Most of the time when we hear a verse melody and a chorus melody, we know which is which. But describing what those essential differences are can be tricky. Interestingly, we can even tell in those rare occasions when a song is starting with the chorus, as with Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” . And yet even then, it’s hard to put into words how it is we know that it’s the chorus and not a verse. [Continued below..]

It's not a requirement that verse and chorus melodies differ, and some songs have become huge hits using the same verse and chorus melody: Billy Preston's "Nothing From Nothing", for example. Similarly, some songs are constructed using one melody that's hard to identify as being a either a verse or a chorus. A good example would be George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord".

But if you're like most songwriters, you're going to write a separate melody for verse and chorus. So what are the crucial differences between the two?

1. Chorus melodies use repetition to a greater degree. Ellie Goulding's "Lights" is a good example of this. Verse melodies will of course use repeating melodic shapes, but you often find those repeating cells starting on different notes, all moving harmonically toward the start of the chorus.
   
2. Chorus melodies usually treat the tonic note and chord with greater importance than the verse. "We Are Young", by fun ft. Janelle Monáe demonstrates this concept quite well. The song is in F major, but the verse melody avoids that note to a large degree, moving mainly between the dominant note (C) and the A below it. The chorus, however, starts on the tonic note (F), and moves away from and back to it frequently, with the tonic chord featuring prominently throughout.
   
3. Chorus melodies sit higher in pitch than verse melodies. As a voice moves upward, it naturally generates more vocal energy. And since it's an important principle of songwriting that energy will usually increase as a song proceeds, it makes it normal that chorus melodies will be written more toward the upper range of the singer. Almost any song you can think of will be a good demonstrator of this concept.
   

When all is said an done, the chorus melody is the one that absolutely needs to be memorable. While verse melodies need to naturally lead to a chorus, the chorus melody should be a self-contained unit that could be sung over and over again.

When you've written your song, test your chorus melody by singing it without the verse. It should sound catchy, repeatable, and fun to sing.

Then try your verse melody. By the time you get to the end of your verse, the chorus should seem like the logical "next step."

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