TheAlterBridgeNation.com

I'm going to try to list many of the different structures of music, in general.


---Verse Chorus Verse Chorus Bridge Chorus is your basic one.

---Verse Chorus Verse Chorus
---Verse Pre Chorus Chorus Verse Pre Chorus Chorus
---Verse Pre Chorus Chorus Verse Chorus
--- Verse Verse Verse
--- Chorus Chorus Chorus (I don't think there are any songs like this)
---Intro Pre Verse Verse Chorus Pre Verse Verse Chorus

---Intro verse chorus verse chorus bridge verse chorus solo
---Intro verse chorus verse chorus bridge solo verse chorus solo
---Intro verse chorus verse chorus bridge solo verse chorus
---Intro Verse Pre Chorus Chorus Verse Pre Chorus Chorus Bridge solo Chorus
---Intro Verse Pre Chorus Chorus Verse Pre Chorus Chorus Bridge solo Chorus outro
--- Verse Pre Chorus Pre Chorus Chorus Verse Pre Chorus Pre Chorus Chorus 2 part bridge Chorus

---Traveling Riverside Blues, which is basically just intro 3 verses and outro.

(Side note: Sometimes I feel like artists leave out a chorus because they are cheap and just actually can't come up with anything good for one. Seriously tho, how hard is it to make a song with 3 verses? IMO, verses are easier to come up with than choruses. However, there are times when a song with no chorus can be platable.)


--- Lateralus by Tool, which is:

Intro, Section A, Verse, Section B, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, solo, bridge, Section C, Section A, Section D, solo

---Cry of Achilles by AB
Intro, outro riff, verse, lead up to chorus riff, chorus, verse, lead up to chorus riff, chorus, bass riff, bridge, solo, chorus, solo, outro riff

---WDTTW by AB
Verse, 2nd verse, Chorus, Verse, 2nd verse, Chorus, bridge part 1, bridge part 2, Chorus, outro

Overflow by Mayfield Four

Verse, Pre Chorus, Chorus, Verse, Pre Chorus, Chorus, solo, Pre Chorus, Chorus, breakdown, outro riff, outro riff with solo



I'm getting tired of listing all of them, but there are a decent amount that exist.

I admire your commitment, but this is a wasted effort. By definition, song structure has infinite variations. It's fluid. Not sure if there's anything to be gleaned by making a list, other than some kind of existential crisis.

I can't believe you've actually done this dude, but your effort is totally useless

Sometimes I feel like artists leave out a chorus because they are cheap and just actually can't come up with anything good for one.

What if choruses are actually cheap? If we take AB as an example, I'd rather they skipped the refrain sometimes because they mostly come up with the same pompous, huge sounding type of thing.

Why do you care at all? It's about writing whatever feels good for the songwriter, you can compose a track made of a single riff and still it may be admired by thousands.

I don't get it. What are we discussing here?

Bohemian Rhapsody, November Rain and Stairway To Heaven all have no chorus. Lazy songwriting I guess..

Timotheus wrote:Bohemian Rhapsody, November Rain and Stairway To Heaven all have no chorus. Lazy songwriting I guess..

Wait a minute guys. That's not what I was saying at all. I was just saying that SOMETIMES I feel like no chorus equals lazyness. But of course, NOT ALWAYS. I'm not making it either black OR white, my statement was just something to keep in mind.

Those 3 songs you mentioned are good examples of great songs without a chorus.

Dolo wrote:
What if choruses are actually cheap? If we take AB as an example, I'd rather they skipped the refrain sometimes because they mostly come up with the same pompous, huge sounding type of thing.

Why do you care at all? It's about writing whatever feels good for the songwriter, you can compose a track made of a single riff and still it may be admired by thousands.

I agree that some of AB's choruses can be tiresome, but where else in the song are they supposed to place the hook? I mean, yeah, you can still make a song without a hook but some songs are really boring or boring to certain people without a hook. Usually the chorus is where the hook is unless it's a song that's written in order to place the hook somewhere else.

Why do I care? Idk, I just thought this topic deserved some discussion around it.

IMO, I don't think choruses are cheap because IMO verses are easier to write than choruses. That's just my experience though (I write some music) so perhaps others have different experiences.

cheesedip1 wrote:unless it's a song that's written in order to place the hook somewhere else.

