What's The Point Of A Prechorus?

It's a musical ramp.
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The prechorus is a relatively recent invention in Western popular music, but despite being late to the party, it quickly established itself as an essential part of our shared musical vocabulary on song form. A good prechorus not only elevates the chorus, it transforms the song, changing its narrative and musical structure to more effectively tell certain kinds of musical stories. But where did they come from, and more importantly, how do they work?
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[@12tone]

Some additional thoughts/corrections: 1) Scarborough Fair is an interesting example of a 2-part section because those two parts don't really mirror each other. That's somewhat unusual, but not unheard of or anything. 2) In Everett's conception, the R in SRDC stands for "restatement", not "response", but outside the corpus he was looking at, the second part isn't always similar to the first, so Summach proposed "response" as a more general descriptor. 3) I'm reading Big Iron in C# minor, but it could also be read in E major I guess. In that case, the development phrase _does_ include the IV chord, and it doesn't withhold the I chord. But with the intro having a big V-I in C# minor, every main-statement melody ending on C#, and those extra breath-bars on C#mi at the end of the first two statements, both featuring a prominent bass voice on C#, hearing it in E major just doesn't feel right to my ears. Yes, I know the tag at the end is on E, but that doesn't sound like the root to me. Your mileage may vary, though. 4) You can read Dr. Summach's paper here: mtosmt.org/issues/mto.11.17.3/mto.11.17.3.summach.html Also check out this other paper on prechoruses that didn't wind up making it into the final script but I did read it during the research process and it probably shaped my thought processes to some extent: mtosmt.org/issues/mto.22.28.3/mto.22.28.3.nobile.html

[@joshwilkesbooth]

bruh i can't watch these videos where you got Dracula's thumbnail.

[@tomsucksatpiano]

as a songwriter and self taught musician (self taught in the modern sense, as in, i googled everything), i have never felt that there's a functional difference between the major key and its relative minor key. i know there isn't one correct way to name and percieve things, so i do what works for me. this is probably due to the fact that it makes it a lot easier to use the Nashville Number System, which I invented for myself before discovering it was already a thing, as it makes a lot of sense to me not only for conceptualizing pop (etc) harmony but obviously it's great for communicating with other musicians. so anyway what i'm trying to get at is that to me, the phrase "hearing it in E major just doesn't feel right to my ears" doesn't make a lot of sense, because hearing it in E major (again, to me personally) is the exact same as hearing it in C#m, that's why they're relative keys. So in other words, the I chord isn't any more or less "home" or the key center than the vi chord is. They are both equally "home", and together they make up my broader conception of the key center. Like if I understand it correctly "the I chord" is normally synonomous with "the home chord"/"the key center" but for me it just doesn't make ANY sense to conceptualize it like that when our most fundamental system of western harmony is the DIATONIC (literally "two tonic" unless i'm misremembering the etymology of the word) system. so basically for diatonic harmony, I figure while there are two equally strong tonics, there isn't much reason to prioritize a different one of them in a different situation when I can just pick one, which makes in simpler, while still (in my opinion) conveying the exact same information. I think even for most of the other modes this holds true. A song with verses in A dorian could easily have a chorus in C lydian, and to my ears, a key change never occured, we have simply been in "C lydian + A dorian" this entire time. You can't really have one without also having the other to an equal extent. So then you also have like for example A phrygian and C myxolidian which are relative (unless I'm making a silly mistake, I had way too much caffeine today). As usual Locrian comes along and says "fuck you, i am going to make this unecessarily difficult by being weird" and doesn't fit into this neat system as far as I can tell. It's kind of on its own. Anyway I think I can see the other side of this, but sometimes it feels like music theory is totally absurd in its arbitrariness (also wow I had to google that word because I don't think I've ever written it but have always spoke it as "arbitraety/arbitraity" (not sure how it'd be spelled) but am finding 0 results for that on google) Wondering what you think of this because part of me feels like I'm just making shit up and everything I just said is totally wrong and stupid. Great video btw

[@timgaul2256]

Scarborough Fair works as a song structure for the video but I was distracted by knowing that it actually is an old folk song written well before Simon & Garfunkel’s record.

