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When writing a collection of songs, whether for a album release or in general, we sometimes end up playing it safe and resorting to tried and true motifs and ideas for every song.
For myself, when I become a fan of an artist or band, I like to hear a variety of songs. Sometimes the differences are obvious, like a ballad vs. a rockin’ out song. And sometimes, the variety comes in more subtle ways – ways that only looking closer reveals. Your audience will know something feels different and unique, but only the more discerning listeners will know the how and the why.
More than likely, you’re already doing some of these “7 ways” – they are by no means truly unique ideas, as my examples of popular songs will show. Some of them may not work for you, and this list is by no means exhaustive. Hopefully, looking at these will spur on some more ideas. So let’s get into it.
One: Play with the structure
The typical verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus structure is a go-to for many songwriters. But you don’t have to look any further than the Beatles for excellent examples of structural inventiveness. In I Feel Fine, for example, the title occurs at the end of each verse. Then there’s a “B” section that almost sounds like a bridge, until it repeats later, and then maybe you can call it the chorus. Who knows? And more importantly, who cares? It’s all catchy, the title is clear, and the changes are frequent, regular, and interesting. They did something similar with A Hard Day’s Night, and we argued about it on an episode of Song Talk Radio.
When you play around with structure, the parts of the songs sometimes defy conventional nomenclature. Call it a bridge or a chorus, it doesn’t matter; it’s merely semantics. Sometimes it’s more effective to use terms like “A section”, “B section”, and “tag.”
Sometimes the narrative you establish can inspire an unconventional structure. For my song, Depend on Me, I established a narrative with three distinct parts: the easy going afternoon drive, a car accident, and the aftermath. This structure inspired me to begin the song with a simple verse chorus, verse chorus, then a bridge (for the accident) and a completely new section for the aftermath.
Two: Write a song with very few or no perfect rhymes.
Rhymes are usually an integral part of any song in a popular medium. If there’s anything most genres have in common, it’s rhyming. More “pop” songs characteristically have lots of perfect rhymes. At the other end, folk songs tend to have fewer perfect rhymes.
First, let’s talk briefly about rhyme types. Perfect rhymes are pairs of words which have both final vowel sounds and final consonant sounds the same – e.g. space / race, moan / cone, exemplify / diversify. Assonance rhymes have the same final vowel sound, but different final consonant sound, and the result is softer – e.g. lost / cough, graze / lake, policy / bakery.
The tricky part might be writing a song that minimizes perfect rhymes. Fast Car by Tracy Chapman comes pretty close, using mostly assonance rhymes to end her verses.
For my own song Hurting. Choosing. Learning, I managed to get through four verses and two choruses with absolutely no rhymes, and writing the verses as haiku poems to boot.
Three: Do a few songs in 3/4 or 6/8 time
This one is fairly common, but still, many songwriters fall back on the ubiquitous 4/4 time signature.
Before I get into examples, let’s go over what time signatures mean and how they work. Time signatures are normally expressed as two numbers (four-four, six-eight, or three-four). 4/4 time is sometimes called Common Time (go figure). The first number, or the one on top, is how many beats there are in one bar or measure. The bottom number represents the note division of the beats. So, if the bottom number is 4, the song is counted in quarter notes. If it’s 8, it’s counted in eighth notes (half the duration of a quarter note). It’s far less common to see a 2 for the note division.
For example, 4/4 time is counted as “1, 2, 3, 4” in a moderate pace. 6/8 time is counted as “1,2,3,4,5,6” where each beat is about half the duration of the quarter notes. Of course, tempo plays a big part in exactly how fast the song is; the note divisions are relative to each other and also represent rhythmic emphasis – i.e. most of the time, there’s a strong emphasis on the “1”, otherwise known as the downbeat. In 3/4 time, the emphasis is usually on the 2 and 3, and in 6/8 time, the emphasis is usually on the 1 and 4. You can usually focus on the kick drum and snare drum hits in a song to indicate the stressed beats.
Compare the songs Wrapped in Grey by XTC and I Go To Sleep by The Pretenders. See if you can identify which is in 3/4 time and which is in 6/8 (hint: in the chorus of Wrapped in Grey, the snare only hits on the “2” of every other measure).
