I think I’m just now noticing it’s something I’ve become, whether intentional or not. I’m not well-known, therefore, not “known” for much of anything, but it may be one of the things that define my style of songwriting. I guess I didn’t know it was something you couldn’t (or shouldn’t) do. Know the rules, then break them, they say. I’ve never learned many rules of songwriting in the first place, but if I had, my tendency would have been to disregard them and do things my own way.
I’ve thrown an “extra” chorus (with new unique lyrics) onto the end of many of my songs, for no apparent reason, quite a few times. In my case, it’s something I do that most music fans may not notice. And it’s one of several things that have become frequently-occurring devices I’ve used in the craft of songwriting without paying much attention to it along the way.
What I’m talking about is same music as the regular (first and second) chorus, but with new, distinct words. It’s not that I thought you were supposed to, necessarily, but I may have misinterpreted some advice along the way in my songwriting journey that made me think it was at least allowed. Moreso than for that reason, I also believe it’s because I often write too much lyrical content, and can’t live without including it, despite not needing it for the song structure, so I add it as an extra part or section at the end of a song. It’s not to be confused with the actual instrumental ending to the song, nor an outro with either a unique instrumental and/or lyrical ending.
I also think that early on in this hobby, pre-internet, there wasn’t much information available about how to write songs, and I misinterpreted advice I gathered from various sources when they would be describing verse, chorus, bridge, etc., then say “…and out” to describe the last section of a song. What the heck does that mean? When the person providing the instruction is not good, and you don’t interrupt for clarification, misunderstandings happen.
Adding to the confusion, you may learn about a “coda” which can either mean a symbol that takes you to another section in sheet music notation, or an ending of a song that repeats a hook, or an important part of a song, or a chorus, and is only used once, and resolves the song somehow. It can also get mixed up with an “outro” in rock, or a “tag” in jazz. Ignorance of these things keep you blissfully jingling all the way.
Song forms are described by listing the sections in an order, usually vertically top-to-bottom, with each part or section on its own line. I was confused as to whether this meant to simply repeat the chorus again, or write a separate “Out Chorus” as the final lyrical part before some type of instrumental outro ending. So, I started writing unique variations of the chorus after the last repetition of the regular chorus. Further complicating this is that section labels will be marked as Chorus 1, Chorus 2, etc. instead of just Repeat – which made me wonder does the 2 just mean the second time the same chorus appears in the song?
It reminds me of my brief stint in law school when a professor described IRAC, he would say what are the Issues, what are the Rules, what is the Analysis, what is the Conclusion, etc., and because of the way he instructed it, I wrongfully assumed you were to write all of the issues first, then all of the rules, then all of the analyses, then all of the conclusions, in that order, not one IRAC at a time. It didn’t make sense at the time, but the way it was delivered made me take it literally, thinking there must be a reason.
Herein I’m acknowledging something that causes me to stand out as a songwriter, something that makes me different. It’s really only noticeable if you know something about song construction, but if you do, and you have the patience to listen to my whole catalog, you’ll notice it’s something I do more than just occasionally. It might not be allowed, but I do it anyway. However, I’m not alone. Other songwriters do a similar thing in numerous different ways I’ll try to explain.
When you’re unsigned to a record label, you have no A&R person or producer telling you what or how to write or arrange or record, and as a solo artist, you don’t have to consider any band member input. As a result, it’s almost as if the conventional rules don’t apply to you, or at least they don’t really matter.
Astute listeners might include this – along with several other key elements that set me apart from most - when attempting to describe my style as an artist. Not sure if it’s really a thing you can do, or whether it’s allowed or not, and although I doubt I invented it, I don’t hear other artists do this. I’ll need to describe what I mean exactly by what I call an extra chorus.
Sometimes you just do what feels right, and along the way, some of your choices become almost a part of your signature sound or style by accident. Over a long period of time, I’ve noticed some things that stand out for me as an artist. Acoustic guitar solos would be one of them, and to go along with that, for some of them, I just play the melody. It just sounded like the thing to do at the time, and now I realize I’ve made that choice quite often.
Another is that I will throw in what I call an “extra chorus” near the end of a song. Seemed like the thing to do at the time. It probably goes against songwriting rules, but I’ve done it anyway, on quite a few of my songs. Often, I find myself with more lyrical content than the song calls for, and I just can’t not include it, I can’t part with it. It just happens, so I find a way to leave it in.
You’ve got to find your own way. Without any formal instruction or training, you’re essentially winging it all the time. Go with your gut, but listen to how songs you like by other artists are constructed. The structure is always flexible anyway.
I'm verbose when I speak or write. I've been accused of having diarrhea of the mouth before. I can get on a roll, and I've been known to beat a dead horse. This is weird, because I'm somewhat of a quiet loner who seriously likes to just sit around and read a lot. I'm not a social butterfly. I crave time to myself. I don't get out much, and I like it that way. A homebody. People I work with probably think I'm reserved.
Yet, when I get fired up about something, I can easily be long-winded, often realizing it a little too late. I've been the life of a party many a time in my reckless youth, but as I've mellowed with age, and particularly since giving up alcohol, I refrain from crowds and large group gatherings.
I used to be way more of a bullshitter than I am now. Once in a social situation, particularly one-on-one, I can hang with conversations pretty well though. So, I'm likely an introvert, but once you get to know me, and especially when it's a topic I'm interested in, I can transform myself into quite the talker.
