Listen for form

Form is the different sections in a piece of music and how those specific sections are organized in a piece of music.

The form of a song can be lots of different things, but the main thing you’re listening for is repeated sections.

Questions to ask yourself:

• Are any sections repeated?
• Do any musical ideas come back?
• Do any musical ideas repeat?

Songs are often structured in a few different ways with different verses and choruses and maybe a bridge. One common form for songs is this:

Verse 1 – Chorus – Verse 2 – Chorus – Bridge – Chorus – Chorus

In shorthand this can be written like this:

V C V C B C C

Verses often have the same musical materials and melodies, but different lyrics.

Choruses mostly have the same musical materials, melodies, and lyrics.

Bridges are often used as contrast from verses and choruses.

There are a bunch of different forms so it’s an interesting aspect of music to listen for. So much of form changes depending on the specific style and common practices within that style.

ISJ