Intro and Outro

Intro

The intro, or introduction, to a song comes at the very beginning of the song.

It often consists of instrumental music, with no vocals.

The intro of a song is supposed to create a sense of anticipation that increases until the listener hears the downbeat of the first verse. It often uses the same chords that are in the chorus or the hook - a hook is a memorable phrase that is often part of the chorus.

An intro can be from two to eight bars long. Some intros are even longer. Be careful thatyour intro isn't too long. If it is, listeners will lose their sense of anticipation and become bored.

There are some songs with very good long intros. The intros to these songs have music that is unique and exceptionally compelling. Hotel California by The Eagles is an example of a song with a long, compelling intro.

If you plan to send a demo of your song to a professional for evaluation, remember that they will probably only have time to listen to a small portion of the music at the beginning of the song - maybe less than half a minute of the song. If you send them a song with a long intro, they may never hear any of the verses or the chorus of the song.

Outro

The outro is the ending of a song. It is equivalent to a coda in a piece of classical music.

An outro can have many different forms. It can repeat the structure of the chorus or the verses, or it can have a completely different format.

An outro of a rock song may contain a long instrumental solo. In an R&B song, the lead singer may improvise during the outro. In the outro of Survivor by Destiny's Child, the instrumental music stops but the singers continue to sing a cappella (without instrumental accompaniment).

The music in an outro can fade away gradually, or it can end abruptly, as in Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day.

Be aware that if your song is being played on the radio or in a club, the DJ may talk over your outro or cut your outro short in order to play the next song.