As a writer, I'm guilty of cramming a lot of lyrical content into my songs, which is maybe more of a Bob Dylan type of approach, but he usually throws in a million verses, and I’m a little different. It seems like however you want to end a song is up to you, and you can repeat a chorus, introduce a new chorus, fade out the song with a chorus (which I’ve also done), do a separate outro with words, or just do an abrupt ending. The common denominator is that I have too much lyrical content I can’t part with, so the song is longer, and with the wrong tempo, there can be issues.
When recording, I'm also guilty of playing the song too fast and having to cram too many syllables into the available space with my singing, which never sounds good. I’m working on that, trying to notice it early, and adjust before I have too many tracks recorded.
With the way I write songs, I sometimes repeat the same thing in a different way without introducing anything new, particularly with verses. Second verses should add new info, and mine don't always, which I know is a faux pas. I’m working that as well.
Arguably even worse, however, is that I am prone to doing the same thing with choruses. Not the first two in a song, but that last one. Let me explain.
I typically start with too much lyrical content and then whittle it down. For example, I usually write way too many lines and have to combine/merge/reduce/eliminate/cut/paste, etc.. Sometimes recycling can happen.
Frequently, I write bridge sections for songs, which is not that common anymore. I'll do pre-choruses as well. Song forms, or variations on song forms, allow additional lyrical content, which I always have too much of. I like to take advantage of using lots of different song parts or section types.
I prefer short intros, but I also prefer instrumental break sections, typically after a bridge or second chorus, in which I'll typically include an acoustic guitar solo. Again, guitar solos are not common anymore either, especially ones that employ acoustic guitars, and sometimes instead of improvising, I'll just play the melody. These things are all a little weird, and what make me different than most.
Because I always have too much content, sometimes I just can't live without including some of it, and sometimes that manifests itself as an "extra" chorus at the end of a song. This is admittedly a strange, uncommon thing to do.
An "out chorus" is a different thing than what I do, I think. Particularly in jazz, it supposedly just means returning to the main melody after improvisation, which I do, but few of my songs are in the jazz realm.
A "post chorus" is supposedly something that is similar to the chorus, yet distinguishable. This can literally refer to the second chorus, or the second part of a two-part chorus. I’ve done a couple songs that truly have a two-part chorus, but I’m not referring to those.
Sometimes in R&B, you'll have a vocalist who sort of riffs on the chorus again after the second chorus with "vocables" - oohs and aahs or whatever in place of the chorus lyrics, while maintaining the same chorus melody. I don't think I've ever done this. Sometimes they’re only repeating one line from the chorus for their “out” chorus.
To further complicate this, there is I think what is known as a "detached" post-chorus, which has a distinct melody and lyrics from the regular chorus. Mine aren't like that either.
Mine don't come after each chorus, only the last chorus. So, I don't know what the music scholars would call it. They have the same melody, but new lyrics. I call it an "extra chorus". It doesn't really serve as a conclusion or outro, music-wise, and it's usually followed by an instrumental ending to the song somehow, but it's near the end.
After looking this up on Wikipedia real quick, I think I learned that what I do might be considered a "hybrid" post-chorus. Technically. It doesn’t matter, and yet, it can be confusing. Most won’t ever know the difference or be able to hear that it’s unconventional because they simply won’t notice hearing it at all.
It's a way to include that extra lyrical content I couldn't bring myself to weed out. I felt I had to include it. It's often a way to sort of repeat the idea expressed in the regular chorus in a different way, while introducing some new information. They sometimes serve as a way to summarize or conclude the song, lyrically, but don't necessarily add any new ideas.
It's unusual, and unnecessary, but I can't help it. I think I'm only now realizing how many songs I've added an extra chorus to. It's several. Maybe as many as 10.
While reading about this type of thing online, I’ve learned that it’s a thing now, almost a trend in recent music. Like that Ed Sheeran guy, for example, uses this type of device in his songs. I had no idea.
I've occasionally done this for a long time, and never really thought about it until now. No one said I couldn't, and I might've been doing it before it became a popular thing. Could almost be considered a part of my signature style, I guess. Just like occasionally using accordion, harmonica, marimba, and ukulele in my records, or including a bridge section.
Scott Cooley - the short intros, second verses that say what the first did in a different way, syllabic cramming singing, frequent bridges, frequent instrumental breaks, sometimes with melody on acoustic guitar in place of improvised solo, and now -the extra chorus guy.
I haven't really done any of these things intentionally, they just happened. I’ve got both a signature style, and a lot of room for improvement, I know. Sometimes you just do what you do, let songs happen, and patterns begin to emerge.
I’ve attempted a lot of genres, styles, song forms, and variations on song forms. I’ve varied the instrumentation, etc. It’s good to stretch yourself, and venture into new territories to see what works, what sticks, what resonates. Along the way, you still sound like you.
When I revisit my best songs, I don’t notice that they all have anything in common. They’re all over the place. So, it’s not like every time I stick with one genre it always works better than others. More than anything, it’s the songs with the best concept and lyrics that always stand out, regardless of any other choices I make musically or structurally.
When the basis of your songs is the strumming of an acoustic guitar, it can make all your songs sound the same. I try to mix things up as much as I’m able to.
For me, it makes my songs a little different than most. Sometimes admitting your faults makes you realize those faults make you who you are, and further, they’re not really faults at all. Would I leave off some of those extra choruses now in retrospect? No.
So, I’m happy to offer some considerable variety from song to song, album to album, and yet, some signature elements have emerged because they are more common, or are at least becoming used more frequently. The extra chorus thing is one of them. I made this “mistake” in many songs, but now I view them as happy accidents.