[@andycummings-music]

@@tomsucksatpiano I can totally dig where you're coming from in regards to relative minor keys, we all hear things differently and do whatever works for you, especially being self-taught (kudos for that btw, that takes real dedication) However, I learned as a youngster that the main difference between E major and C# minor, is the "tonal center". Simple as that, the root of C#m is not E. They share the same 7 notes (hence relative) but they technically aren't the same key at all. Still, I wouldn't say you're wrong, it's how you hear it. Even so, the difference between ii-V-I in E and ii°-V-i in C#m are like night and day.

[@jarblemagno]

@@andycummings-musicwhat I understand their point is more the difference between a ii - V - I in E and a iv - bVII - bIII in C#m (e.g same chords). They have trouble hearing a single note as a root to a whole song perhaps?

[@alitem3364]

The prechorus is the hype man for the chorus

[@jaanaberg6125]

word

[@CalebM-Music]

You right you just saved me 16 minutes my man

[@nedim_guitar]

Haha! Well said.

[@ltsmash1200]

Pin this comment.

[@Tha_kid_Ronan]

I wasted 16 minutes before I actually realize 😒

[@LimeGreenTeknii]

I often find the pre-chorus more fun and catchy than the chorus itself.

[@tob564]

Would that be the case if they weren't followed by a chorus? I bet it wouldn't. I do love a proper pre-chorus as well, though, don't get me wrong!

[@Kblmquist]

My favorite parts to play in a song is the pre-chorus and the bridge. If you have a brain like mine you will kinda see them as the same thing, and that little leading switch up is fun.

[@privatezeron]

@@Kblmquist exactly. It changes up most of the song and gives it more flavor.

[@kikiphallin]

@@tob564 Exactly, just thinking of the very first example in this video (living on a prayer), the prechorus is so good, but it wouldn't be the same without the release the chorus provides.

[@phillybri]

Bingo! Best example of this: “Talk To Ya Later” by The Tubes.

[@oskarileikos]

What about the post-chorus? That's also a very nice tool in songwriting

[@crobinso2010]

Never realized it before your comment, but my favorite song I wrote has a post-chorus.

[@GizzyDillespee]

Ah, the moral of the story, or musings from your higher self, or the narrator in Stand By Me, Dukes of Hazzard or Wonder Years (I won't judge, either way. Didn't both Christmas and Neverending Stories have omniscient narrators, too? Now I can't remember. Maybe it was the Aslan movies). Anyway, an anti-chorus is cool too, where the chorus is kind of a let down. I just saw one on Beato or Bennett, but I forget which song.

[@oskarileikos]

@@GizzyDillespee I once wrote a song that is like 9 minutes long and it has two pre-choruses, but neither of them lead to a chorus. They build up so strongly but then after both of them the song starts a completely new section with a totally new tempo and feel.

[@oskarileikos]

@ghost mall well I'm thinking of The New Day by Greta Van Fleet. There are two sections that are either pre-chorus and chorus or chorus and post-chorus. Listen to it and you'll know what I'm talking about. On a first glance, it might feel like there's a pre-chorus and then chorus; but somehow - and I can't explain this very well - the latter part feels like a post-chorus after a chorus.

[@Aleedis226]

@@oskarileikos Huh! I just went & listened to it & I see what you mean!

[@DeeFeeCee]

I write pre-pre-choruses to make my pre-choruses even more pre-.

[@peterg5383]

bro, i heard you like prechorus, so i wrote a prechorus for your prechorus so you can have preprechorus before your prechorus

[@gcwens]

what about writing pre-pre-pre-choruses to make the pre-pre-choruses even more pre-?

[@shiser59]

@@gcwens _Yo, dawg, I heard you like pre-choruses..._

[@WeyounSix]

God I love the pre-chorus it's so fun

[@GizzyDillespee]

Well then, God probably loves YOU, because the prechorus is ehverwhere right now, even if the don't change the chords (don't feel slighted - if they don't change the chords for the prechorus, they're SURELY not changing them for the chorus either. You'd think, "no farking way" but seriously, it's as if pop stars pay producers by the chord. "How much for this song if you take away all but 4 chords? Okay, that's still too much. Can we get only 2 chords?"

