- 1 year ago
Music has patterns that just work—and some song structures are so good that artists keep using them again and again. 🎶
In this video, we’re counting down the Top 10 song structures everyone rips off, from timeless pop hits to rock anthems and chart-topping rap tracks. Discover how your favorite songs might secretly share the same blueprint!
👉 Like, share, and subscribe for more music breakdowns, top 10 lists, and songwriting secrets.
In this video, we’re counting down the Top 10 song structures everyone rips off, from timeless pop hits to rock anthems and chart-topping rap tracks. Discover how your favorite songs might secretly share the same blueprint!
👉 Like, share, and subscribe for more music breakdowns, top 10 lists, and songwriting secrets.
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MusicTranscript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most
00:10commonly utilized song structures in popular music.
00:26Our listening habits are in a constant state of flux.
00:29This also goes for how we produce the art form, particularly in today's digestible world
00:34of bite-sized social media.
00:35TikTok especially has made it easy for songwriters to strip their music to its barest essence,
00:40crafting shorter songs that get to those hooks almost immediately.
00:49Granted, TikTok fame is as fleeting as those proverbial 15 minutes referenced by Andy Warhol
00:54back in 1968.
00:55Still, in a world that thrives on instant gratification, the success of songs like
01:00Old Town Road by Lil Nas X prove that getting straight to the point pays off.
01:04This reaps rewards not only for artists chasing viral success, but also for listeners with
01:09brief attention spans.
01:10Yeah, I'm gonna take my horse to the Old Town Road.
01:14I'm gonna ride till I can't no more.
01:18Number 9.
01:1912-Bar Blues.
01:20Go, go, go, go, Johnny, go, go, go, go, Johnny, go, go, go, go.
01:26It's a chord progression as old as rock and roll itself.
01:29A time-tested classic.
01:31You don't need to understand music theory in order to feel a 12-bar blues loop.
01:35Famous songs like Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry and Hound Dog from Elvis Presley built
01:40their infectious energy on this very progression.
01:42You ain't not gonna...
01:44You ain't not gonna have longer...
01:50Today, 12-bar blues numbers are largely seen as nostalgic throwbacks to rock and roll's
01:55infancy.
01:56But it's important to remember how the stuff was once seen as dangerous.
01:59Conservative voices at the time worried how the urges of youth might be encouraged by pop
02:04music's adoption of the blues.
02:06They couldn't stop rock and roll, however.
02:08And this popular song structure endures today.
02:10We're gonna rock around the clock tonight.
02:13We're gonna rock, rock, rock, no broad daylight.
02:15We're gonna rock, we're gonna rock around the clock tonight.
02:18Number 8.
02:19No Bridge.
02:20Early one morning the sun was shining.
02:22She was lying in bed.
02:24There's no right or wrong way to write a song.
02:26This is why the art form remains so fun and unique.
02:29Artists like Bob Dylan prided themselves upon expanding traditional songwriting parameters.
02:34Telling stories with their music in ways that were then unimaginable.
02:38His song, Tangled Up in Blue, eschewed the inclusion of a bridge.
02:41Instead, hammering its point home via multiple verses.
02:44And he just grew, tangled up in blue.
02:49The title itself is repeated as a sort of refrain or mantra, serving as a thematic connective tissue.
02:55For Dylan, the lyrics are the message.
02:58And there is no need to sully them up with extra bridges or even choruses.
03:01These decisions can still be seen today in singer-songwriters whose intentions are to share rather than just entertain.
03:08If everybody goes...
03:15Number 7.
03:16Power Ballads.
03:17Just one more night and I'm coming on this flopping, winding road.
03:23The Power Ballad wasn't born in the 1980s.
03:27Neither does it belong exclusively to the era of songs like Home Sweet Home by Motley Crue or Nobody's Fool from Cinderella.
03:33To trace its true roots, we need to turn to arena rock legends like Aerosmith and Styx.
03:38Aerosmith's Dream On and even more so Styx's Lady, which was penned by songwriter Dennis DeYoung, serve as prototypical examples of the medium.
03:46Like a child you handle, you're my lady.
03:53Power Ballads were usually designed to showcase the softer side of an aggressive act, often being placed in the third or fourth position on an album.
04:00Their structure tended to be melodic and sensitive up front, with a rousing, electrifying finale.
04:05Piano and acoustics were optional, as long as the effect felt suitably sincere.
04:10Oh, Gary! Gary!
04:18Number 6.
04:19Doo-wop Progression, a.k.a. 50s Progression.
04:22Oh, my love.
04:28The beauty of the 50s Progression lies in its simplicity.
04:31Though it first gained traction in the late 1930s, it became more closely associated with the doo-wop era of the 1950s, hence its name.
