Song Character Analysis Worksheet - The University of North ...

Finally, the process includes a musical analysis of the song. After the singer has
determined the formal (objective) characteristics, she may then impose her textual and
expressive decisions upon the composer’s template of melodic shape and rhythm. There
are a dozen or so different song types but the most common are the up-tempo and the
ballad, each with traditional performance practices. 36 The formal sections of popular
song include a short instrumental introduction, an expositional Verse, a “32-bar” Refrain
(or Chorus), a possible bridge section followed by a repeat of the Refrain, and a “rideout”
ending. 37 These sectional divisions are important guideposts for acting choices such as a
change of focus or emotional reaction. The singer should be aware that the function of
the Verse is to explain the character’s viewpoint or the situation. Performance practice
dictates a free, ad lib singing style (similar to recitative). The Refrain is more formal
regarding rhythm and phrase structure as it expresses the character’s overwhelming
emotion; her need to sing what she cannot speak. Some flexibility is allowed for inter-
pretation in musical theatre performance tradition, however, when the spoken phrasing of
the lyric is imposed intentionally upon the musical phrasing. “A performer in character is
perceived as generating musical time, not subject to it,” according to Burgess and
Skilbeck. 38 Other considerations for analysis include key relationships and harmonic
36 In A Performer Prepares, Craig provides an outline of thirteen song types with practical advice
for the preparation of specific songs within each type.
37 A “rideout” is the continued emotional thought under a sustained final pitch of the singer, or the
subtextual demeanor sustained during the instrumental postlude. The most common form structures for the
Refrain are AABA, ABABA, and ABAC.
38 Singing and Acting Handbook, 6.
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