[@leaveitorsinkit242]

It’s crazy though how much mileage you can get from just one chord progression even in a verse- pre-chorus - chorus - bridge format. This is essentially what differentiates beat makers from elite level pop producers- their ability to flesh one chord progression (or idea) into a song with various sections that combine to tell a cohesive story.

[@funksoulmonkey]

The pre-chorus approach reached its ultimate expression with Ballroom Blitz (1973) where they gave the pre-chorus its own pre-pre chorus

[@AJ-wh1tw]

“They’re kind of everywhere” *draws a Zubat*😂

[@efficiencygaming3494]

I always imagined the prechorus as an "escalator" between a low verse and a high chorus. It's a point where energy or tension is built up ahead of the chorus so that it can be released over the chorus. A lot of alternative rock and grunge songs from the '90s used the prechorus to great effect. One of my favorite examples is in "Anyone Can Play Guitar" by Radiohead ("Here we are with our runnin' and confusion/And I don't see no confusion anywhere").

[@RorxorProductions]

Has anyone made a Spotify playlist of the song examples? Would love to hear a progression of these concepts developing!

[@bobbauer7928]

STP's Plush (and almost every song on Core) uses the prechorus so very well. The feel, chord progression, melody, lyrics, harmony, all seem to do what you are describing here, and bring us to a chorus that hearkens back to the verse sonically without replicating it.

[@joelsteen5941]

I second this!

[@clipPRmusic]

STP is probably one of those grunge bands teenagers casually listen to

[@newmanana]

Also, what’s the point of a post-chorus. I’d love to hear your discourse on the validity or reasoning behind the drum break in Sting’s “Englishman in New York” which is an otherwise amazing song.

[@lucasimmons075]

Seconded. Would be great to see why it works so well. The Chorus-Bridge-Instrumental-Drum Break-Verse sequence is so weird but also my favourite part of the song.

[@dittmanrat]

@Luca Simmons My initial reasoning for this is that it helps the directionality of the piece. The bridge and instrumental sections both seem to be adding energy to the piece. The bridge increases volume and amount of instruments. The instrumental ducks down a bit at first, but it's still building rhythmically with a new drum part and a woodwind (sax? clarinet?) solo that's also escalating rhythmically. The next verse starts much softer than this. If you went straight from that solo to the verse, it would be a very abrupt roller coaster drop and all the buildup would be for nothing. Instead, there's a drum break, which is loud to satisfy the built up energy. But, it's also steady and much simpler, so it lulls your mind into its pattern instead of adding more energy. And since the instrumentation is so different, it feels like you're in a sort of limbo state between sections. The transition is less of a sudden drop that way, and more like getting on a bus during the drum break and getting off somewhere else. Also, I haven't looked into the chords, but maybe the solo chords wouldn't have led nicely to the verse. The drum break has NO chords which allows the song to reset harmonically. Tldr: the drum break is a transition that allows a palate cleanse between two sections that wouldn't fit together nicely.

[@Steveofthejungle8]

It’s supposedly represents being in New York and hearing a car boating hip hop drive by

[@rohiogerv22]

Just in terms of feel, the earliest formal component that reads as "prechorus-y" to my brain is the fugal bridge. I know the fugal bridge is, well, a bridge, but I don't think a typical Bach fugue sounds much like how it's described on paper. The first subject and answer are the piece slowly building in, and it's the return to the subject that really feels like the first "drop" in a fugue to me. And because, when it exists, the bridge goes between the first answer and the return to the subject, it feels somewhat like a prechorus.

[@evanbelcher]

Somewhat relevant note 12tone I feel like with your vocal background you would really enjoy the "cover" of Do You Really Want to Hurt Me by Tyler Christian. Tyler is a student at Berklee and for some class or club they did a complete rearrangement of that song into a rock tune and it's absolutely incredible. (Somewhat relevant because it's got a fantastic prechorus)

[@joshuaferry2095]

Tux being the picture for “another option” is wonderful

[@SameAsAnyOtherStranger]

Oh oh. I know. Well, at least for "Living on a Prayer." The chorus is an thing intended to be anticipated and pops in and out pretty much uniformly. On "Living on a Prayer," the pre-chorus is anticipated but alarmingly replaced with the guitar talk-box monkey sounds giving it an extra amount of impact.

[@skakirask]

I've almost always written a pre-chorus. I usually think of it as a transition from the "details" of the verse to the "thesis" of the chorus.

