macrostructure (outer form): larger form elements (like sections of a song or composition: verse, chorus, bridge, etc.) ... labeled using uppercase letters (A, B, C, ...). Therefore, the entire song is described as four sections, representing the AABA form.
microstructure (inner form): small sections within the macrostructure (phrases, subsections, etc.) ... labeled using lowercase letters (a, b, c, ...). In case, the microstructure is repeated within each strophe.
Forms Learned So Far ... and adding Strophic Form (with a few clarifications)
strophic form - a musical form in which the musical sections repeat over and over throughout the duration of the song, while the lyrics change; the vast majority of folk and folk rock songs fit into this form, as do most of the examples below. The way in which the music varies within each strophe (verse) varies from song to song, as demonstrated in the interactive media examples that follow.
AABA: this is the "macrostructure" version of the AABA form, meaning that the entire song can be described in four sections, represented by AABA ... an opening section (A) that is repeated (A), then followed by a contrasting section (B), concluding the piece with a return to the opening section (A).
through-composed
strophic - e.g., church hymn or folk song... strophic form typically used by folk singers
Here are three specific strophic form microstructures with which you are familiar already:
12-bar blues
aaba: this is the "microstructure" version of this form, which repeats within each strophe
I-vi-IV-V: this chord progression can occur in any section of a song. Sometimes (as shown on the I-vi-IV-V progression page), the I-vi-IV-V progression serves as the microstructure (inner form) for a stropic form. At other times, the I-vi-IV-V progression may occur in the verses and other times in the choruses.
If a stropic form is provided as one of the listening examples on an exam for this course, if the microstructure (inner form) is any of these (12-bar blues, aaba, or I-vi-IV-V), to get full credit, you should select the response that declares this microstructure: either "12-bar blues," "aaba," or "I-vi-IV=V." If you respond "strophic" instead, you will receive partial credit.
Strophic Forms
For all songs below, the macrostructure is "strophic" ... it is the microstructure where the musical variation occurs.
Blowin'
in the Wind
(#2 hit for Peter, Paul & Mary; Dylan's version didn't hit the charts)
16-bar stroph ... "aaab" inner form
a - How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?
a - Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps
in the sand?
a - Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannonballs fly before they're
forever banned?
b - The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind, the answer is blowin'
in the wind.
Don't
Think Twice, It's Alright
Dylan "love song"
sarcastic tone - "You just kinda wasted my precious time, but don't
think twice, it's all right."
outer form is also strophic, using an "aabc" inner form
first 2 phrases divide into two subphrases: "Well, it ain't no use to sit
and wonder why, babe ... If'n you don't matter anyhow."
My
Back Pages
repudiates the self-assured, protesting stance of his earlier recordings
(p. 190 in text)
6 stanzas all set to the same music; "aaab"
Variations of strophic form:
Positively
Fourth Street
(#7, 1965)
12 short stanzas made up of two 4-bar phrases (ab)
The Times
They Are a-Changin'
triple meter
six lines rather than the typical four 4-bar phrases
1st & 3rd lines of each stanza are 5-bars long!!
a
3rd strophe:
Come Senators, Congressmen, please heed the call (5 bars)
Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall.(4 bars)
a
For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled (5
bars)
There's a battle outside and it is ragin'.(4 bars)
b
It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls,
(4 bars)
For the times they are a-changin'. (4 bars)
Blues-based forms
Rainy
Day Women #12 & #35
(#2, 1966) - highest charting single of his
career ... his one other #2 song was "Like
a Rolling Stone"
12-bar blues - all five stanzas
what is the meaning of the word "stone"? ... high on drugs? persecuted?
Subterranean
Homesick Blues
(#39, 1965)
variation of the 16-bar blues (measures in red represent modification of
the typical 12-bar blues form):
||: I | | | |
| I | | | |
| IV | | I | | | |
| V | | I | :||
Verse-Chorus forms:
verses - same (similar) music with different
words
chorus - words & music always the same
Like
a Rolling Stone
(#2, 1965) - features Al Kooper (of Blood, Sweat, & Tears) on
organ
verse: five 4-measure phrases ("aabcd")
chorus: usually three 4-bar phrases (skips one subphrase after
1st verse)
Mr.
Tambourine Man
#1 hit for The Byrds in 1965 ... Dylan's version didn't chart
chorus - always 16-bars (four 4-bar phrases)
verses
20-bar verse structure - 16-bar form (four 4-bar phrases), extending
the 1st & 3rd lines repeat the 2nd subphrase (2-bars) with new words
2nd verse repeats subphrase of 1st line three times ... each
time with new words (total of 24 bars)
3rd verse extended to 26 measures
4th verse extended to 32 measures
Dylan uses verse-chorus & 12-bar blues (infrequently),
but strophic form prevails
