As I’m responsible for writing and performing the chorus, I thought it was a good idea to research the structure, melodic variation and content of song choruses to identify patterns, particularly in the style we’re writing in.
I specifically looked for hip hop songs with female vocalists in choruses and found this as an interesting example.
The chorus repeats 10 times and the first two lines are repeated in the outro.
If you were worried ’bout where
Erykah Badu and The Roots – You Got Me
I been or who I saw or
What club I went to with my homies
Baby, don’t worry you know that you got me
The chorus continues to have emphasis on beat 3 but raises a note to emphasise further. The pattern is the same for three lines and the last line has an alternating melodic pattern. There isn’t any variation in any chorus except when half of the chorus is repeated at the very end, but this part is faded out.
The first two lines end with four drawn out notes and the third line variates to have more syllables, possibly to prepare for the last line, of which has 11 syllables in a pattern of triples.
I have to write a chorus that lasts 30 seconds, but it loops around so I can write for 15 seconds (4 bars) and repeat the same section. I have the choice of leaving it exactly the same or variating the second half slightly.
The theme that I have to write to is conflict in relationships, an unsupportive partner and a drive to succeed in music. I didn’t perform vocals in the final performance recording as neither Ashton or Luke were there on the day and I felt unprepared and lacked confidence, but I’m comfortable writing and recording vocals at home.