[@fakshen1973]

Duran Duran in the 1980's... especially songs like "The Reflex".. the song sections always seemed to build after the verse and that's exactly whst the prechorus was for. There was no way to jump to that level of payoff without them. Nick Rhodes is a master class in pop composition.

[@nickb20]

“They’re kinda everywhere” *draws Zubat* It’s the small things

[@badgasaurus4211]

Don’t Look Back In Anger has the best prechorus ever written

[@reillywalker195]

Noel Gallagher has written several songs with great pre-choruses. "Wonderwall", "D'You Know What I Mean?", "Stand by Me", and "Don't Go Away" come to mind as examples.

[@_mon_tego]

Red velvet’s psycho, too!

[@ambientideas1]

The prechorus is like showing the listener a photo of sugar before shovelling a spoonful of it into his ears.

[@lilycarone5116]

Interesting points! Thanks for sharing🎶☺️

[@jjiacobucci]

A great tutorial. Analysis of song structure is seldom discussed. Thank you for a boat load of information

[@midtown6974]

Listening to Yellowcard made me realize how good and catchy pre-choruses can be. It always has me singing along and getting hyped right before the chorus! A good pre-chorus is a must for a lot of that early 2000's rock sound

[@Rome.Monroe]

Prechorus is always my favorite part of the song to write. Usually people say those are the best parts of my songs too

[@kartavianmacrath7219]

I enjoy going and listening to the song from the video after. There is always something there I did not realize said what it said or hit the nerve it hit. Great video.

[@IRLPinkiePie]

omg the kid cosmic drawing... love the references you pull for your illustrations

[@michaelclements5793]

"Kinda everywhere" = zubat. Brilliant. 🤣

[@jackprotti]

@12tone just want to say you rock !

[@evanlecomte3106]

Great explanation and video. Thank you. I would like to say the most important part of creating music is there are no rules when it comes to structure. Nothing more than a modern day music myth. Write with your soul not instructional videos or because some so called music scholar tells you to. If you are are already thinking Intro/Verse/Pre-Chorus/Chorus/Verse/Pre-Chorus/Chorus/Bridge/Outro when you start writing you have already forcing something unnatural. Let your creativity flow before limiting its potential ✨️ Don't just add a Pre-Chorus or Bridge etc... because that's now industry standard. "Use your ears and feel it in your soul" Happy Creating Superstars 🙏

[@wellurban]

It seems clear from this history that prechoruses have been a thing since the 80s and probably much earlier, but I was wondering: when did the term itself come into common use? I remember reading about song structure in the 80s, and it’s possible that the sources I was reading were out of date, but I remember verse, chorus, intro, outro and bridge being discussed, but don’t remember hearing the term “prechorus” until well into the 2000s.

[@ifer1280]

Interesting! Could you make a video about the post-chorus as well? That one always confuses me functionally. In September, it has noticeably less energy than the chorus, while in Chelsea Dagger it has so much energy that it could be considered a second even bigger chorus. Neither seem transitional, nor do they feel like a bridge.

[@rmdodsonbills]

I was thinking as I listened that sacred music often (like *almost* always) comes in "verse/chorus/repeat as necessary" form. This was such a big part of my musical formation growing up, I thought it was weird when popular music would do the verse twice and then go to the Chorus (like in "The Longest Time" by Billy Joel). I don't know if this would change the conclusions you get tackling it from the direction you did, but I would be interested to see what happens when you come at it from that direction.

[@ToryMulch]

Nearly spit coffee all over my keyboard when you made a reference to The Prisoner!

[@LunarMoth]

Interesting so far. I think I'd love to see an analysis of anything by Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

[@kaitlyn__L]

Okay, it turns out everything I improvise is an SRDC sentence. Even though I never heard that term, I’m sure I picked it up from being “classically trained” in big band sax. Where improvisation and composition isn’t the focus, but playing with a large group many times over and over is. I often got frustrated at my “failure” to come up with a compelling chorus I felt okay repeating over and over… but I think this has helped me just accept that it’s okay to switch up the “development” part every time and that’s totally musically valid too. Maybe I’ll even finish a track instead of starting half a dozen new ones…!

