An Overview of Song Structures Seen in Popular Music

Adam Porcher is a student of computer science in West Windsor, New Jersey. When he is not studying, Adam Porcher enjoys playing music. He plays piano, bass, and drums, and also has experience composing lyrics.

When it comes to composing and writing song lyrics, musicians have a range of options. As a form of artistic expression, there is no right or wrong way to write lyrics. That said, a number of song structures have become overwhelmingly popular across a variety of musical genres. Verse and chorus structures are arguably the most popular, with lyricists composing two or three verses interspersed with a refrain, or chorus. The contrast between verse and chorus may be minimal or very distinct, but in either case, the chorus generally contains a song’s most memorable hooks, both lyrically and melodically.

The bridge is another common element of popular song compositions. Bridges provide lyricists with a number of options, either as opportunities to compose entirely new words and melodies, or as ways to make alterations to verses or the refrain. A bridge generally stands on its own and is not repeated for the duration of the song, though there are many exceptions to this standard.

While some bands experiment with more ambitious song structures, others manage to achieve uniqueness through minimization. Consider Fleetwood Mac, one of the most successful popular rock bands of all time. In the song “Dreams,” the lyrics revolve entirely around a simple F to G chord progression, with no change over the course of a straightforward Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Chorus structure. This simply arranged song was the band’s only number-one hit in the United States and helped their album Rumours sell more than 40 million copies.