In a previous post, I discussed the common themes of anime songs and how the majority of them, regardless of genre, have many similarities in their lyrics. In this follow-up post, I’ll be discussing the commonality of anime songs when it comes to their actual structure…
After listening to the full-versions of hundreds of anime songs over the years, I can’t help but notice that, like themes, regardless of genre, they share noticeable similarities in how they are arranged.
The majority of full-version anime songs, openings and endings mostly, follow this structure with minimal variations:
– Introduction (could be vocal or instrumental)
– First verse
– Chorus
– Break
– Second verse
– Chorus (could have different lyrics than the previous one)
– Bridge (could be vocal or instrumental)
– Chorus (could have different lyrics than the previous one)
– Outro (usually similar to the introduction)
With this, full-version anime songs range from 3 to 5 minutes long, with most around the 4 minute range.
I’ll illustrate with examples, using five well known anime songs (and I’m far from an expert on song structure, so if you think I’ve mislabeled any parts of these songs, please feel free to correct me):
“Zankoku na Tenshi no Teze” (Evangelion opening)
Introduction – 0:00-0:22
First verse – 0:23-1:07
Chorus 1 – 1:08-1:30
Break – 1:31-2:15
Second verse – 2:16-3:00
Chorus 2 – 3:01-3:22
Bridge – 3:23-3:37
Chorus 1 – 3:38-4:01
The classic Evangelion opening follows the pattern pretty well, with its only notable difference being the lack of an outro at the end. It has a clearly defined vocal introduction, break, and bridge. As usual, its two choruses have slightly different lyrics.
“Hare Hare Yukai” (Haruhi ending)
Introduction – 0:00-0:14
First verse – 0:15-0:48
Chorus 1 – 0:49-1:18
Break – 1:19-1:30
Second verse – 1:31-2:03
Chorus 2 – 2:04-2:33
Bridge – 2:34-2:45
Chorus 1 – 2:46-3:26
Outro – 3:27-3:32
Compared to the Evangelion opening, the introduction, break, and bridge in “Hare Hare Yukai” are quick and non-vocal. Thus it’s a shorter song, but it still follows the structure quite well.
“Ready Steady Go” (Fullmetal Alchemist opening 2)
Introduction – 0:00-0:35
First verse – 0:36-0:59
Chorus 1 – 1:00-1:27
Break – 1:28-1:34
Second verse – 1:35-1:59
Chorus 2 – 2:00-2:27
Bridge – 2:28-3:05
Chorus 3 – 3:06-3:37
Outro – 3:38-3:44
“Ready Steady Go” again follows the structure, with its third chorus being slightly different than the others, especially in the last line.
“Don’t say lazy” (K-ON! ending)
Introduction – 0:00-0:32
First verse – 0:33-1:15
Chorus 1 – 1:16-1:37
Break – 1:38-1:47
Second verse – 1:48-2:30
Chorus 2 – 2:31-2:51
Bridge – 2:52-3:45
Chorus 1 – 3:46-4:05
Outro – 4:06-4:18
“Don’t say lazy” has an introduction and bridge that noticeably mimic the chorus.
“Sakura Kiss” (Ouran opening)
Introduction – 0:00-0:14
First verse – 0:15-0:47
Chorus 1 – 0:48-1:15
Break – 1:16-1:26
Second verse – 1:27-1:59
Chorus 2 – 2:00-2:27
Bridge – 2:28-3:05
Chorus 3 – 3:06-3:27
Outro – 3:28-3:39
The bridge in Ouran’s opening flows right into the chorus, which made me have to listen a second time in order to find where they diverge.
