Purpose of the Verse: Alternative Pop Songs

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name is Cody Kimmel. I am the lead singer of the band Eliot Fitzgerald. I am here with Expert Village to teach you how to write an alternative pop song. So, once we've developed our song structure or at least a template of what we think our song structure should look like (at least an idea), it's time to get into actually writing the song. The first thing I normally write is the verse. Some people write the chorus and I have written the chorus first. That's something you can do. Just for the sake of what order we are doing the song structure in anyways, let's write the verse first. Now, whenever you're writing a different section, each of these sections has a different purpose. Both musically and poetically. So, let's talk about the verse's purpose. Now, the verse is going to be the most changing thing lyric wise throughout the song. For the most part, the choruses are oftentimes the same lyrics. Even the prechorus can be the same lyrics. The bridge is a one time thing. So the verses is really where you're going to get the meat of your poetry in. For example, in an alternative pop song. Now, for like a country song or a folk song the verses are going to be a lot more focused on telling the story. With an alternative song you do want to tell a story, or you can tell a story, but it's not as important. It's not as prevalent within the genre. Really, what is important in the verse is setting the stage and the tone and kind of painting the picture for the chorus, which is going to be your hook. Which is going to be your most important part of the song. You're going to set up your verse like that. That is the purpose for the verse. Now, especially for an alternative song (an alternative pop song) you've got to look at also the different categories. Let's say this one.. the theme is "Last Night on the Town", that is what I was commissioned to write. So, I wrote a song about the last night on the town. So, as I start to write in my journal (the different verses and stuff like that) I had to start to think. What are some of different stages or what are some different scenarios you can set up where this would in fact be your last night on the town. What are some different feelings that I would be feeling. How can I incorporate those feelings into a narrative or at least into some type of imagery that you are going to keep consistent throughout the verses and relating to the chorus. Once you've established that. Once you've started to work through that, it's time to actually start to write down your words to the song."