Rock song structure
Rock songs usually go verse, chorus, verse, chorus, then a guitar solo or a bridge, and a last chorus. A riff often opens the song and comes back between the sections.
120 BPM · 92 bars · 3:04
A rock beat across all 92 bars, with a marker at each section, to change part by part. No account needed to start.
The song map
Section by section, at 120 BPM. Every section is in bars of four beats; at 120 BPM, 8 bars is 16 seconds.
| Section | Bars | Starts |
|---|---|---|
| IntroOpens the song and sets its tempo, key and mood. | 8 | 0:00bar 1 |
| Verse 1Tells the story: new words each time over the same music. | 16 | 0:16bar 9 |
| ChorusThe same words each time: the song’s main idea and biggest part. | 8 | 0:48bar 25 |
| Verse 2Tells the story: new words each time over the same music. | 16 | 1:04bar 33 |
| Chorus 2The same words each time: the song’s main idea and biggest part. | 8 | 1:36bar 49 |
| SoloOne instrument takes the melody, often a guitar. | 8 | 1:52bar 57 |
| BridgeComes once, late on, with new chords and words, before the last chorus. | 8 | 2:08bar 65 |
| Final chorusThe same words each time: the song’s main idea and biggest part. | 16 | 2:24bar 73 |
| OutroEnds the song, winding it down. | 4 | 2:56bar 89 |
How rock songs are built
The band plays the whole way through, so the change from verse to chorus comes from the drums opening up, the guitars getting louder and the melody climbing. The solo takes the vocal’s place for 8 or 16 bars, often over the verse’s or the chorus’s chords.
Many rock songs skip the bridge and go from the solo straight to the last chorus.
The sounds, chords and tempos are on the Rock page.
Questions about rock song structure
How long is a rock song?
This map is 92 bars, 3:04 at 120 BPM. Most rock songs run about three to four and a half minutes.
Where does the guitar solo go?
Most often after the second chorus, in the bridge’s place or just before it.
Make a rock song
The free editor opens on this map: a rock beat across 92 bars, a marker at each section. Change any section part by part: mute the drums in the intro, add a melody, each part its own lane.
Keep going
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