Building the chorus

Definition

The chorus is the section that returns with (almost) identical music and lyrics and that normally contains the title and the main hook. In a Verse–Pre–Chorus form it is the point of maximum energy and maximum memorability. Building it means deliberately designing its lift relative to the preceding sections.

The five parameters of the lift

Register: the chorus melody sits on average 3–5 semitones higher than the verse. Example: verse between E4 and A4, chorus between A4 and D5.
Note length: verse with many short syllables, chorus with longer notes on the key words.
Harmony: the chorus often starts on a different chord from the verse. If the verse starts on vi (Am), the chorus may start on IV (F) or on I (C).
Arrangement: pads, backing vocals and wide guitars come in, the drums go from half-time to full time or open the hi-hat onto the ride/crash.
Lyrics: more general and emotional; the verse tells the details, the chorus states the thesis.

Where to put the title

First line: announces it right away (very common in pop).
Last line: closes and resolves (typical of country and classic American songwriting).
First and last (bookend): maximum memorability.
Repeated 3–4 times: typical of dance and K-pop.

Phrase patterns

Over 8 bars (or 16 at a fast tempo):

AAAA: the same phrase repeated with small variations (dance, vocal EDM).
AABA: two identical phrases, one of contrast, return.
ABAB': question and answer, the last one varied to close on the tonic.
AAAB: three repetitions and a final phrase that resolves (very effective for a title at the end).

Chorus harmony in C major

F–G–Am–C (IV–V–vi–I): suspended start, opens up.
C–G–Am–F (I–V–vi–IV): solid, “anthem.”
Am–F–C–G (vi–IV–I–V): melancholy but expansive.
Closing the last phrase on G–C (V–I) or, if the song needs to start again, on F or G to return to the verse without a cadence.

The harmonic rhythm can slow down (one chord every 2 bars) to let the long notes “breathe,” or stay the same as the verse while everything else changes.

Melody: the climax

A single highest note of the chorus, on the most important word, usually around the middle or in the second third of the section. Reaching it by leap (e.g. an ascending sixth) makes it dramatic; reaching it by step makes it singable. After the climax the melody descends by step toward the tonic or the third.

The post-chorus

In pop since 2010 a post-chorus often follows: 4–8 bars with an instrumental or vocal hook without lyrics (a syllable, a vocal chop). It works as a second chorus and lengthens the time spent at maximum energy.

Use in real songs

Whitney Houston — I Wanna Dance with Somebody (1987): chorus in a much higher register than the verse, title repeated.
Adele — Rolling in the Deep (2010): the chorus changes harmony and adds backing vocals answering the lead voice.
Coldplay — Viva la Vida (2008): the chorus doesn't change chords but grows through register, backing vocals and drums.

Common mistakes

A chorus that starts on the same chord and in the same register as the verse.
Title hidden in a transitional line.
A pre-chorus stronger than the chorus (the lift is wasted beforehand).
Too many words: the chorus must be singable by someone hearing it for the second time.

Practical exercise

Take a verse you have already written. Write three different choruses over the same lyrics: one starting from IV, one from I, one from vi. Raise the register by at least a third relative to the verse. Record the guide vocal and ask someone which one they remember after one listen.

Hooks in pop songwriting, Verse–chorus form, Contrast between sections, Tension and release, Topline.