Examples of AABA Form

Spotify playlist for these musical examples; songs identified by asterisks (**) are not currently available from Spotify.  

To play any of these examples, simply click on the song title or on one of the video icons -- or -- next to the song title. I would like to express my appreciation to Eric Yates, who assisted in making the examples from a template I created in Flash, which I have since converted to MP4 video format, since Flash no longer functions in modern-day browsers.

Macrostructure ("AABA" form represents the entire song):

• Otis Redding - "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay"
• Aretha Franklin - "Respect"
• Percy Sledge - "When a Man Loves a Woman"
• Ray Charles - "Drown in My Own Tears"
• Carla Thomas - "Gee Whiz, Look at His Eyes"
• Solomon Burke - "Cry to Me"
• The Cardinals - "The Door is Still Open"
• The Drifters - "Save the Last Dance for Me"
• Doris Troy - "Just One Look"
• Barbara Lewis - "Baby I'm Yours"
• Ben E. King - "I (Who Have Nothing)"
• Chuck Willis - "What Am I Livin' For?"
• Gerry & the Pacemakers - "Ferry Cross the Mersey"
• The Searchers - "Needles & Pins"

Microstructure ("aaba" form repeats musically with each chorus/strophe):

• Fats Domino - "I'm Walkin'"
• live recording for comparison
• Freddy & the Dreamers - "I'm Telling You Now"
• **Frank Culley - "Cole Slaw"
• **Willis Jackson - "Gator's Groove"
• Ruth Brown - "Teardrops From My Eyes"
• LaVerne Baker - "Play It Fair" and "Tweedle Dee"
• The Coasters - "Charlie Brown"
• The Drifters - "This Magic Moment" and "Up on the Roof"
• Peter Gordon - "A World Without Love"

Other AABA (macro)/aaba (micro) examples:

• The Clovers - "One Mint Julep" and "Lovey Dovey"
  • both of these examples by The Clovers proceed one time through the "aaba" microstructure, then repeat ONLY the "ba" portion of the "aaba" microstructure
• The Cardinals - "Shouldn't I Know" and "Wheel of Fortune"
• both of these examples by The Cardinals proceed one time through the "aaba" microstructure, then repeat ONLY the "ba" portion of the "aaba" microstructure
• The Coasters - "Poison Ivy"
• this example by The Coasters proceeds one time through the "aaba" microstructure, then repeat ONLY the "ba" portion of the "aaba" microstructure

Other examples (practice hearing on your own, without the visual cues):

• Hank Williams - "Hey, Good Lookin'" and "Your Cheatin' Heart"
• The Penguins - "Earth Angel" (notice that the A sections of this song incorporates a I-vi-IV-V progression!)
• Rolling Stones - "19th Nervous Breakdown" (A section is a 16-bar blues!)
• Aretha Franklin - "What a Friend We Have in Jesus"
• Clint Black - verses of "Put Yourself in My Shoes"

Altered versions (can you hear it?):

• Fats Domino - "Blueberry Hill" (begins with AABA presentation, then alters form)