Four: Treat your title differently
Many songwriters write from titles, which is a great way to get your song moving in a focused direction, and sticking to that focus. Sometimes the title is a phrase, at other times, a single word or pair of words.
Context is important here – does your title stand alone, or is it part of a larger phrase that maybe connects it with the verse or pre-chorus? Take note of your collection of songs; do you stick to one way of singing your title?
Consider Billy Joel’s song The Stranger. In this song, the “stranger” shows up frequently but it’s always part of a larger phrase in the verse. There’s a catchy “B” part which might be called the chorus, except that the title doesn’t show up there.
Contrast that with a song like Layla, where the title is the main hook (apart from the classic guitar riff), tops each chorus and melodically stands by itself.
Then look at the classic rock song Closer to the Heart by Rush; here the title is a full phrase that ends each verse in a verse-refrain structure (there is no chorus).
You can examine just about any song and note other ways in which the title shows up. Consider melody, narrative and what it might mean if the title was incorporated differently. For example, often when the title shows up as part of a larger context or phrase, the song is following a verse-refrain structure (see tip One above).
Five: Try a song with a quiet / small chorus
Where is it written that your chorus has to be the “big” part of your song? Typically, your chorus has a melodic center change to a higher, more expansive and catchy melody. But in Pretty Good Year by Tori Amos, the chorus is the most understated part of the song. The melody goes nowhere, it’s dynamically quieter, and very simple. The bridge is the section that takes on more characteristics of a chorus, expect the presence of the title and refrain (multiple repetitions in the song).
For a different example, check out the song Pretty by Miggs. The verse has a good amount of melodic range, and is fairly resolved. The chorus (“If it’s worth it..”) has more tension and less melodic range. Similarly to Pretty Good Year, it’s the C-section of the song that takes off with the catchiest, most energetic part of the song (“It takes a lot of steps…”). Call this part the post-chorus, maybe.
I took the “quiet chorus” approach when writing my own song, Brave Daughters. In this case, the chorus lyric was more reflective and less direct than the angrier verse lyrics, so it led me to treat the music with a lighter energy.
Six: Open a song with your chorus
Opening your song with the chorus is a great way to give it a great kick off, particularly if your chorus is catchy and tight. This works usually when your chorus expresses the central theme of the song, and it doesn’t spoil anything to give it away up front. If you’re used to working in a double chorus at the end of your songs, this is an opportunity to keep that a single, lest you have too many choruses in your song.
A couple of good examples are We’re Not Gonna Take It by Twister Sister, and All About the Bass by Meghan Trainor. (Note: The song doesn’t kick in until over 2 minutes in We’re Not Gonna Take It, but that first couple of minutes is classic music video satire at its finest.) In both songs, the opening chorus is treated more like an introduction, with lighter arrangements than the full-blown choruses that come later.
Seven: Try a different mode in a song
I’ve saved the (arguably) most complex tip for last. Using different modes assumes you know about scales and key signatures, but after that, it’s fairly simple. Customarily, we begin a chord progression on the I chord of the key we’re playing in. But what about starting on the II chord, or III chord? Doing this imparts a subtle tension to your song, and especially works well if you resolve to starting your chorus with the I chord.
Try playing a major scale using the same notes but going from the II tone to the II tone. For example, the Dorian mode in C major would go like this:
D – E – F – G – A – B – C – D
You would also stick to chords in the base key signature. So in the the key of C major and the Dorian mode, this would mean you start your chord progression with a D minor. Famous songs in the Dorian mode include Scarborough Fair (made popular by Simon and Garfunkel), and Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles.
I tried this myself in a collaboration I did with my friend Shari Archinoff, called Winter Without You.
Note that the special, unusual chord progressions start with the II, III, IV, or V chord. It’s very common to start with the VI chord, known as the Aoelian mode or natural minor. Just think of every song starting on A minor and using C major, F major, and G major.
You can also combine any of these tips into a single song. Please comment below about any of these 7 ways you’ve used, or about other tips you have for adding some variety to your collection of songs.