I was just thinking about song structure and what would be the best or preferable structure for a pop song. I use this:intro, verse, prechorus, chorus, verse, prechorus, chorus, middle8, chorus. What structure do you usually choose to use or does it vary according to song? And what structure do you recommend to those who have used only my choice of structure. Actually I have used also a bit simpler one long ago. It was intro, verse, prechorus, chorus, verse, prechorus, chorus X 2. I've probably used too much of the same structure so I could use a change. Of course one should use what feels natural but I would like to hear some recommendations for my next 'huge hit'.
kakku

Without trying to sound like I'm giving you a short answer.....whatever works in the song you are writing is what you should use.
 
I rarely set down to write a song and have a structure worked out ahead of time. I write the song and the structure takes care of itself. In most cases, the song automatically falls into one of the more common song structures.
 
Concentrate on the lyrics and the melody first. Write only what you need for the song. If the song needs a prechorus, it will be a natural thing to write. If you have to force a PC... chances are that the song doesn't need one. Same for the bridge or middle 8..... only if it's actually needed.
 
I've worked on songs that started with 4 verses, prechorus and chorus and a bridge. After working with a professional writer on this song (advice only)..... the song was whittled down to 2 verses with PC and chorus following the verses, to a simple V1-PC/CH-V2-PC/CH-CH or ABABB   http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12024980  
 
You can purposely try writing something with a different structure.... surely won't hurt.

Thank you for your good reply. I agree with what you say. I need to try something less planned sometimes. I listened to the song Footsteps in the hall and it sounded very professionally made.
kakku

Thanks

well i just go with the flow of the song. usally intro/chorus/hook/verse/chorus/verse/bridge....ect

drma173
well i just go with the flow of the song. usally intro/chorus/hook/verse/chorus/verse/bridge....ect

Thanks for the comment. I think your way is the best. I should try doing things that way too.
Kakku

If you want to use song structure then you should learn all the different forms. The standard verse, pre-chorus and chorus is simple enough but there are many different forms from many different periods. The bottom line is there is no song structure but what you make of it. You don't even have to have structure at all. Through composing is music without structure though many are unaware of it, or dismiss it because of it's lack of form.
 
Here are a few forms you may not be aware of.
Sonata, Rondo, Aria, March, 12 bar blues, 32 bar blues, Cantata, Invention. I'm sure Larry Alex knows a lot more on the subject of form. Hopefully he'll chime in. You can come up with your own form. BTW - When I say form, I mean structure. Some will say that you can't go by those rules but there are no rules. There is only a way of explaining what has been done.
 
HTH

Thank you for your advise. I am still at beginner level and perhaps not so good at learning new ways to work. Actally I should have said that I would like to hear suggestions that are somewhat easy to follow and preferably make music making easier. I do appreciate your help and I will take a look at the different song forms.
Kakku

If you want to learn song structure: Beatles, Beatles, Beatles.  Listen to The Beatles, read their sheet music and use Allan Pollack's (musicologist) on-line analysis of all The Beatles tracks.  There is no rules when it comes to song structure.  You can even use old forms such as sonata (main theme, development and recapitulation of main theme...Beethoven's sonata's were different to Mozart's so even within classical structure there is no hard and fast rules, the only rules within sonatas is the above) within popular song structure, if you know Pink Floyd or King Crimson they use "sonata" form in tracks like Starless (KC) Echoes and Atom Heart Mother (PF).  Then there is super simple song structure for example binary (two themes repeated) or ternary (three themes repeated) a personal favourite and actually all pop songs riff off the binary and ternary structure.  Oh middle 8 can be middle 16 or even middle 32, see no rules!!
 
PS, then there is the one chord song, Tomorrow Never Knows, Beatles again and very popular in in Indian folk music.    
 
Ben

K,
I've read several books on writing song lyrics and this one I think is the best:
http://www.amazon.com/Craft-Lyric-Writing-Sheila-Davis/dp/0898791499
Its an easy read as it dissects multiple well known songs. I've gone through it two or three times and have internalized parts of it.
Ms Davis covers song form thoroughly and explains how each form serves the particular subject matter of your song. An easy to understand example is the AAA form (a series of verses with no chorus) which is good for telling an episodic story- a well known example is Gordon Lightfoot's Edmund Fitzgerald.
 
You can learn a lot of this by osmosis, simply by listening to (and learning) a lot of good songs. As stated above, you can't go wrong with the Beatles- they knew (maybe not consciously) and practiced everything that Ms Davis would teach you. Other writers that I would recommend are John Hiatt, Tom Petty, Sting (who shows unusual knowledge of song form and harmony), and James Taylor.
Cheers,
Bert