Pre-Chorus and Post-Chorus

Pre-Chorus

The pre-chorus is the section of the song that come just before the chorus and provides a transition from the verses to the chorus.

It is sometimes called the set-up, the rise, the climb, the channel or the transitional bridge.

Some people refer to the pre-chorus simply as the bridge, although in songwriting, a bridge generally refers to a single section in the middle of a song that introduces a noticeable change in the music and often, in the tone of the lyrics.

The pre-chorus leads the listener to the chorus by emphasizing the emotional content of the lyrics and increasing the pitch and the volume of the music. It causes the listener to anticipate the higher energy level of the chorus, which has the highest volume and pitch level and the strongest emotional content in the song.

Most pre-choruses are two or four lines long and are made up of four or eight bars.

All of the pre-choruses in a song have the same rhythm and melody, which differ from the rhythms and melodies that are used in the other parts of the song. The pre-choruses can have the same lyrics, or they can have different lyrics.

A song doesn't need a pre-chorus. However, if one verse has a pre-chorus, all of the verses will usually have a pre-chorus.

You're Still the One by Shania Twain is an example of a song with a very effective pre-chorus.

Post-Chorus

As its name implies, the post-chorus comes after the chorus. In the post-chorus, the chord structure often changes, but the energy level remains as high as it was in the chorus.

A post-chorus can have lyrics, or it can consist entirely of instrumental music as in, for example, The Boys are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy.

Like the pre-chorus, the post-chorus is optional.