Exactly.

And not every song needs to be catchy or have a hook.

Timotheus wrote:

cheesedip1 wrote:unless it's a song that's written in order to place the hook somewhere else.

Exactly.

And not every song needs to be catchy or have a hook.

Could you give some good examples?

cheesedip1 wrote:

Timotheus wrote:

cheesedip1 wrote:unless it's a song that's written in order to place the hook somewhere else.

Exactly.

And not every song needs to be catchy or have a hook.

Could you give some good examples?

I dunno, a lot of Nine Inch Nails. Mr. Self Destruct comes to mind. Radiohead's Nude if you want something more melodic. Of course a lot of metal as well, but AB's always be melodic.

I kind of like this discussion. It's been an interesting read. I have started writing my own guitar parts on my Les Paul, so it's a valid topic for me.

Timotheus wrote: I dunno, a lot of Nine Inch Nails. Mr. Self Destruct comes to mind. Radiohead's Nude if you want something more melodic. Of course a lot of metal as well, but AB's always be melodic.

I listened to both those two. I really couldn't really get into Mr. Self Destruct". Just too much noise and idk...dissonance for me to like. I've always preferred melody to non-melody. Just couldn't get into it.

The Radiohead one was alright. Not bad. I enjoyed it.




---Omega by Periphery:


Intro -Verse- Chorus- fill- verse- insturmental interlude- same interlude w singing - Chorus (or verse, im not sure)-
ambient interlude 2- heavy part intrelude- yelling part- solo- insturmental part- 2nd solo-
high guy singing verse idk - chorus- guitar thing- singing whatever thing- chorus again (i think) - yelling part-
heavy riff bridge thing- little solo- quiet instrumental piano part- solo - singing verse idk- spooky part-heavy part.



---Zac Brown Band Uncaged:

Intro (beginning reminds me of Spyro the dragon) - Verse - Chorus - interlude- Verse- Chorus- interlude- interlude thing-
solo- (either verse again or chorus idk) - intstrumental bits- either verse again or chorus idk but different vocal melody over top-
-ending.

I listened to both those two. I really couldn't really get into Mr. Self Destruct". Just too much noise and idk...dissonance for me to like. I've always preferred melody to non-melody. Just couldn't get into it.

The Radiohead one was alright. Not bad. I enjoyed it.




---Omega by Periphery:


Intro -Verse- Chorus- fill- verse- insturmental interlude- same interlude w singing - Chorus (or verse, im not sure)-
ambient interlude 2- heavy part intrelude- yelling part- solo- insturmental part- 2nd solo-
high guy singing verse idk - chorus- guitar thing- singing whatever thing- chorus again (i think) - yelling part-
heavy riff bridge thing- little solo- quiet instrumental piano part- solo - singing verse idk- spooky part-heavy part.

Doesn't like the dissonance and then proceeds to name the most dissonant song I can think of

Crumbso wrote:
Doesn't like the dissonance and then proceeds to name the most dissonant song I can think of

Which one? Omega?

I wouldn't say Omega OR the Radiohead song are dissonant, just a bit different from the usual stuff you hear on the radio.

Omega is pretty dissonant, listen to the guitar during the "I am a demon born out of the rite in throes" part.

By the way I still think it's pointless to put verse or chorus to certain parts of a song like Omega

austinjhnsn wrote:Omega is pretty dissonant, listen to the guitar during the "I am a demon born out of the rite in throes" part.

Hmm...I don't see the overall song as a whole as dissonant because the guitar riffs still have melody to them. Maybe not the whole song but the overall thing. To me, the nine nich nails song was just noise. Not much melody. That's how I see it.

austinjhnsn wrote: By the way I still think it's pointless to put verse or chorus to certain parts of a song like Omega

That's fine. Feel free to disagree.

Alright:) appreciate the effort though, that song is bonkers.

austinjhnsn wrote:Alright:) appreciate the effort though, that song is bonkers.

Yeah. I like the song too.

I like how Metallica's fade to black has no chorus. The hook are the guitar parts between the verses.

Nutshell by Alice in Chains. No chorus, fucking incredible song. Especially on the Unplugged performance.