In the first part of this series, I opened up a conversation about songs and the craft of songwriting. We ran through a couple of laundry lists of types of songs and genres, and I ended with an example of a personal favourite from the endless soundtrack of songs I count on for wisdom, counsel and company to face life's ups and downs.

This time I thought we'd delve a little deeper into the nature of songs and what makes them tick by looking at some of the main elements we find in songs: their underlying forms. The structure of most songs makes use of repeating patterns, patterns that are musical, vocal, or lyrical. Repetition helps us remember things, of course, and songs are the ultimate over-achievers when it comes to getting us to remember them; just think of the jingles, TV theme songs or pop song hooks that are embedded in your psyche as deeply as any of your favourite childhood memories!

A basic repeating element, typically both musical and lyrical, is the verse. Many story songs, especially ballads, consist of nothing but a series of verses. In a ballad, the lyrics tend not to repeat much, if at all, but the melody in the verse usually does. Traditional English folk music is full of great ballads, of which Lord Franklin by the late John Renbourn is but one fine example among many, with the added bonus that it has a Canadian history connection. This song category is rich and diverse: think of Gordon Lightfoot's epic, haunting Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, or the dark surrealism and literary genius of Bob Dylan's Desolation Row as two somewhat different examples.

At the other end of the spectrum are songs without verses and very little or no repetition of melody or lyrics, songs that unspool almost like musical short stories. Many arias exemplify this, as do some famous jazz standards such as Stephen Sondheim's My Funny Valentine. In a different vein, O Canada is a personal favourite, while Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and Joni Mitchell's Twisted come close and have minimal repetition. The vast majority of songs, however, including most familiar pop, rock, folk and blues songs, lie between the ends of this spectrum, adding variety to the melodies and lyrics of their verses by augmenting them with choruses or bridges. More on that next time, but meanwhile, what songs are playing on your soundtrack lately?

- Phil Hoffmann