Similarly, TV size anime songs, being shorter, follow a shorter structure, though they’re often rearranged in order to fit the 1 and a 1/2 minutes that they’re typically allotted. Thus, they may not follow the structure as perfectly as their full-version counterparts:
– Introduction (could be vocal or instrumental)
– First verse
– Chorus 1
– Chorus 2, Outro, or some combination of both
“Sakura Saku” (Love Hina TV size opening)
Introduction – 0:00-0:15
First verse – 0:16-0:37
Chorus 1 – 0:38-1:00
Chorus 2 – 1:01-1:22
“Trust Me” (Durarara!! TV size ending 1)
Introduction – 0:00-0:27
First verse – 0:28-0:46
Chorus 1 – 0:47-1:06
Chorus 2 – 1:07-1:28
It’s pretty amazing how many anime songs, especially full versions of opening and endings, follow the structure almost exactly with only a few slight variations. I admit that I haven’t listened to much of a variety of music at all, so I don’t know if this structure is common with all kinds of pop songs or if it’s particularly regimented in anime songs. I could go on and on with examples, but I’m gonna stop here. I’m sure you can find your own examples the next time you pay attention to the anisongs you’re listening to =)
And if you can think of any full-version anime OPs or EDs that are exceptions to the structure, feel free to point them out.
I think pop music (western too) follows this structure. Jazz does too. AABA, etc. The common changes and stock phrases are pretty interesting to come across too.
@ lelangir
When I looked up “song structure” on Wiki to help me with this post, they used jazz in many examples (not sure what AABA means though =0)
AABA reveres to phraseing
other examples are ABAB, ABCB AABCAABC .. etc
these are repeating patterns where each letter refers to a certain melody or pattern
Isn’t this not limited to anime songs necessarily, but most J-pop songs? Furthermore, is this format used in most pop songs around the world, or just in Japan? Somehow, my gut instinct is that this is the normal way pop songs tend to go and this is always a big gripe I have when the songs start to sound too formulaic than something special or unique. You’d kinda hope the composers would aim for a little more variety.
@ zzeroparticle
I’m honestly not much of a music buff at all – besides anime songs, I’m only familiar with a few certain genres (like early rock n’ roll). But for the songs I have heard, I don’t recall noticing any particular structure. I don’t follow the latest Western pop culture songs, so I have no idea if their structure is similar or not.
As for non-anime j-pop, I have noticed the structure in some of them, but if I recall correctly, I’ve heard some that don’t follow it too.
Sometimes I feel I would like to see a song break away from the structure, but as long as the lyrics and/or sound (melody, beat, etc) are enjoyable to me, I don’t really care =)
I don’t know much about music, but my problem with many anisongs, especially the more mediocre productions is that there is always a guitar solo stuck in somewhere after the second chorus. Doesn’t matter if the song didn’t have any single string of electric guitar before it(many anime OPs, especially romance and moe/harem anime are bubble gum pop tracks). A really bad example for me would be Negima’s OP ‘Happy Material’ and all those horrible shouting Saki EDs. Haruhi’s ED ‘Hare Hare Yukai’ does this as well, but it since it was already a percussion heavy track it was passable. You could add ‘Guitar Solo’ into that structure list and find it fits many of the songs.
As for structure deviation, Pani Poni Dash’s first OP ‘Kiiroi Vacances'(or ‘Yellow Vacation) uses a third verse after it’s obligatory guitar solo before the final chorus. For recent examples, I think Bakemonogatari’s ED ‘Kimi No Shiranai Monogatari’ by Supercell kind of eschews the common structure a bit: It has one and a half verse before a chorus, and for the ending different variations of the bridge is sung.
@ mrwan
Hmm, I never noticed guitar solos as a common element of anisongs. I don’t have a very good ear for musical elements and I have absolutely no pitch (the reasons why I always sing off key and suck at DDR =P), so that’s probably why. Thinking back on a lot of anisongs, I think I know what you’re talking about. It sounds like the guitar solos are either part of the break or the bridge. I’m not thrilled with them either, especially if they sound disruptive compared to how the rest of the song goes.
For “Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari,” I couldn’t really find the “one and a half verse before the chorus,” though the verses and choruses in the song aren’t very distinct from each other. The bridge and ending chorus blend pretty well too.
pretty much the standard pop structure you would find in any “how to write a pop song” thing. the reason there isn’t much variation is that sadly, people generally don’t want variation. most people like things they are already familiar with. the trick is to push the boundaries without losing the majority of your audiences attention.
