Chorus

The chorus is the section of the song that summarizes the thoughts and emotions of the song.

It is the easiest section of the song for people to remember because it is repeated throughout the song and often contains the hook - a catchy, memorable phrase that grabs the ear of the listener.

The chorus has the highest energy level of all the sections of a song (unless there is a post-chorus, which retains the energy level of the chorus). It has the highest pitch, the loudest volume and the most emotional lyrics. Extra instruments may be added during the chorus, or the vocals may be enhanced, for example, by back-up singers singing harmony.

The chorus is usually four or eight lines long and consists of eight or sixteen bars. It usually appears before the verses and at the end of the song. It has a different melody and a different rhythm than the verses.

If there is a bridge, the chorus will come before the bridge.

Every time the chorus is repeated, the melody remains the same. The lyrics usually stay the same as well, but they may be changed to create a special effect, for example, to show a change in the thoughts of the protagonist as the plot of the song progresses, as in the song If I were a Boy by Beyoncé Knowles, in which the lyrics of the chorus change the  last time the chorus is repeated.

If you change the lyrics in the chorus, it will be harder for people to remember the chorus.

Some songwriters will try to make the chorus as simple as possible so that listeners will find it easy to remember.

The chorus almost always contains the title of the song. In fact, in the rare cases where the title is not included in the chorus, listeners will often wrongly assume that a memorable phrase in the chorus is the title.

An example of a song in which the title is not part of the chorus is Brass in Pocket by The Pretenders. Sometimes the song is known as Brass in Pocket (I'm Special) because of the phrase "I'm special, so special" that appears in the chorus.

The song title can be placed anywhere in the chorus. It can be in the first line of the chorus or at the end of the chorus. The title can be repeated more than once within the chorus, for example, at the beginning and the end, or at the beginning, middle and end.

In music or folk music, the chorus is sometimes known as the refrain.