The ABABCB Song
Modern radio formats generally favor songs that are short and repeat the hook several times in the course of the song. In the last part of the twentieth century and up to now, the ABABCB has become one of the most used forms. This form, along with its siblings, seems to find a perfect balance between variety and familiarity in structure.
In an ABABCB, the structure almost always runs verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus, with the option of an extra chorus at the end that usually fades out over about seven seconds. This form doesn't allow the verse to become tiresome, as it often does in the multiple-verse song forms that don't contain a “C” section. It does, however, give maximum exposure to the chorus (and thus the hook), balancing this by the use of a nonrecurring bridge to freshen the listener's ears before the final blitz.
How many times should the hook appear?
There's no set answer to this. Songs have hit the charts that had no hook at all (though these are very rare) and some repeat the hook dozens of times. If you want to make money, shoot for six or more times. Never settle for less than three.
The ABABCB form is one of the best for commercially oriented songwriting. Examples include “Hurt So Good” (John Cougar Mellencamp), “What's Love Got to Do with It (Tina Turner), and “Sharp Dressed Man” (ZZ Top), which is an unusual variation — it uses the “C” section, musically a bridge, for a guitar solo.
Some variations of this form are ABABCAB (“Back on the Chain Gang” by The Pretenders), ABABCBAB (“Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Poison), and ABABCABCAB (“It's Still Rock ‘N Roll to Me” by Billy Joel). Interestingly, each of these songs has a solo section in a different part: the first, over a recurring intro, the second as a modified third chorus, and the last in the second “C” section.