@ [tlr]
Ah, you’ve provided the obvious, and perhaps best, point about why song structure, as well as a variety of things in the world, remain fundamentally the same time and time again. I personally don’t mind too much as long as the lyrics, melody, or other parts of the song are appealing to me.
I think one of the main contributing factors is that a lot of these songs were written with the TV Edit in mind. (So you will notice quite often that the first chorus or break will take you to almost exactly 1:30 — the TV Edit time for a usual OP/ED.) With OPs in particular, there are certain things directors will want to have in order to enhance the direction; typically things like large contrast between the sections, a dramatic “moment” for the title, and a really strong ending. So when you start composing a song that’s “well suited to an anime OP”, that 1:30 chunk ends up taking a pretty common form.
But the task of the composer is not just to compose a song well-suited to that 90-second block, but also to make a “full-length” version that people who enjoyed the TV Edit will want to buy. So this is one of the reasons that most TV Edits will feature the start of the song up to the first chorus, as this way people will pop in the CD Single and immediately be rewarded with the song they remember. Then, to expand on this, you basically just flesh out the central tenets of the song with a repetition of the same pattern (comfortably familiar, but different), a variation (the bridge; adds variety/taste), and a reprise (to leave people on a good note and reinforce the positive impression people had at the beginning). And, no surprise, this “pattern” matches the common pop music pattern (VCVCBCC) that everyone knows.
So basically, this is about “reverse engineering” in a way. I’m sure that when they first came to the 90-second TV Edit length, it was reflecting the norm of songs chosen at the time (whether commissioned for the anime or not), but by now, the composers are so well-versed in the “pattern” and familiar with the marketing formula, that they tend to stick with what works (because that’s exactly what their “patrons” want). Things might be different in cases where the producers explicitly select a pre-existing work for the OP/ED, but that’s pretty exceedingly rare these days.
@ relentlessness
Thanks for pointing out how important the role TV-size plays in determining how the full song goes. I couldn’t have put it all together as well as you’ve explained =) I’ve always noticed that TV size OPs and EDs run about a minute and a half long and follow the structure I described in the latter half of the post. But it makes sense that the full size songs would be arranged the way you described. I remember a few cases where the 2nd verse is used in the TV-size instead or the full-version sounds noticeably different than the TV-size. But these are rare exceptions, and just about all anime songs fit the structure in one way or another.
I don’t think it’s as much an ‘Anime-song’ thing as much as it applies to music in general. When you use this structure and listen to other songs, be it pop, jazz, rock or even rap, you’ll find that they all fit the structure. Thus I don’t see why anisong would break away from this structure if it seems to fits all songs and genres.
I think what you have actually identified is the general structure of music, especially pop and rock songs. Because anisong isn’t an entirely new genre on its own, essentially it’s just a Japanese song. Not to say I don’t like anisong, but fundamentally they are the same as most songs out there. There should be no reason which segregates them from mainstream music other than that they differ in the purpose why they are made. There really isn’t much of a distinction between how to compose an anisong and how to compose any other song of similar genre.
@ Valence
Like I said, I’m not familiar with a variety of music genres, so I didn’t know that this structure was common for many different kinds of songs. One of the reasons I thought otherwise is that I know full-version anisongs and j-pop/j-rock songs are always about 3-5 minutes long, while other songs I’ve heard (again, not a big variety) tend to be shorter. Other songs I’ve heard have a verse or two and a couple of choruses, but not nearly as structured as anime songs. I’m familiar with a lot of early rock ‘n roll hits and none of them follow the pattern as strictly as anime songs. So perhaps this structure applies more to newer songs that I’m not familiar with.
Having listened to 1000 listens to various Anime music, I can say it could apply to some genres including pop and J-pop. If you listen to any English pop music, you might find that they follow a similar format and sometimes, lack variety… Even though Japanese Pop music has some elements that are different compared to the western pop, they are pretty much the same. You probably won’t be able to see this in a TV Edit because they cut so much to fit the song in the minute and a half into and ending.