[@ProductBasement]

I wrote a song recently that includes a pre-chorus that is as long as the verses. The reason is to heighten the meaning the lyrics in the verses and prepare the listener for a pretty drastic change in tempo and melody

[@expansivegymnast1020]

I LOVE a good prechorus!!!!!! I'm a big rap fan and it's used rarely but when it's used its SO GOOD

[@-E42-]

the scribbles are a great visualization of vivid association thinking ... or how it is diagnosed I the contemporary environment .. "ADHD". I am really glad to see someone do the ideas left and right of the main train of thought some justice finally! :) thank you

[@jjiacobucci]

Enjoyed the doodles !

[@mikefutcher]

So here's a structure y don't talk about enough: Buildup-brakedown-buildup Two really good examples would by Prodigy -Firestarter and sorcerer's apprentice.

[@likebot.]

"... the 12-bar Blues pattern..." proceeds to draw a crossroads... Deep.

[@silicononsapphire9715]

From my perspective as an (amateur) composer the most important function of the pre-chorus is destabilizing the loop. Since you did a lot of writing about chord loops, you know that a good chord loop can feel great, groovy and super comfortable to sit in, but of course can eventually feel stale. But breaking out of such a loop into another loop in a satisfying manner is hard - there is this effect of "why the hell did you move me here, that previous loop sounded so good!?". So that's why you throw in a transitional section, that is very clearly directional and not a loop, less comfortable, but the feeling of discomfort is suspended, because there is this excitement of "we are going somewhere". Then you drop the listener into a new looped section and they feel like "oh, this one's comfortable too" without comparing it to the first loop. I know you have suggested this a few times in your video, but I felt it was lacking the direct connection to the chord loop topic. My song "Moon and Mist" (you can check it out on my channel) started out as a very strong chord progression, which I could improvise over for ages, but couldn't turn it into a song, because I didn't know how to write a new section that didn't feel bad compared to it. I spent several months trying to come up with "where do we go now". I even remember bothering you during one of your's Twitter Q&A about how would you continue that particular chord progression. But eventually, the answer I looked for was to write a pre-chorus - a through composed section, that does not feel as good and it doesn't try to. I even ended up dropping the listener back into the original loop without ever writing a proper chorus or B-section, because after recording solos on top the song felt good and varied enough without it.

[@cruxofthecookie]

Why do you write with your right hand in the title segment (0:52) but your left hand in your videos? BTW another great video. Damn fine work, as always.

[@cafe.cedarbeard]

Oh wow, this obviates my struggle with simple musics that are so popular. My first training in music when I was a young musician was in the songs of the 80's, when the 50's were quoted in many a beat and swing, but these narrative developments hadn't yet penetrated the lyrics of popular music. It makes plain also the way albums like Tales From Topographic Oceans are so widely dissed by people who can only digest candy, songs that exhibit all their chords and key ideas in the first 4 bars or less. My musical beginning was progressive metal like Iron Maiden and Metallica, and then Rush, Yes, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles. 12 bar blues is cool for one or two songs, but my musical native habitat has pre chorus already normalized, I mean how to you elevate the chorus to cosmic height without it? Jimi Hendrix, blasting so loud, and what a divinely detailed touch he had, worthy of that amplification was already old news when I started listening in. I had no idea. I read The Hobbit when I was 10. Queensryche Operation Mindcrime, Pink Floyd The Wall, Iron Maiden Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, Fates Warning No Exit; narrative concept album was introduced to me in my neophyte phase of musicianship, so I had no idea how unpopular it was when I started digging it. West Coast, especially Portland and suburbs is so Punk it hurts. Punk is less than Strophic. 12 bars? They can only deal with one bar.

