The momentum-building devices deployed in prechoruses vary widely from song to song. (2) In addition, the kick pattern changes from a four-beat repeating pattern to a two-beat pattern, as shown in Example 3, which is another instance of formal units being shortened to quicken their rate of succession. Momentum is also gained in the vocal layer: each two-bar lyric line in the verse is followed by two bars of lyric rest in the prechorus, this alternation quickens to single bars of lyric and rest, and the final line (“And I know that I’m right, ‘cause I hear it in the night”) drives through two bars, omitting the rest altogether. This contributes to a feeling of urgency and expectation quite unlike the verse, where bass and guitar trade back and forth in a relaxed groove. The bass sets forth an insistent stream of eighth notes, punctuated with increasing frequency by a three-note figure in the guitar. In “Talking In Your Sleep,” the increase in musical intensity at the end of each verse (the bass leaps upward to its highest pitch in the song, followed by a drum fill) does not lead directly into the chorus it is followed by a prechorus, where much more momentum is gained. Example 2, “Talking In Your Sleep” by the Romantics, is a verse-prechorus-chorus song from the mid-1980s, by which time the prechorus had become a standard feature within verse-chorus form.
Musical examples from that time period will be examined below. In the early 1960s, a new musical corridor called the “prechorus” started to appear in verse-chorus songs, in which transitional effects of this sort could be stretched out over a longer period of time. To build momentum and smooth the transition from verse to chorus, the final portion of each verse in “Teen Angel” (shaded gray in Example 1) is supported by a fuller complement of instruments and voices, and the tempo is more strictly maintained. This song also includes a framing introduction and coda, which are common but optional features of verse-chorus form. In “Teen Angel,” the tempo is treated flexibly during the verses, which further distinguishes them from the choruses. The verses, on the other hand, provide context: each verse advances the song narrative by presenting fresh lyrics and the music is more modest in instrumentation and intensity so as not to steal attention from the chorus. (1) As is typical for verse-chorus songs, the focal point of “Teen Angel” is the chorus: it contains the most engaging musical material its unchanging lyric makes it easy to remember and it is marked for special attention by additional vocal and instrumental parts.
Example 1, Mark Dinning’s “Teen Angel,” illustrates the form. Until the mid-1960s, most verse-chorus songs alternated between the two formal sections from which verse-chorus form takes its name: verses and choruses. This article examines an episode in the evolution of verse-chorus form in pop/rock music. Romantics, “Talking In Your Sleep” (1984) Romantics, “Talking In Your Sleep” (1984)Įxample 3. Mark Dinning, “Teen Angel” (1960)Įxample 2.
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