SONG
DYNAMICS are some of the most powerful tool sets in the songwriting craft where the use of contrasts and variations
can be employed. There are crucial points during all songs where the listener’s
attention must be dramatically and positively captured. There are many variations
in the ways Song Dynamics can be used included in the following:
Introduction
: intros to Ballads should be shorter to get listeners into the
body of the song; intros for up-tempo songs can be longer as listeners get involved immediately
Melodic Changes:
using key melodic changes from verses with strong lifts using new chord progression in choruses and bridges; going
from straight
Groove Changes: changing
from straight time sections to syncopated sections
Chord Changes: using new chord progressions for the chorus and another for the bridge; modulating
up or down an/or playing the same progression in a different key
Time Changes: using creative time changes to create tension with tempo dynamics and transitioning
between verse, chorus and/or bridge; going from 4/4 time to a couple of bars
of ¾ time can make for interesting transitions
Lyric Density Change: using a different scheme of words grouped together in same tempo such as short choppy
phrases in verses to contrasting stretched out phrasing of chouses; having rapid fire lyrics with one syllable per sixteenth
note during the verse, then changing to one sylablle per quarter note in the chorus or doing the opposite while keeping the
tempo the same
Lyric Meter Change: changing the lyric meter from line to line or section to section or keeping the same
meter through a verse can subtly build tension that can be released when changing it in the chorus. Alternating between the two different meters every other line and successive lines is another option.
Rhyme Scheme Change: changing
rhyme patterns between verses and choruses and/or bridges
