Song Structure (pt. 1) - Verse & Chorus

Alright, so we have been working hard learning all the main functions of Reason and how to put together really good loops. Now it's time to take all this information to start creating really polished pieces of music, aka SONGS!!!

Before we can really create songs though, it is probably a good idea to take a minute to think about how songs are put together. If you've never thought about it before, songs can seem like these big mysterious things, but the truth is that 95% of what we listen to follows a very consistent structure and formula, which you already know just from being a music listener.

A song is basically like telling a story. It has to have a certain flow to keep the listener's interest. There are

The Core

The core of most songs is just two parts switching off. These parts are:

1. The Verse
2. The Chorus (aka "the Hook")

The verse is where the main part of the song gets sung or rapped; it's where the singer/MC tells a story or lays out what he/she is trying to say. Normally, there aren't very many instruments in this part because you don't want the singer for the listener's attention. A verse is typically 16 bars long.

The chorus is the part that repeats several times throughout the song. It usually the most exciting part where people can sing along. Part of what usually makes a chorus exciting is that you have lots of instruments come in and everything gets louder. A chorus is typically 8 bars long.

So let's take a minute to analyze the song, "Disturbia" by Rihanna. Pay attention to where the verse and chorus switch up, and what goes on with the beat when they switch.
Rihanna - Disturbia by lcskier247