The verses get it all out in the open.

As you write a song, you'll typically use the verses to move the story or idea forward by giving the listener pieces of the puzzle, line by line. As you build the plot or "train of thought" (I use this expression because many great songs don't tell a story as much as they simply express the writer's psychological state or take the form of a conversation), you should always be thinking about how it will lead to the chorus.

There are many different ways to do this. Country songwriters have perfected the technique of telling a complete story over the course of multiple verses while having each verse build strongly to a catchy chorus. Whether or not country is your thing, it's worth studying a few tunes to see how it's done.

Distinctive Traits

It's the job of the chorus to really stick in the listeners' minds. However, you want the verse to be memorable too, so that the entire experience of the song stays with them. In pop music, this is typically achieved by linking the lyrics with a melody that repeats from verse to verse, with only small variations to fit the words.

"Experimentation is the only way to find out if the resulting verse is too repetitive, has too much variation, or if it is just right..."

It's a good idea to make sure the verse's melody, rhymes, poetic rhythms or other important elements have some contrast to those of the chorus. Again, there are a lot of ways to accomplish this. Studying your favorite songwriters will give you and ample supply of concepts to try, without actually copying what someone else has specifically done!

Let me pause here to mention that some songs in genres like folk may not rely on a multi-line chorus, but may incorporate a chorus-like line or "refrain" at the end or beginning of each verse. Some folk ballads tell long, richly detailed stories, and so require a lot of verses. Thus the chorus is minimized. But this can even work for pop tunes if the lyrics and melody are strong enough. "Wouldn't It Be Nice," by Brian Wilson comes to mind as an example.

Song of Myself

Back to writing a typical verse. For me, it usually all starts with one line-one that fits well with a melody or that has a pleasing rhythm to it. As I repeat it to myself, if it's really song-worthy, the line always demands to be added to, either because of the idea or storyline that it points to, or simply because of its sound.

I'll build the next few lines on the rhythmic or melodic structure of first, but often the following lines will not end up mimicking the first one too closely. Experimentation is the only way to find out if the resulting verse is too repetitive, has too much variation, or if it is just right.

Over time, I'll try different rhyme schemes, rearrange or delete lines, and even scrap whole stanzas. Having a perfectionist bent, it's difficult for me to stop hacking away at the song, as if it's a sculpture. It's definitely helpful to be flexible as you're writing, with a willingness to try different things without locking yourself into one way of looking at the song. On the other hand, you need to be able to decide that a verse is complete and that it's time to move on. When I start feeling bogged down, I usually put the song away for the moment and come back to it later with a fresh perspective. I also remind myself that some of the best songs have been written in just a few hours, or even minutes.

D. P. Walsh is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with a BA in Creative Writing from Houghton College. Send him questions, comments or condiments at dwalsh@mobilebeat.com.