I really like the way Fountains of Wayne arrange their songs.  The intros are sometimes quick, sometimes lengthy, but IMO always appropriate for the song.  Their arrangements in general make me think of the Beatles, specifically the Rubber Soul and Revolver albums.

As a young lad, I worked as a gopher at an oldies radio station.  I studied everything the DJs did, including talking over song intros.  The main goal - don't step on the vocal!  These songs (mid 1950s - early 1970s) had intros of all different lengths and stylistic approaches, whether they were (1) the chords from the bridge, (2) the vocal break badly tacked onto the beginning, or (3) the verse progression with no singing.

My point here - there are no hard and fast rules.  You've got to go with what sounds good to you.  But along with that, be open to constructive critcism.

I guess it depends on your goals.  If you're trying to write "radio friendly" songs than a short or no intro will probably work best.  If you're writing the song as "art" than the song should dictate if it needs an intro to set if up or not.  I never expect to hear my instrumentals on the radio so I always let the song dictate the intro.

My thinking about intro's is that they have to have somewhat of a "hook" quality to them, whether long or short.  The intro needs to keep drawing you into the song until you get to the verse.  If it does n't work in that way, then its best to just get right to the meat as quickly as possible. 

Attention spans seem to be shorter these days.  I remember when sitting through a lengthy into to songs in the 60's, 70's, 80's was an enjoyable musical experience.  These days people don't seem to be able to lislten for more than 10 seconds if it is not grabbing their attention.

Karyn

Bristol_Jonesey

Karyn


'ello  is always a good start to a tune.


Long or short, soft or loud, gentle build up or bang straight in.  All depends on the atmosphere you're trying to create and your target audience.
You'll set the tone for the song in the first 5 seconds, and the average AnR guy with a stack of CDs from floor to ceiling may only listen to the first 10 - 20 seconds.

Spot on Karyn

One of my prog rock pieces has an intro of about 5 minutes before you hear any singing

If you can't be self-indulgent in Prog Rock then when can you?

Jazz?? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nice

Yep, one avenue I've yet to explore

I agree that the song/genre and the intended target audience is an important factor in deciding if an intro is desirable or not. An intro should also be an opportunity to give a hint of what's in store for the listener by introducing a "whiff" of the main melodic element(s) early on. An intro is a "first impression" that can make or break a song. Handle with care, IMHO. 

For instrumentals;

I usually start a mix with everything 'full on' all the way through. To create an intro I'll then start to pare everything down until there's a little hint of whats to come, then gradually add elements back in.

If there's a strong instrumental top line melody, I'll sometimes remove parts of it, so that the whole thing isn't revealed until later. Sometimes swapping an instrument can work too, for example using a light synth sound to play a guitar hook, something like that.

Songs;

A couple of times I've used an acapella version of the chorus with full harmonies, that can sound very nice going into a verse where the band comes in.

 Alternatively I've used the chorus with just the BGV's, lead vocal taken out.

 ... hahahahah!

And keep the song under 4 minutes if feasible.  I just axed a 1 minute 'masterly'-intro into the trash.

ELO 'succeeded' with long intro's, these 'overtures' should never be axed, IMHO ... but they were 'different' songs.

Why an intro becomes a song, I dunno.

But for pop's sake, I suppose the hook takes precedence.  I dunno.

For pop genres, conventional wisdom dictates that intros must be short, because you've got about five seconds to hook the listener before they hit the Next button. 

Personally, I say f*ck that. Let it build. Not so slowly that it's tedious, but as slow as it takes. Like an appetizer, the intro's job is to make you anticipate the coming main course. But I'll never ever be in the same room with a top 40 hit.

The Beatles were masters of intros that served both goals:

- the fade-in of Eight Days a Week
- the single big chord at the start of A Hard Day's Night
- the feedback and melodic lick introducing I Feel Fine
- crowd and orchestra noises before Sgt Pepper
- sharp trebly staccato guitar introducing Getting Better
- harpsichord, layered with guitar in Because
- capo'd acoustic guitar playing the melodic theme in Here Comes the Sun

....The straightforward drum roll into She Loves You
The immediately compelling word HELP!
Harpsichord on Lucy
Cello & Drums on I Am The Walrus

I reckon we could do this all night Dave. (well, it's night here)

Simple can be perfect - a bass line that's such an integral part of the hook that it works as an intro, with just some finger clicks for company;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unnh0T2Ftro