Steve PMHI dreaded learning music theory when I first started learning an instrument. There were so many terms and scales to remember, and all I wanted to do was play Metallica’s Enter Sandman. But with regret, I had to master the basics first. Otherwise, it would’ve been an utter mess.
The structure of a song is one of these fundamental lessons that you need to learn. I’ve learned the concept of a verse and how to write a catchy chorus. Refrains confused me, though, mainly because it sounded like other terminologies, such as the chorus or pre-chorus.
That said, I’ve decided to write this article to help people comprehend what a refrain in music is. Stick around!
What Is a Refrain in Music?
The definition has changed a lot with the evolution of music. In today’s time, a refrain is basically a repeated lyric or verse in a song or poem. It usually consists of two to three lines.
Refrains tend to compromise on written lyrics and melodies. They’re typically found at the end of a verse. You can also repeat it exactly as it is, or with slight changes in the wording.
Refrains aren’t in every song, but you can find them in several music genres, including jazz and classical music.
Song Structure
To fully comprehend refrains, you must first understand song structures.
In today’s music, the most common song structure has several segments. These segments are; the intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, and outro or ending.
Introduction
Typically, the introduction is merely a few seconds of music with no vocals.
Verse
The verse is a series of phrases that help you understand the song’s concept. The rhyming scheme is commonly AABB or ABAB.
Pre-Chorus
The pre-chorus is a segment between the verse and the chorus that links them together. It builds anticipation for the chorus.
The lines in a chorus are way shorter than those in a verse. It could be one or two lines.
Chorus
The chorus is a section of the music that repeats several times.
Sometimes the songwriter will add to or change a line or two. However, the chorus remains the same. It’s the song’s hook, and it’s usually the most remembered portion of it.
Bridge
The bridge is the section of the music that follows the second chorus. It creates a balance in the song to keep it from seeming monotonous or to change the song’s pace. The tempo could differ or the chord progression as well.
Outro
When the music comes to a close, it’s called the outro.
Songwriters can achieve it in a variety of ways. Some perform the melody of the introduction or chorus while singing a phrase or two.
Some repeat the chorus until the song fades away. There are also those who make it entirely instrumental.
Why Are Refrains Important?
The purpose of refrains is simple: to add emphasis to a point.
A refrain establishes a catchy groove, leading to the listener picking up on the repetition of the lines. So, the chorus is usually the first part to get stuck in people’s heads.
In verses, refrains offer a good chord progression to end the verse. A songwriter may become trapped and unable to progress a song.
As a result, they could add refrains to better the chord progression. Refrains frequently comprise two or three chords only.
Difference Between Refrain and Chorus
A lot of people use the terms refrain and chorus interchangeably. It’s understandable why.
After all, they both include repeated words and lines and are also the most memorable parts of a song. It’s quite confusing.
So how do we know the difference if they’re so similar?
Refrain
The refrain is usually a line or two repeated at the end of a verse. They’re brief and they lack a melodic build-up.
You can play refrains in different rhythms and melodies than in the previous verse. Even if there are only minor alterations in your lyrics, you can still deem it a refrain.
The refrain is not a stand-alone segment and it doesn’t need naming like the chorus, bridge, or verses.
Chorus
The chorus is usually the heart of a song. Depending on the structure of the song, the chorus repeats after each verse or pre-chorus.
Because it has multiple lines, the chorus is longer than a refrain. Also, there’s often a musical build-up before it.
In the chorus, some songwriters like to rearrange and add lyrics to break up the flow of the song.
How Do I Tell The Difference?
Long story short, you can refer to the lines in a song that repeat themselves as a refrain. A chorus refers to the repeated lyrics and melody of a song.
Examples of a Refrain
Nursery rhymes are excellent examples of refrains. Many nursery rhymes contain refrains, but for the time being, let’s stick with “The Wheels on the Bus.”
The popular nursery rhyme goes like this:
“The wheels on the bus go round and round. All through the town.” The second verse goes: “The wipers on the bus go, ‘Swish, swish, swish.’ All through the town.” The verse concludes with ‘all through the town’ in both of these verses, making it the refrain.
If we want to get away from the kiddie melodies, we might listen to Abba’s “Why Did It Have To Be Me?” The two lines “It’s only natural, but why did it have to be me?” conclude the verses. That means that the refrain is this line.
Refrains Throughout History
Poetry
Poetry sparked the refrain’s first uses. It serves the same effect as modern music in grabbing the reader’s attention and intensifying the dramatic effect of the song.
During the medieval period, people performed poems with music playing. And from there, poetry evolved to music.
A ballad is one of the most famous types of sung poems.
A ballad is a sort of poetry that is often set to music and recounts a story. As a result, repetition was an effective method for helping people to remember poetry words and providing a sense of the poem’s flow.
However, there’s repetition in poetry. Because they’re so similar, many people get them mixed up.
In poetry, the refrain is the regular recurrence of a line or two. Repetition, on the other hand, refers to the use of the same words, lines, rhymes, or sounds across an entire poem.
If they still sound similar to you, there’s another way to tell them apart. In poetry, a refrain is placed at the end of a stanza, but repetition might appear in any stanza line.
Jazz
In jazz, the word “chorus” has a special connotation, and the phrase “refrain” is rarely used.
The verse-refrain form was used in jazz. Tin Pan Alley composers adopted a two-part musical structure in which the verses took on an introductory role and were followed by the refrain. The verse serves as a prelude to the “chorus.”
The chorus would then recur a few times, typically in a 32-measure structure. Hence, the term refrain. Most jazz players like improvising over the choruses, as they’re long.
Christian Music
In Christian pop music and hymns, refrains are frequently used. The lines are regularly repeated to emphasize devotion.
Every verse of the popular song “Hallelujah” ends with the word hallelujah, making it the refrain. And if we dig deeper into the song’s analysis, it’s simply a manner of highlighting faith and praising God.
How to Write Refrains in Music
If you want to write a song with refrains, you’ll need to write two sections: lyrics and melody.
Lyrics
The lyrical portion is simple enough. Find the song’s concept and the message it’s intended to convey to the audience.
Then, create a catchy phrase that you’ve chosen what the song is about. I’ll give you an example of a song I’d write.
If I’m writing a heartbreak song and want to highlight how heartbroken I was left feeling, I can add a line like “In the mourning of you, I’ll let my tears pour over” at the end of each verse.
The listener can now tell that I feel grief over the breakup because of the repetition of this line and the word mourning. Eh, everyone moves on eventually. Right?
Melody
Now that we’re done with the simple part, let’s talk about the hard part. The chord progression is, in my opinion, the most challenging aspect of writing a song. You might construct a wonderful chord progression, but it doesn’t fit the lyrics’ tone.
They can be monotonous and uninteresting at times. And my voice range isn’t always cooperative. I’ll show you how to write a nice chord progression in any case.
In most cases, chord progressions in a refrain sound like the end to the verse. As a result, most refrain chord progressions consist of a couple of chords, depending on how long is your refrain.
Usually, songwriters repeat the same two or three chords of the last line in the verse before the refrain. Some can do it differently. Depending on the structure of your song, your refrain can be two, four, or even eight bars long.
The most common, though, is four bars. For example, if my song’s verse is C, Am, C, Am, F, G, I can continue and make my refrain F, G in four bars repeating the same line twice.
