Definition
The 32-bar form is the standard scheme of the Tin Pan Alley and Broadway song (1920s–1950s: Gershwin, Porter, Kern, Berlin, Rodgers, Arlen) and therefore of most jazz standards. The refrain (chorus) lasts 32 bars divided into four sections of 8. Two main variants:
- AABA: A (8) – A (8) – B (8, the bridge or release, middle eight) – A (8).
- ABAC (or ABAB′): A (8) – B (8) – A (8) – C (8).
The complete structure of the song
Original songs often had:
- an introductory verse, freer and recitative-like, which presents the situation;
- the 32-bar refrain, the part everyone remembers.
In jazz the verse is almost always omitted, and only the refrain is played, repeated for the solos.
AABA in detail
| Section | Bars | Typical harmony | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | 1–8 | tonic, I–vi–ii–V turnarounds, cadence (often with a turnaround) | presents the hook |
| A2 | 9–16 | same as A1 with an ending that closes in the tonic | confirms |
| B | 17–24 | another tonal area (IV, III7–VI7–II7–V7, relative…) | contrast, often ends on the dominant |
| A3 | 25–32 | A with possible melodic variants or an extension (tag) | return |
Examples: “Over the Rainbow” (Harold Arlen, 1939), “Blue Moon” (Rodgers–Hart, 1934), “I Got Rhythm” (Gershwin, 1930: the basis of the rhythm changes), “Ain't Misbehavin',” “Satin Doll.”
ABAC in detail
- A (bars 1–8) presents the theme; B (9–16) moves toward another area and stops on the dominant; A (17–24) repeats the opening; C (25–32) leads to the final cadence, often with the culminating point.
- Examples: “All of Me” (Simons–Marks, 1931), “There Will Never Be Another You,” “Out of Nowhere.”
Variants
- 36-bar AABA: “All the Things You Are” (Kern, 1939): the last A is 12 bars.
- AABC: “Autumn Leaves” (as jazz musicians play it: A, A, B, C).
- Irregular sections: in pop music the AABA form survives with different lengths (the Beatles: “Yesterday,” 1965, with A sections of 7 bars).
- Extended form in pop: from the 1960s AABA combines with verse–chorus form (A = verse with hook included, B = bridge/middle eight) and is then replaced by verse–chorus.
The bridge: how to write it
- Change key or harmonic area: IV (in C: F – Fm), III or the relative, or a chain of dominants (E7 – A7 – D7 – G7).
- Change the melodic rhythm (longer notes if the A is busy, or the opposite) and the register (often higher).
- End on the dominant to prepare the return of the A.
- Bernstein, in the lecture “What Is Sonata Form?”, uses the Beatles' “And I Love Her” precisely to explain the A–A–B–A principle of balance and contrast.
How to analyze a standard
- Count the bars and identify the 8-bar sections.
- Write the letter of each section by comparing the melodies.
- For each section note the tonal area and the final cadence.
- Mark the turnarounds (the last 2 bars of A1 that bring back the tonic).
Exercise for a producer
Write an AABA song: an 8-bar A in C with the hook in bars 1–2, repeat with a closed ending, write an 8-bar bridge that starts on F (IV) and ends on G7, return to the A with a final melodic variation. Then make it modern: A = verse with hook, B = bridge with a beat change, last A with a 2-bar tag repeated.
Related
Binary, ternary and AABA form, Rhythm changes as a form, Jazz standards and harmonic forms, Head–solos–head in jazz, Bernstein: what is sonata form, Verse–chorus form.