[@cafe.cedarbeard]

Astrology chimes in with the data point of the fact that these developments took center stage while Neptune was in Sagittarius. Follow me for a moment if you will; when the Beatles toured America their little stage sets were drowned out by the screaming crowds. By the time Jimi took the stage there were stacks of Marshalls at the call of the musician, and bigger PA systems. The seventies was all space and expansion and big jets; Led Zeppelin had no problem roaring over the noise of the crowds. Neptune enters Capricorn, the 80's with the rising tide of corporate control reigning in the chaos and experiments of the 70's, Star Wars and all that, 2001 the movie before that. SPACE! Star Trek. Neptune in Aquarius, Pro tools, digital tracks, Napster, computer takeover from what was only decades before still only pure analog with horns and drums and strings and pianos and things. The associations of Sagittarius include this expanded narrative, the long and winding road, the Alchemical process that goes through multiple stages of evolution before it reaches conclusion. Jimi Page was aware of how to construct rituals. Many people diss his occult things due to widespread ignorance. The music is so great from them because all four loved her so well and truly that she blessed them with some of the most iconic songs of remembered music history. The Beatles were the same, and a few others. Jon Anderson of Yes is one, the way he still beams with the joy of being alive. I see a revival of real music coming with Neptune leaving Pisces in a few years, to enter the first fire sign, Aries since the 70's. Gen X holds the natal frequency of Neptune in high minded philosophical Sagittarius, Jimi's Sun sign. I'm one who still holds the skills to play real music, and I can tell you are too Mr. 12 Tone. I have an instinctual feel for the things you describe here so your detailed data is a revelation to me, and thank you for that. This is the positive side of the digital, that we can, if we focus, deepen any discipline important to us.

[@olivergretz]

Great video, thank you! Can you recommend a book that also deals with this topic?

[@Inverse_to_Chaos]

“Why can’t the story ever be simple?” That’s history for you: all of the details must be acquired for one to fully understand how the concept is presently constructed. :-)

[@riverluvv9179]

you should make a video on a wallows song !! i find their music so interesting and itd be so cool to see your opinions

[@stalefurset9444]

People no longer have stories to tell, they have albums to fill.

[@lisalegato0109]

Yeah, pretty much.

[@SneaselGaming]

Pain of Salvation - Rope Ends One of the greatest pre-choruses in music history.

[@jmusick848]

have you done a video on bridge sections?

[@Dionysius8421]

All the talk of "transition" and you play Big Iron This is pandering and i love it

[@HubLocationSound]

I’d argue Del Shannons Runaway has no pre-chorus but instead a Post-chorus. A pre-chorus typically adds tension. But in Runaway, that 2nd section couldn’t possibly lift any more. I love how that tune toggles between minor/major key.

[@danielfitzgerald2561]

For a great pre-chorus check out Can't Stand Me Now by The Libertines

[@hans8856]

I know you probably won't read this, but I'd be interested to see your take of Scaramouche's theme from Genshin Impact. There's a lot going on in the various phases that I think might interest you

[@poketoscoparentesesloparen7648]

I love that the symbol for change is the fire nation.

[@tugrequired]

You've got to love that KZbin doesn't know what fair use is

[@MoPoppins]

This channel is like Vihart explaining music theory.

[@dekofschipper8412]

I tend to think of rock or pop songs as (classical) sonate forms compressed to 3 minutes. Basically all the sections are there already.

[@iamlordapollo]

I can't wait for the 2 minute video explaining a post-chorus as the same thing only it ramps down back to the verse

[@TheLukster100]

Love that you draw a zubat for something that “appears all the time” 😂

[@TuttiMadeIt]

Could you do 'Understanding Theme from New York, New York' next? I would absolutely love to hear you break down that song by Frank Sinatra. @12tone

[@wuldntuliktonoptb6861]

Pre chorus to a breakdown to another prechorus to a melodic clean chorus followed by a breakdown. The prechorus really helps as a build up.

[@SteinGauslaaStrindhaug]

If a bridge is a part that just bridges two parts; maybe the prechorus could be called a staircase; since it takes you from the verse up to the chorus?

[@lisalegato0109]

Video idea: most common chord progressions, and why every chord progression goes down, then up.

[@willw750]

The way you hold your pen makes me physically anxious 😂 I have problems.....

[@TheRealFoxeR]

Totally unrelated, but could you do a video on "Bleed" by Meshuggah?

[@lovasip]

Spaceman from Babylon Zoo is a weird one. For one thing it has a rave intro and outro. In an indie rock song. The other weird thing is the TRIPLE prechorus. Come on, man, get to the good bit, don't tease me like that.

[@alexwestconsulting]

Ha crazy, I was just analyzing "Living on a Prayer" last week with respect to its pre-chorus.

