Does structure really matter?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Crysiq
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Crysiq

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As long as you have 2 choruses, 2 verses, and an intro?

i mean will record companies and all that pay attention to the exact same type of structure that everyone else is doing?
 
No man...just write a "good" song.

If you are trying to sound like someone else, then copy them...but that's not what you want to really do, is it?
 
As a listener and a writer I don't focus on structure first and foremost. Obviously structure is important to a song, but I find that is is best to let follow a song and let it go where it wants to.
 
All art is just tension between the expected and the unexpected. If it's too different from the expected then people won't relate. If it's too similar to the expected then it will be boring. Traditional song structure provides that framework of familiarity on which to build something original. Start with what people know and sprinkle in some surprises. Take them on a journey from "here" to "there".
 
bouldersoundguy said:
All art is just tension between the expected and the unexpected. If it's too different from the expected then people won't relate. If it's too similar to the expected then it will be boring. Traditional song structure provides that framework of familiarity on which to build something original. Start with what people know and sprinkle in some surprises. Take them on a journey from "here" to "there".
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I like that
 
bouldersoundguy said:
All art is just tension between the expected and the unexpected. If it's too different from the expected then people won't relate. If it's too similar to the expected then it will be boring. Traditional song structure provides that framework of familiarity on which to build something original. Start with what people know and sprinkle in some surprises. Take them on a journey from "here" to "there".
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Well said...... ^^^^^^
 
BSG is right...but AFA the OP's question...no, structure is not what a record company uses as a deciding factor, they just listen to the song overall, though yes, if you are trying to sound like someone specific you might want to follow their style/structure.

I'm a structure person...but you have to watch you don't start sounding the same on all your songs....so mix it up a bit.
 
It only matters if you're trying to impress some pin head record cmpany executive in Nashville in which case you will sound exactly like everyone else in Nashville does like most pop country artists do today. In the old days, people wrote from their heart and from their real life experiences. Today most of the hits are not much much more than a reproduction of a thesaurus and a rhyming dictionary...
 
Structure helps to make the song memorable, which is what you want. If you aren't repeating sections or melodies or hooks, the song probably won't stick in the listener's brain. They'll forget your song as soon as it's over.
 
Some of the greatest songs in history don't even have a chorus. There are different "structures" and they don't all include "verses" and "choruses". Many Beatles tunes don't have a real "choru"s. They're A/B/A/B/C or some variation.
 
RAMI said:
Many Beatles tunes don't have a real "choru"s..
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Then of course, there's Hey Jude.... :laughings:

But that actually serves to illustrate the point... who'd have thunk that a song with a 4 minute chorus ending would work, structurally? ;)
 
Armistice said:
Then of course, there's Hey Jude.... :laughings:

But that actually serves to illustrate the point... who'd have thunk that a song with a 4 minute chorus ending would work, structurally? ;)
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I'm not sure if I'd call that part the chorus. Yes, it has a "chorus" of singers, but structurally, I don't think that's the chorus of the tune. To me, it's more of a "tag" or something. Not sure.
 
I'd call the drawn out end of Hey Jude a refrain.
 
True - but whatever it is I'd call it about the most annoying piece of music in pop/rock... on and on and on and on and on and on...
 
Yet revolutionary for a single, clocking in at 7 minutes in a period when despite the long songs that used to appear on albums, receieved wisdom was that no one listened to singles that were more than 3 minutes.
You know how sometimes you wish a piece of music just won't stop ? Hey Jude is it.
 
It gotta feel right. You will probably end up using a familiar structure most of the time, cause this is what feels right most of the time.
 
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