{{Short description|Musical form common in popular music}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}} '''Verse–chorus form''' is a musical form going back to the 1840s, in such songs as "Oh! Susanna", "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze", and many others.<!--Not sure why this book is cited, the songs here were written in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |title=RMS 1 Census-Catalogue of Manuscript Sources of Polyphonic Music, 1400-1550 |date=1 January 1979 |publisher=American Institute of Musicology, Inc. |isbn=1595513116 |editor-last=Kellman |editor-first=Herbert |volume=I (A-J) |editor-last2=Hamm |editor-first2=Charles}}</ref>--><ref>{{cite web |author1=von Appen |first=Ralf |author2=Frei-Hauenschild |first2=Markus |title=AABA, Refrain, Chorus, Bridge, Prechorus — Song Forms and Their Historical Development |url=http://www.gfpm-samples.de/Samples13/appenfrei.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331132449/http://www.gfpm-samples.de/Samples13/appenfrei.pdf |archive-date=31 March 2022 |access-date=March 27, 2021 |website=www.gfpm-samples.de}}</ref> It became passé in the early 1900s, with advent of the AABA (with verse) form in the Tin Pan Alley days.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ewen |first=David |title=The Life And Death Of Tin Pan Alley: The Golden Age of Popular Music |publisher=Funk & Wagnalls |year=1964 |edition=First |language=en-us |asin=B000GVN3X4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Tin Pan Alley |encyclopedia=Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Tin-Pan-Alley-musical-history |access-date=12 Nov 2025 |orig-date=20 July 1998 |publication-date=2025-03-03 |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251005225749/https://www.britannica.com/art/Tin-Pan-Alley-musical-history |archive-date=5 October 2025 }}</ref> It became commonly used in blues and rock and roll in the 1950s,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Campbell |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RK-JmVbv4OIC&pg=PA117 |title=Rock and Roll: An Introduction |last2=Brody |first2=James |date=2007 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-0-534-64295-2 |pages=117 |language=en}}</ref> and predominant in rock music since the 1960s. In contrast to 32-bar form, which is focused on the refrain (contrasted and prepared by the B section), in verse–chorus form the chorus is highlighted (prepared and contrasted with the verse).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Covach |first=John |title=Engaging music: essays in music analysis |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-517010-8 |editor-last=Stein |editor-first=Deborah |location=New York |pages=71 |chapter=Form in Rock Music: A Primer}}</ref>
The chorus often sharply contrasts the verse melodically, rhythmically, and harmonically, and assumes a higher level of dynamics and activity, often with added instrumentation. This is referred to as a "breakout chorus".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Doll |first=Christopher |date=2011 |title=Rockin’ Out: Expressive Modulation in Verse-Chorus Form |url=https://mtosmt.org/issues/mto.11.17.3/mto.11.17.3.doll.html |journal=Music Theory Online |language=en |volume=17 |issue=3 |at=§2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250828053838/https://mtosmt.org/issues/mto.11.17.3/mto.11.17.3.doll.html |archive-date=28 August 2025 |access-date=12 November 2025 |url-status=live }}</ref> See: arrangement.
== Contrasting verse–chorus form == Songs that use different music for the verse and chorus are in '''contrasting verse–chorus form'''. Examples include: * "That'll Be the Day" by Buddy Holly (1957){{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}} * "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes (1963){{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}} * "California Girls" by The Beach Boys (1965){{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}} * "Penny Lane" and "All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles (1967){{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}} * "Foxy Lady" by Jimi Hendrix (1967){{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}} * "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple (1973){{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}} * "Can't Get Enough" by Bad Company (1974){{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}}
== Simple verse–chorus form == Songs that use the same harmony (chords) for the verse and chorus, such as the twelve bar blues, though the melody is different and the lyrics feature different verses and a repeated chorus, are in '''simple verse–chorus form'''. Examples include: * "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" by Big Joe Turner (1954){{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}} * "Louie, Louie" by The Kingsmen (1963 cover), example not using blues form{{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}} * "La Bamba" by Ritchie Valens (1959){{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}}
== Simple verse form == Songs which feature only a repeated verse are in '''simple verse form''' (verse–chorus form without the chorus). Examples include: * "Evil Ways" by Santana (1969){{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}} * Blues-based songs which are not simple verse–chorus form (above), such as "Heartbreak Hotel", "Jailhouse Rock", "Hound Dog", and "Lucille"{{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}} and with a contrasting bridge: * "Eight Miles High" by The Byrds (1966){{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}} * "Tomorrow Never Knows" by The Beatles (1966){{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}} * "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix (1967).{{sfn |Covach |2005 |pp=71–72}}
Both simple verse–chorus form and simple verse form are strophic forms.
== See also == * Song structure
== References== {{reflist}} {{Musical form}} {{Parts of a song}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verse-chorus form}} Category:Song forms