ionian mode) or minor (Aeolian mode).
The BPM of the intro is about 72, the fast-paced parts are 192, and the slow bridge/solo is 128.
"Blackened" has perhaps the most changing time signatures of any Metallica song. The intro is in 4/4, then 3/4, 4/4 again, and then followed by a 5/4 measure, leading into the 7/4 riff. Then, the verse is in 6/4, going into the 7/4 riff again, then a 2/4 measure leading into the chorus, which is in 4/4. The 7/4 riff kicks in again, then the 6/4 verse, another 7/4 riff, and another 2/4 measure leading into the 2nd 4/4 chorus. Then the slow bridge starts with a 7/4 measure, then 4/4 for the rest until the dual-guitar build-up section, in which every other measure is 4/4, and the other measures alternate 2/4 and 3/4, in that order, but starting with a 4/4 measure. Some find it easier to alternate counting 6/4 and 7/4 measures, or even counting one pattern as a whole: a 13/4 measure repeating over and over until the slow solo, which is entirely in 4/4. Then there is a short 4/4 break, ending with a 2/4 measure that leads into the fast solo, which is entirely 4/4 except one measure before the last part of the solo that's in 5/8. Then the riff starts again, in 7/4. Then one final verse in 6/4, then a 2/4 measure leading into the final chorus, which is in 4/4. The last chorus repeats itself, with different words. This repeat is tied to the previous chorus by a 5/4 measure. Finally, the outro is in 7/4. It is somewhat difficult for inexperienced musicians to count the beat properly during the riff, because of the odd time signature and the accented notes for the melody, as well as the snare, are played on the upbeat.

[yungdnny]

Good easy to understand video! Just a few things I'd like to add: It's important to mention that the arrangement template here is based on pop music. "Bars" are subjective to the bpm of the song. 8 bars at 80 bpm is equivalent to 16 bars at 140 bpm because it's twice the amount of beats per minute. So keep an eye on the amount of actual seconds that each section takes so that there's enough room for a verse or a hook and to also not draw out the intro too long.

and if you're reading this and make hip hop/beats, it's usually straight to the hook or 4-8 bars of an intro, 16 bars for the hook, then 32 for the verse, then the same 16 bar hook, then a unique 32 bar verse, then the hook one more time.

[cosmicsea]

This is a great example for basic song structure! Thank you! Would love for you to break down and analyze the structure of a more complex song next. Maybe something from a prog rock or metal band. =)

[tongs]

ive been struggling with figuring out the structure for my song. Ive just been aimlessly making nice beats but have a hard time to think up of how to make it into a whole song cuz i don't have a clue about what direction to take the beat to. This video opened my frickin eyes so thankss

[audge-audge]

This was actually a really helpful video, thanks :D

[eugenebruno]

I knew something was missing in my music, i just didn't know how to look it up on online. This os priceless.

[cold]

Lifesaver, this helped me with my schoolwork, thank you so much

[veeonex]

Thanks! This is so practical and easy to understand

[rebeccamayo-cody]

Dude— very helpful! No extra chatter, straight to the point. Love that!

[czj]

THIS VIDEO WAS HONESTLY HELPFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH ANTHONY 🙌🏼❤️

[mattihuhta]

A nice presentation of stucture basics. Also the formula to write the most generic music, like the one heard on this video.

[ThreeUnremarkableWords]

Thanks for the tip! I tried the same last week, but decided to put all labels in a spreadsheet.
I should have used a daw instead!
An addition could be to add empty midi clips to label where different instruments start, stop, and loop

[Hecatonicosachoron]

thanks for the help! Especially at 5:35

[Meadowcroftsound]

New subscriber gained. This is very well explained, simple and easy to understand, nice work!