In popular music, the refrain or chorus may contrast with theversemelodically,rhythmically, andharmonically; it may assume a higher level ofdynamics and activity, often with added instrumentation. Chorus form, orstrophic form, is a sectional and/or additive way of structuring a piece of music based on therepetition of one formal section or block played repeatedly.
Although repeats of refrains may use different words, refrains are made recognizable by reusing the samemelody (when sung as music) and by preserving anyrhymes. For example, "The Star-Spangled Banner" contains a refrain which is introduced by a different phrase in each verse, but which always ends:
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.
A similar refrain is found in the "Battle Hymn of the Republic", which affirms in successive verses that "Our God", or "His Truth", is "marching on."
Refrains usually, but not always, come at the end of the verse. Some songs, especiallyballads, incorporate refrains (orburdens) into each verse. For example, one version of the traditional ballad "The Cruel Sister" includes a refrain mid-verse:
(Note: the refrain of "Lay the bent to the bonny broom" is not traditionally associated with the ballad of "The Cruel Sister" (Child #10). This was the work of 'pop-folk' groupPentangle on their 1970 LPCruel Sister which has subsequently been picked up by many folk singers as being traditional. Both the melody and the refrain come from the ballad known as "Riddles Wisely Expounded" (Child #1).[citation needed])
Here, the refrain issyntactically independent of thenarrative poem in the song, and has no obvious relationship to its subject, and indeed little inherent meaning at all. The device can also convey material which relates to the subject of the poem. Such a refrain is found inDante Gabriel Rossetti's "Troy Town":[1]
Heavenborn Helen, Sparta's queen, O Troy Town! Had two breasts of heavenly sheen, The sun and moon of the heart's desire: All Love's lordship lay between, A sheen on the breasts I Love. O Troy's down, Tall Troy's on fire!
. . .
Phrases of apparentnonsense in refrains (Lay the bent to the bonny broom?), andsyllables such asfa la la, familiar from theChristmas carol "Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly", have given rise to much speculation. Some[who?] believe that the traditional refrainHob a derry down O encountered in someEnglishfolksongs is in fact an ancientCeltic phrase meaning "dance around the oak tree." These suggestions remain controversial.[citation needed]
There are two distinct uses of the word "chorus". In thethirty-two bar song form that was most common in the earlier twentieth-century popular music (especially theTin Pan Alley tradition), "chorus" referred to the entire main section of the song (which was in a thirty-two bar AABA form). Beginning in the rock music of the 1950s, another form became more common in commercial pop music, which was based in an open-ended cycle of verses instead of a fixed 32-bar form. In this form (which is more common than thirty-two bar form in later-twentieth century pop music), "choruses" with fixed lyrics are alternated with "verses" in which the lyrics are different with each repetition. In this use of the word, chorus contrasts with the verse, which usually has a sense of leading up to the chorus. "Many popular songs, particularly from early in this century, are in a verse and a chorus (refrain) form. Most popular songs from the middle of the century consist only of a chorus."[2]
While the terms 'refrain' and 'chorus' often are used synonymously, it has been suggested to use 'refrain' exclusively for a recurring line of identical text and melody which is part of a formal section—an A section in an AABA form (as in "I Got Rhythm": "...who could ask for anything more?") or a verse (as in "Blowin' in the Wind": "...the answer my friend is blowing in the wind")—whereas 'chorus' shall refer to a discrete form part (as in "Yellow Submarine": "We all live in a..."). According to themusicologists Ralf von Appen and Markus Frei-Hauenschild
In German, the term, "Refrain," is used synonymously with "chorus" when referring to a chorus within the verse/chorus form. At least one English-language author, Richard Middleton, uses the term in the same way.In English usage, however, the term, »refrain« typically refers to what in German is more precisely called the »Refrainzeile« (refrain line): a lyric at the beginning or end of a section that is repeated in every iteration. In this usage, the refrain does not constitute a discrete, independent section within the form.[3]
Many Tin-Pan Alley songs using thirty-two bar form are central to the traditionaljazz repertoire. In jazz arrangements the word "chorus" refers to the same unit of music as in the Tin Pan Alley tradition, but unlike the Tin Pan Alley tradition a single song can have more than one chorus. Von Appen and Frei-Hauenschild explain, "The term, 'chorus' can also refer to a single iteration of the entire 32 bars of the AABA form, especially among jazz musicians, who improvise over multiple repetitions of such choruses."[4]
In jazz, anarranger's chorus is where thearranger uses particularly elaborate techniques to exhibit their skill and to impress the listener. This may include use ofcounterpoint,reharmonization,tone color, or any other arranging device. The arranger's chorus is generally not the first or the last chorus of a jazz performance.[citation needed]
In jazz, ashout chorus (occasionally:out chorus) is usually the last chorus of abig band arrangement, and is characterized by being the most energetic, lively, and exciting and by containing the musical climax of the piece. A shout chorus characteristically employs extremeranges, louddynamics, and a re-arrangement of melodic motives into short, accented riffs. Shout choruses often featuretutti or concerted writing, but may also usecontrapuntal writing orcall and response between thebrass andsaxophones, or between theensemble and thedrummer. Additionally, brass players frequently use extended techniques such as falls, doits, turns, and shakes to add excitement.
