Formal Analysis: What Am I Looking For?

In my theory class, we discussed common forms of popular music, from ballads to pop songs to EDM and dubstep. Some common forms include:

• AABA

  • This form is essentially what it sounds like: There are two A sections, a novel B section, and then a final repeat of the A section. This was a popular approach as popular music began to take shape in the form of blues and the music of Tin Pan Alley.

• Verse-refrain

  • This is a relatively simple form: a single verse followed by a memorable chorus repeated many times. This form is very friendly to sing-alongs.

  • ABBB…

• Strophic form or ballad

  • This form is also relatively simple: The song is composed of only verses.

  • AAAA…

• Dubstep/EDM form

  • This form gets a little more complex. The song starts with a core that is kind of the centerpiece of the song. There is a breakdown that drops energy from the core, then a build up of energy followed by a spare (a silent moment) and then finally the core is repeated with much more energy. This iteration of the core is also called a bass drop or a dance chorus.

• Verse-chorus

  • This form is also quite complex, and is the form I will likely be using for analysis most often.

  • A song in this form will (archetypally) look like this:

    • Intro

    • Verse

    • Pre-chorus, Chorus, and Post-chorus (all together this is called the Chorus Complex)

    • Verse

    • Chorus Complex

    • Bridge

    • Chorus

    • Post-chorus

    • Outro

The fun thing about this form is that elements very often move around or are omitted from song to song. These deviations from the expected progression of a verse-chorus form are what I will be paying attention to, as well as any changes to the meaning of the song that come from the deviation.

In addition to the overall form of the song, I will be looking for anything atypical in each element of this form. For example, choruses tend to have the same melody and lyrics every time they are repeated. The exception is country music, which uses choruses as a snapshot of the story that changes with each verse. But what if the lyrics of a chorus change and the song is not in the country genre?

One last element I will examine related to form is energy. Each element of a form has a typical amount of energy in relation to the other elements. For example, verses are typically low-energy, pre-choruses usually increase the energy, and choruses usually are a peak of energy. I will note if energy levels are not typical in a specific song. I will also be using energy charts to illustrate the trajectory of energy in the song. Those charts will look something like this: