- A big mistake that
many beginner DJs make
is they do not take the time
to learn about song structure.
Knowing how songs are structured
makes it so much easier
to make smooth transitions
at the right time.
And the best part is that
most songs follow one
of two types of structure.
So once you understand
the two basic types,
you'll be able to figure out the structure
of most songs in your library,
which will help you hugely
when it comes to mixing.
So in this video, we'll
go over the two types,
what types of music fit
into each song structure,
and why knowing song
structure is so helpful.
And if you're interested in
more tips and tricks videos
just like this one, make sure
you subscribe to this channel.
But now, let's get into song structure
and why it's so important.
Genres like rock, pop and hip-hop
follow a standard structure
that we'll call songs in this video.
It's a structure that's been
around since about the 1950s,
and meanwhile, most modern
dance music and dance pop genres
follow a different structure
that we'll call tracks in this video.
But first, let's go over
the songs structure.
Now, music found in most non-dance genres
follow a pretty simple structure
that can be broken down
typically like this:
intro, verse one, chorus,
verse two, chorus again,
a bridge, verse three,
chorus for a third time,
and then your outro.
Now, each of these sections
has a standard length,
and the intro section is
usually four to eight bars long.
Verses are typically 16 bars in length
and choruses are usually eight bars long.
Most bridge sections are
also eight bars long,
hence the term middle eight,
and then the outro is usually
four to eight bars long as well.
Now, most modern DJ software
has a beat grid function,
and this beat grid
function allows you to see
the beats and bars in your track.
So I'll be using this beat grid function
sort of as a visual guide
to help you understand
how song structure works.
So as you can see, I have a track
that's loaded into deck one,
and that's represented
by that long waveform,
right underneath the deck section.
And with the beat grid
shown on the waveform above,
you'll notice a little number
to the top right of each line.
Now that represents the
beginning of each bar.
So as you can see, currently the playhead
is at the beginning of the first bar.
Then you'll notice a yellow cue point
at the beginning of the ninth bar.
And this section from the
beginning of the first bar
to the beginning of that ninth bar
is what we'd call the intro section.
And usually the intro section of a song
is a bit more sparse that
the rest of the track
and usually it doesn't include lyrics.
So now let me go ahead
and play the intro section
of this song, and you'll see what I mean.
(upbeat music)
And here we're getting to the
beginning of the ninth bar.
And that's when the lyrics
of the first verse starts.
Now as I mentioned, the
section right after the intro
is your verse one or your first verse.
This section, again, is
usually 16 bars in length,
so it's 16 bars full of lyrics.
So in this case, that would mean
the beginning of the ninth bar
all the way to the
beginning of the 25th bar.
Now I'll use the beat
jump function in Serato DJ
which will go ahead and jump
forward four bars at a time
to show you exactly what I mean.
So here we're at the
beginning of the first verse.
Now I'll go ahead four
bars, four more bars,
that makes eight.
Four more is 12.
And then four more is 16.
And now you'll notice at the
beginning of the 25th bar,
I have a blue cue point,
and this signifies
the beginning of the chorus.
Now the chorus is the part
of the song that repeats
multiple times throughout the track
and is usually the most memorable.
So now I'll play a portion
of the chorus of the song.
♪ Carrying on, ♪
♪ Never mind if I'm showing off ♪
♪ I was just frontin' ♪
♪ You know I want you babe ♪
♪ I'm ready to bet it all ♪
♪ Unless you don't care at all ♪
♪ But you know I want ya ♪
♪ You should stop frontin' babe ♪
♪ Trying to be the best girl ♪
Now as I mentioned, the chorus
is usually eight bars long,
and you can see that
on the waveform below.
It begins at the 25th
bar and goes all the way
up until the beginning of the 33rd bar.
Now from here, the process
kind of repeats itself,
so we move into the second verse,
which again will be another 16 bars long.
So if I go from this
yellow cue point marker,
and skip ahead 16 bars,
we should be right back
at the second chorus.
So now I'll switch back to beat jump,
and then we'll skip forward 16 bars.
So that's four, eight, 12, and 16.
Now, we should be at the
second chorus of the song,
so now let's play the track.
♪ Carrying on ♪
♪ Never mind if I'm showing off ♪
♪ I was just frontin' ♪
♪ You know I want you babe ♪
Again, it's that same
section repeated once again,
and just like it was the first time,
this section will also
be eight bars longs.
Now you can see that green
cue point coming up at bar 57
and this is what we'll
call the bridge section.
It's also sometimes
called the middle eight.
Now this section differs from
the verses and the chorus
and usually there's a change musically,
and it's not as long as a verse would be.
So let's play the rest
of the second chorus
going into the middle eight or the bridge.
♪ I'm ready to bet it all ♪
♪ Unless you don't care at all ♪
♪ But you know I want ya ♪
♪ You should stop frontin' babe ♪
Now here's the bridge.
♪ We got another one, Phar-real ♪
♪ Dance, ooooh, ♪
♪ I call you for real
'cause you the truth ♪
Notice musically it's a little different
than the verses and the chorus.
♪ Dance ♪
♪ Yeah, ooooh ♪
And it's also eight bars long,
and here we get into the third verse.
♪ 0hh-Ohh ♪
♪ Every time your name was brought up ♪
Now in some instances, the
third verse will be cut short
to eight bars because of the middle eight.
So eight plus eight makes 16
which would fill out an
entire verse section.
Other times a third verse
might be a full 16 bars
so that's something that you might want
to take into account.
In this case, the third verse
is only eight bars long,
so let's use beat jump
to jump ahead eight bars
and then if our math is correct,
that should lead us to the third chorus.
So that's four bars ahead,
and that's eight bars ahead.
Now let's see where it puts us.
♪ Mind if I'm showing off ♪
♪ I was just frontin' ♪
And right back into that chorus
for a third and final time.
Now some songs may repeat the chorus
to make that final chorus
section 16 bars long
or they'll do one chorus,
back to that middle eight bridge section
which will also make 16 bars
before the eight bar outro.
So in the case of this song,
they only play that third chorus one time
then go back to that middle eight section.
So let's beat jump eight bars ahead
and see where it puts us.
That's four bars and eight bars.
♪ Ohh-Ohh ♪
♪ Oooohh ♪
♪ Ohh-ohh ♪
And we're right back
to that bridge section.
And again, that chorus
section was eight bars long,
now we're into this
eight bar bridge section
then after that will be the outro.
So here we're halfway through
that final bridge section,
and we'll just let it play out
and then you'll be able to hear
the outro section that follows it.
♪ Dance ♪
♪ Oooohh ♪
♪ Whoah-Ohh ♪
And here the bridge is over,
and now comes the outro section.
(instrumental music)
And much like the intro section,
the outros are usually sparse
and doesn't have much going on
compared to rest of the song.
And that's it.
That's the structure of
most non-dance genre songs,
so anything from rock, pop,
R&B, soul music, hip-hop,
they usually roughly
use the same structure.
Now it may vary a little
bit from song to song,
but this is the usual standard.
Now let's move on to the
structure of most dance genres.
Again, in this video we'll be
calling this kind of structure
the tracks structure.
Most modern dance music
structure can be broken down
typically like this:
you have your intro section, a buildup,
a breakdown, a drop,
then it may repeat and go
buildup, breakdown, drop again,
and then it'll go into your outro section.
Now each of these sections is
usually 16 to 32 bars long.
And since these sections have similar
if not the same length,
this makes the tracks
structure easier to work out
when compared to the songs
structure that we just discussed.
However, unlike the songs structure,
where the sections usually
appear in the same order
regardless of the genre,
there's a little bit more fluidity
in the way that dance
tracks are constructed.
And the buildup, breakdown
and drop section does repeat,
but it may repeat in a different order.
So now let's break down this house track
that I have loaded into deck one.
Now the intro section of
the song is 16 bars long,
and like most intro sections,
for most dance songs,
just like the songs structure,
this is a little bit more sparse
and doesn't have as much going
on as the rest of the track.
(house music)
♪ Whatcha wanna do ♪
♪ Wanna be a ballers ♪
♪ Shot callers now ♪
Now that was 16 bars
for the intro section,
and notice there isn't much drums going on
or very much going on for
that beginning section
which makes it a really nice
place to start mixing in from.
So after that initial intro sections,
now we go into the buildup
section before the drop.
And again, this section is
16 bars long in this example.
Now after that initial
16 bars of intro section,
this song goes straight into
the buildup before the drop.
So as you can see on the waveform above,
the beginning of this section is marked
by that kind of golden orange cue point
at the beginning of bar 17.
Then the drop section will be marked
by that blue cue point coming up.
So let's play this track
so you can hear the difference
between the buildup section
and then the drop section
which follows this part.
♪ Whatcha wanna do ♪
♪ Wanna be a ballers ♪
♪ Shot callers now ♪
♪ Whatcha wanna do ♪
♪ Wanna be a ballers ♪
♪ Shot callers now ♪
♪ Whatcha wanna do ♪
♪ Wanna be a ballers ♪
♪ Shot callers now ♪
♪ Whatcha wanna do ♪
♪ Wanna be a ballers ♪
♪ Shot callers now ♪
♪ Whatcha wanna do ♪
♪ Wanna be a ballers ♪
♪ Shot callers now ♪
♪ Whatcha wanna do ♪
♪ Wanna be a ballers ♪
♪ Shot callers now ♪
♪ Whatcha wanna do ♪
♪ Wanna be a ballers ♪
♪ Shot callers now ♪
♪ Whatcha wanna do ♪
Now here comes the drop.
♪ Shot callers ♪
(house music)
Now the drop section musically
sounds much different
than the intro or buildup section
and usually has a lot more energy.
Again, I'll use the beat
jump function to jump ahead
through this drop section,
then you'll see that
breakdown and buildup section
repeat again before the drop
happens for a second time.
(house music)
An here we're coming to the
end of that first drop section.
(house music)
♪ Now ♪
And you can see the
beginning of that buildup
marked by that yellow cue point coming up.
♪ Whatcha wanna do ♪
♪ Do you wanna be a
ballers ♪ ♪ Shot c-c-c-c ♪
(house music)
♪ Whatcha wanna do, do, do ♪
♪ Whatcha wanna do, do, do ♪
♪ Now ♪
Musically, the breakdown
section has a lot less going on
than the drop section that follows,
and kinda leads up to
that buildup section.
As you can see on the waveform above,
from that yellow cue point,
which marks the beginning
of that breakdown section,
to to green cue point which marks
the end of the breakdown section.
In the case of this song,
there's only eight bars long.
Earlier I mentioned that
these sections can be
16 to 32 bars long depending on the genre.
Now for this example, they've combined
that breakdown and buildup section
which will each be eight bars long
to make a 16 bar section.
So like I mentioned, from
that yellow cue point
to that green one is eight
bars for the breakdown
so that means from this green cue point
until the next drop should
be nother eight bars.
Now as you can see on the waveform above,
from that green cue point to
where the drop happens again,
which you can see on the waveform
by that darker red section, is eight bars.
Which again combines to a
total of 16 bars in length.
So now I'll go ahead and
play this buildup section,
and you can hear how it kinda differs
from that breakdown that we just heard,
and leads back into the second drop.
♪ Whatcha wanna do, ♪ ♪ Do
you wanna be a ballers ♪
♪ Shot callers now ♪
♪ Whatcha wanna do ♪
Notice this buildup has
a little bit more energy
than that breakdown
section that we just heard.
♪ Do you wanna be a ballers ♪
♪ Shot callers now ♪
♪ Whatcha wanna do ♪
♪ Wanna be a ballers ♪
And here's the drop for the second time.
(house music)
Now if you take a look
at that smaller waveform
in the deck section of deck one,
you'll notice that the second drop section
is longer than the first drop section.
And this may be the case for
some dance genres out there.
Now the thing to really remember here
is that these sections usually
move in chunks of 16 bars.
So if the second drop section is longer,
it's probably longer by
an additional 16 bars.
Now if you look at the waveform above,
you'll notice that the second
drop section begins at bar 73.
And we've pretty much gone
ahead about four bars.
So if the math is correct,
since we've already gone four bars,
we need to jump ahead an additional 28
and then we'll get to the outro section.
So let's switch over
to the beat jump again
and jump ahead 28 bars.
Four, eight, 12, 16, 20, 24 and 28.
Now if you look at that waveform,
that drop section has a lot more going on
than this new section that's coming up
which is the outro.
So let's give that a play.
♪ Hey ♪
(house music)
Notice, doesn't have as much going on.
(house music)
And the first section of
this outro is eight bars,
then it'll break down even more
to the last eight bars of this outro.
♪ Hey ♪
Just like this.
(house music)
Again, the structure for most dance genres
is pretty similar, it'll go
intro, buildup, breakdown,
to drop and repeat, maybe once or twice
into that outro section.
The sections may vary in length
but the structure of the
songs remain the same.
Now understanding how songs
in your library are structured
will make you a better DJ.
Once you understand these two
different types of structures,
you'll soon realize that
the majority of music
in your collection follows
these two structures.
Learning song structure
was a huge turning point
for me personally as a DJ.
Once I understood that learning how to mix
one song of a certain genre correctly,
man, I can mix the majority of other songs
in that same genre,
I could focus on learning
the structure of whole genres
instead of just individual tracks.
And as an open format DJ, this
helped me to quickly learn
how to play more genres properly,
hugely increasing my versatility as a DJ.
So go ahead and try this
with tracks and songs
in your own collection and
try guessing where to mix in
and out of tracks based upon what's worked
with different examples
in that same genre.
Then soon, you'll see what I mean.
And now we'd like to hear from you.
Do you think about song
structure when you're mixing?
And if so, how do you
use it to your advantage?
Go ahead and leave that
down in the comments below,
we'd love to hear what
you guys have to say
and as always, if you like
tips and tricks videos
just like this one, make sure
you subscribe to this channel.
Now, get good, get out
there, and make the moments.
(upbeat music)