[@lukestratton5805]

I always feel like these structures must come from limericks...2 matching parts, then a sections which moves faster and has a different rhyming pattern, then a conclusion. I'm not enough of a poet to back this up though...just a thought I always have! Lots of verses in modern songs follow "Limerick form" (almost)

[@AntHenson]

I wouldn't worry too much about a Leaves That Are Green copyright claim, Billy Bragg got away with it 🤷

[@sirskinny]

dont often ask for songs but, could you analyse Lateralis by Tool?

[@AxeBearingVoyager]

Could you please do Brothers in Arms by dire straits? It's hauntingly beautiful and ethereal in a way i can't explain

[@OG_Mereles]

A 'transitional bridge' is like path that leads to a walkway.

[@fernandomaiasilvadias8199]

A good example of prechorus in a song using a single chord loop, only changing texture and melody, is Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit "Hello, how low" section.

[@mlk0-0]

Imagine a world without prechoruses 😔 Literally one of my favorite things, they're essential

[@PaulSchwarz]

@3:08 is that a pre-chorus-saurus?

[@matthewdowney5471]

I always heard that Bon Jovi example as the start of the chorus, not as a different section in and of itself. It's an interesting concept .

[@lastgunman5270]

Bon Jovi have so many great Pre-Choruses

[@fnjesusfreak]

I always treated the pre-chorus as part of the chorus myself.

[@realwalterwhite6406]

You should make a video about paranoid android

[@nedim_guitar]

Man, I suck at pre choruses. And bridges. And I can barely fit together a verse and a chorus sometimes haha!

[@spddiesel]

I had to stop because I was laughing too hard at around 4:45. I forgot we were in the 50's yet, so it's gonna be Chuck Berry and not ELO. Did not sound like I expected 🤣🤣🤣

[@bentdog]

He should play more music as example. Do videos get taken down or demonetized?

[@teucer915]

What's the difference between a pre-chorus and the beginning of a long chorus?

[@mep0]

yo for april fools he should do thirteen tone and use the c clef (alto/tenor/whatever else)

[@lastgunman5270]

"Strophe" is just german for verse - of a song. A poem verse is in fact a "Vers" in german (plural "Verse")

[@randysalber4960]

I was expecting some discussion of the "Middle Eight"

[@rateeightx]

I have seen examples of a "Pre-Chorus" that doesn't really do it's job as a pre-chorus, Something distinct from the verse, And between it and the chorus, But which doesn't really provide any build-up for said chorus, Effectively making it just another type of verse, But as there's not really any way to notate distinct forms of verse it's called a pre-chorus as there's not really anything better to call it. Definitely not the most common thing but I have seen it. Perhaps this could've developed from the two- or three-part strophic form when combined with verse-chorus structure? Not entirely related sidenote which I felt like mentioning, Recently I found a song containing a section I can only think to best describe as an "Inter-Chorus"; There's a set of three distinct (to my ears) sections between each verse, The first and last of which both feel like choruses, While different from eachother, Whereas the second one is kind of more calm, I suppose it does perform a similar function to a pre-chorus, But you can't exactly have a pre-chorus after a chorus, And it also performs somewhat of a post-chorus or bridge function as well.

[@thechoripankiller]

so a prechorus is basically musical edging

[@johnb6723]

Maxwell's Silver Hammer from the famous Abbey Road album (1969) seems to me to have a pre-chorus in it.

[@lukeserrano62]

a-ha have written so many beautiful prechoruses.

[@colinedmunds2238]

BIG IRON!

[@lars5174]

Can someone please explain the difference between a bridge and a prechorus? I've been using those two terms interchangeably for years and many other musicians I've worked with have too. Only just recently I have been called out for it.

[@Lena-dl4qw]

your pen grip is melting my brain

[@nickb20]

“Get to the point, Jon.” 😂😂

[@Jenisonc]

Most delineated: draws ant. Genius.

[@danielpittman889]

Bitchin' hoopsnake at 0:40

[@jonathanmong4927]

Now talk about Don't Stop Believin' only using a single chorus and literally having the prechorus go back to the verse

[@matthewvreeke9872]

Could you do an analysis of Kashmir by Led Zeppelin?

[@MoDebris60]

If there's a better pre-chorus than the one in Billie Jean by Michael Jackson (“People always told me be careful …”) I've yet to hear it.