[Lesson 5] A name for everything: how to structure a lyrics on the desktop app

Note: this is an upcoming feature for Desktop App, it's not available yet but it will be soon

Defining every part of a song

All songs are divided into sections, and every section has a name, function and specific meaning

  1. Structure tagging function is available only on the desktop app, don’t use tags on Mobile app or website
  2. Structure tags only refer to a lyrical/spoken parts (so the “Instrumental” or “End” buttons you see while syncing lyrics are not considered tags these parts are excluded from what we consider needs a tag)
  3. Introduce every song with a hashtag #
  4. Use CAPITAL LETTERS for the tags
  5. The INSTRUMENTAL should be followed by a tag, if not specified the subsequent section will automatically be considered a  #VERSE

Do's and Don't

  • Don’t - Don’t change the stanzas structure: (i.e.) if there are two verses before a chorus, don’t merge the two of them together, keep them separated and tag each as  #VERSE  (avoid numbering verses so not #VERSE1 #VERSE2).
  • Don’t - When manually typing in any tag (e.g. #VERSE) DO NOT hit enter immediately after the word as this will delete the tag you've just typed
  • Do - Start every song with a tag
  • Don’t - Add tag on Mobile app and on the website

Structure tags description

#INTRO

This is located at the beginning of the song, it can have a different melody from both verses and chorus

#VERSE

Roughly corresponds to a poetic stanza. Generally, there are multiple verses in a song, and they usually have different lyrics even though the melody will likely be the same

#PRE-CHORUS

Optional section, included between #VERSE and #CHORUS

#CHORUS

It contains the main theme of the song, it can also contain the song title. It is repeated after each verse/verses

#BRIDGE

It is the connection between the last chorus and the previous one (which is usually the second, but not always). It could be very similar (or even identical) to a verse, or instead introduce new chords and change rhythm instead

#OUTRO

Take a song to its conclusion with a flourish. It comes after or repeats the last chorus, it can be a repeated part of the chorus that fades.

#HOOK

Very repetitive and catchy part of the song, usually its most memorable component, not to be mistaken with the chorus. You can find it before the chorus, at the beginning of the song, before or after the bridge

Not every song will have all of the above but may contain any combination of the tags.  It’s important not to try to force anything in order to include them all. Kindly, make sure you tag what you think is right, the song will give you an indication of what to do.

If you have doubts with lyrics, you can always ask in the Musixmatch Community Slack channel

Want to know more about how to structure perfectly? Check our Writing Guidelines

Did this answer your question? Thanks for the feedback There was a problem submitting your feedback. Please try again later.