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song form · as written

21 s · 90 bpm · verse–chorus–verse–chorus–verse–bridge

song form · as written 21 s · 90 bpm · verse–chorus–verse–chorus–verse–bridge
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A whole song’s structure written as one line of numbers — 0 1 0 1 0 2 — read through three sections: verse, chorus, and bridge. It plays as written: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, then out on the bridge. The same idea as a scale or a chord line, one level up — here the line of numbers is the shape of the song itself.

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The song’s shape is a line of numbers

Every section of this song is one number in a single line:

# the form — one number per section
form: 0 1 0 1 0 2

On its own that line means nothing — it’s a sequence of integers. It becomes a song only when it’s read through a short list of sections:

# the parts the numbers choose between
sections:
  0: verse     # low arpeggio
  1: chorus    # the same shape, an octave up
  2: bridge    # sparse, mid-register

So 0 1 0 1 0 2 plays as verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, bridge — the numbers pick the parts, in order, and each part runs for its own natural length.

This is the same idea the rest of the site is built on, one level up. A line of numbers read through a scale is a melody. Read through a set of chords, it’s a progression. Read through a list of sections, it’s the form of an entire song. The data carries no meaning on its own; the meaning comes from what you read it through.

And because the form is just a line, every move you’d make on a melody is available to it — including the simplest one. Reverse the line and the whole song reverses with it: hear the reversed cut »