There are many song structures but no real rules. The way that each individual formats his/her songs is totally a matter of personal preferance and that preferance probably changes frequently. Chorus & Bridge are sometimes completely excluded. For me a good length for most songs is about 3 minutes or so. Sometimes you just cant get it such a short time and frequently my stuff runs 5 to 8 minutes before I start editing things out. I have heard that long songs are rarely considered for radio play. I don't know the extent of that but it makes sense that it would cut in to advertising space.

As to your original question about specific order and song construction, it would be helpful to know what type of music you intend to apply this to. Blues songs mostly stick to the 12 bar format, country has it's typical setup, and many classic rock songs were similar in structure.

I'm sure that some artist have a cookie cutter approach to writing songs where they intentionally fill all of the pieces specifically. For me, it all depends on the lyrics and what naturally developes.

Not sure If I provided any useful info.
I hope you find the answer you are looking far. From what I can see there are some really talented musicians reading these forums who are eager to help.

Good Luck with your writing.

You don't really have to label anything, you can just come up with melodies, riffs, licks...and just put it together later in whichever order you think fits best...

If you're writing for commercial purposes, you need to remember that the commerical market has somewhat set rules for what they want. While there really are no hard and fast rules, ignoring what the commerical market is looking for is sure doom to your efforts.

Example: The title of your song, (usually the hook,) should appear within 30 seconds of the song starting. Structure IS expected, so following the "standards" set by the industry is a must if you expect to get anywhere.

This isn't to say these "standards" are not bent or broken, but that's usually left to the experienced, already well known, writers.

It really depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Take a trip to Barnes and Noble, or another book store. They have plenty of books on songwriting and getting one will answer many of your questions as well as become a valuable reference for your future work.

it MUST go....

intro
chorus
verse
chorus
verse
chorus
bridge
chorus
chorus
chorus

you must mention everything in a literal sense. never use metaphors. that's a no no. if you have to use metaphors use one that involves water. if it's instrumental you must only label the title as either "rain song" for slower ones, and "break it down" if it's a faster song.

the chords in your song must include:G C D Em...if not those (you're really stretching it here) you should go with D G A Bm. but don't expect people to like the song as much.

that's all there is to songwriting. anything else is an abomination to music and should probably rethink their area of "talent"

I'd say the only rule is to express yourself.

Guitarplayer22,

All you have to do is hold the listeners' interest for about three minutes and make them feel good. Other than that, anything goes. Some listeners focus on the beat, some focus on the music, some focus on the lyrics. Pick the one that comes most naturally to you, learn to entertain an audience with it, then incorporate the other two as hone your craft.

it all just depends. there is no certain order in which things have to go, just pick what sounds good to you. there isnt really a time limit, though most songs are at least three minutes long. just make sure you dont drag it out. bands like metallica do that alot.

I come up with different riffs at different times. the nI sit down and try some ideas out. Often I will have a part are two that wokr together and then will try to write something else that fits with them. The last song I wrote was written over a several month period. i wrote what I felt was the chorus first, and then had to write a verse later, and then constructed a bridge/ solo section on another day.

The bottom line is that there are no rules and a song does not need to have all of these parts to be good. Do what you feel. If it sounds good, then it is good.

you guys and your liberal postmodern opinions....

johnmark, i sure as hell hope that nobody takes that seriously. lol. i give you +1 for creativity. and i agree with the comment about repeating the same line 75 times. or why not raise the bar with 150? there are already some songs that say it 75. haha

when i write music, i have a kind of technique i use. i think about things in my life, bboth good and bad, and find that the entire mood ofh the song changes to match whatever i am feeling at the time. some people are thinking "oh please, what a loser.." but seriously, i think music is a very personal thing that should be written not for someone else, but for yourself and your bandmates. i look at it like this; if others like the music you write, that is a wonderful thing that can make you feel great as a musician, but if they dont, wouldnt you want to write music you are proud of and means something to YOU no matter what others think of the structure, length, key, chord choices or lyrics?

Here is how song writing works:

poof something comes
i sing or play it over and over again
find respective chord pattern
fill in rest
work out solos

ok. serious time. this is how it really works for me...

i sit there in a studio of people that do it for me while i try on hotpants and make sure my cleavage looks good.