04:38The 50s Progression evokes memories of innocence and nostalgia due to its inclusion in hits like Earth Angel by the Penguins.
04:44Earth Angel, Earth Angel, please be mine.
04:52But it has remained alive since that era, being used in such modern songs as Perfect by Ed Sheeran.
04:57It's a brief looped progression that locks onto a melody and holds it for the duration of the song.
05:02If I don't deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight.
05:10Some tunes may throw in a bridge for variety, but the heart of the song remains rooted in that unmistakable, timeless progression.
05:17Number 5.
05:1832 Bar Form, a.k.a. Verse and Bridge.
05:21When I was 21, it was a very good year.
05:30Jazz standards and the Great American Songbook are goldmines for songs built on the classic 32-bar form.
05:36This song structure doesn't feature a chorus, but instead allows room for improvisation and vamping over two 8-bar verse sections,
05:43an 8-bar contrasting bridge, and one final 8-bar verse to bring it all home.
05:47Great Falls of Fire is an excellent example of a verse-bridge A-A-B-A form, as is the theme from the Flintstones cartoon show.
05:54For vocalists like Frank Sinatra or Judy Garland, this arrangement allowed them to showcase their talents,
06:05while jazz standards emphasized the musicality of each player as they improvised new material.
06:10Some day I'll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far.
06:17Number 4.
06:18Quiet Loud.
06:18Let our popcorns bring your friends as fun to do.
06:25Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana may have been composed with a traditional song structure,
06:30but its true influence lies more within its dynamics.
06:33Kurt Cobain and his bandmates were notably inspired not only by punk rock and underground heavy metal,
06:38but also contemporary alternative voices of the day.
06:48The signature quiet loud structure of the Pixies, for example,
06:51was said to have inspired how the bass-led verses of Teen Spirit contrast with its guitar-heavy chorus.
06:56Elsewhere, Washington rock band The Melvins was already pushing boundaries,
07:00exploring song structures that deviated from that era's glam metal radio dominance.
07:08But it was Nirvana's massive public profile that convinced a generation of musicians
07:13to forego flashy performances in favor of raw, unpolished energy.
07:17Well, the lights out, it's as dangerous!
07:22And we are now, entertain us!
07:26Number 3.
07:27Verse, Chorus, and Bridge.
07:28What's Love Got To Do With It was a smash hit for Tina Turner back in 1984,
07:40achieving chart success by utilizing a tried-and-true formula.
07:43The song follows a traditional verse and chorus structure,
07:46while also adding a bridge for emphatic and dynamic effect.
07:49Bridges can be useful tools within a songwriter's arsenal,
07:52but not every song includes them in the process.
07:55I've been taking on a new direction,
07:59but I have to say...
08:03What's Love Got To Do With It makes use of a bridge after the instrumental break,
08:07rather than before, which makes it feel impactful.
08:09The modulated final chorus assists to this end,
08:12showing just how much a well-crafted and well-placed bridge can elevate any song.
08:16What's Love Got To Do With It?
08:21Number 2.
08:22Multiple Sections and No Chorus.
08:25The realm of progressive and avant-garde music
08:33isn't usually a place where traditional songwriting can be found,
08:36but complex song structures are not exclusive to just prog and art rock bands.
08:41Even acts like Queen and Billy Joel have experimented with songs that feature no chorus,
08:45and instead move through multiple propulsive sections.
08:48Bohemian Rhapsody is perhaps the most famous of these,
08:57a mini-operetta that achieved worldwide success in spite,
09:00or perhaps because, of its bold and uncompromising structure.
09:04On the other hand,
09:05Billy Joel's scenes from an Italian restaurant may not feel as dramatic,
09:08but it also tells a complex story in a similarly unconventional manner.
09:12Before we continue,
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09:33Number 1. Verse Chorus
09:37Homer Simpson said it best when he yelled,
09:46Get to the working overtime plan!
09:48And sure,
09:49working overtime may not be the chorus to Backman-Turner Overdrive's Taking Care of Business,
09:53but the sentiment remains.
09:55We love a good chorus,
09:57to the point where it's often the only thing we retain from many hit songs.
10:00Taking care of business
10:02Every game
10:03Taking care of business
10:05Everywhere
10:06We're often so excited to get that shot of dopamine that we forget the verses even exist.
10:12But without that push and pull dynamic, or working overtime if you will,
10:15the payoff wouldn't feel nearly as good.
10:17The ABAB structure of songs like Smoke on the Water ensures that the chorus is the star,
10:23because it's in stark contrast to the verses.
10:25That is the secret that turns good songs into hits.
10:28Are there any songs with a totally unique structure that you dig?
10:38Let us know in the comments.
10:39You got your gum original, you got your gum original,
10:43our entertainers, gum original.
10:45Did you enjoy this video?
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