OSTs on the other hand is a different story…
@ chikorita157
Yeah, I figured it’s more of a recent pop music structure and not quite as strictly used in other music genres. And relentlessness explained the TV-size thing above better than I could =)
Coming off a recent karaoke session, I agree with the earlier commenters that the fixed structure of anisongs is common to almost all pop/rock songs (in Chinese and English as well). It helps give listeners a degree of familiarity and — for the singers — the set structure aids in memorizing the song. It’s like the Shakespearean sonnet form of 12 alternately rhyming lines and a rhyming couplet at the end (ABABCDCDEFEFGG). (For more innovative lyrics and song structures, you could look at musical theater, especially the work of someone like Stephen Sondheim.)
A songwriter’s or singer’s skill is best displayed when he or she is able to make slight variations within the fixed form in a number of ways: subtly changing the lyrics, making the lines run on to one another in sound or meaning, altering the intensity or affect from one section to the other, using different vocal or instrumental arrangements, etc. That’s why I like Youtube diving for different covers/versions of the same song, to see how the same thing can be stretched in different ways. The Rei, Asuka, and Misato version of Zankoku na Tenshi no Teze, for example, is I think more pleasing to the ear than Yoko Takahashi’s classic version.
Once in a while, a TV edit does surprising things with the original song. TV Edit “Loop” from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, for example, condenses the first verse using only the first and last of the original four lines, but the effect is quite poetic, going from a sunset to a seed dropping and hints of rebirth in one breath. =)
(For reference:
ねえ この街が夕闇に染まるときは
世界のどこかで朝日がさす
君の手の中 その花が枯れるときは
小さな種を落とすだろう)
@ f0calizer
Lots of good points. For someone like me who hasn’t heard a variety of music, it’s interesting to find out that Chinese songs follow the structure as well =)
I agree, the sign of a good songs is if it takes this structure and does something unique with it while still “following the rules.” However I like many anisongs that aren’t unique at all =P For me, all I care about is if the sound of the song (melody and beat, and good lyrics could help) appeals to my ears for whatever reason.
I’ve heard the Rei-Asuka-Misato version of the Eva OP. To me, the distinction between the two versions is strictly in the singers themselves, with the three girls sounding kind of softer and unsure, while Yoko Takahashi’s voice is strong and stern.
Usually I don’t care to have copies of TV-size anime songs and will wait for the full-versions to come out. But I agree that sometimes they can stand out on their own if they have noticeable differences from the full-version =)
I think the genre of music your looking for is alternative, as they try to shake things up sometimes. But usually structure is universal wherever you go (as it’s really easy to mimic)
Here is an article for an alternative band I like, Weezer: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91424817
@ Andrew
Thanks for the link and info =)
I’ve also noticed that same pattern among the songs I listen to. I mainly listen to anime songs, some game BGM, and VOCALOID songs, and the songs composed for VOCALOID follow the same trend too. Vocal adaptations of Touhou music also follow this pattern. Actually, I think this structure is mainly universal, although I don’t know if it applies to every song out there.
What I also noticed is from the bridge to the last chorus there is usually a change of the instrumentals from the rest of the song. It’s usually to accent a particular phrase or sentence, for example the instrumentals calming down. In Supercell’s “Sayonara Memories” it’s at 4:35, in school food punishment’s “Kakenukeru” it’s at 3:43, in Black Lagoon’s “Red Fraction” it’s at 2:40, in GUMI’s “Mozaik Role” it’s at 2:19, and in Index’s “masterpiece” it’s at 3:10, to name a few. Sometimes this is even combined with the bridge itself, such as in Nanoha A’s “Brave Phoenix” at 3:43.
@ akani
I think I know what you’re talking about as far as a change in instrumentals in the bridge and chorus of many songs. To me the effect is a pleasing, dramatic change in the latter half of the song before it ends, which makes it more memorable.
A lot of songs also have key changes after the bridge~
Especially songs from groups like Morning Musume. ><
Most songs both Jpop, Jrock, anime themes, and western songs use this structure, though they could use a different one. If you look up lyrics for western songs it will sometimes show you where the intro, chorus, etc is. though one big difference is that western songs will often have the same chorus repeating throughout the song with very minor changes if any at all, while Japanese songs, anime themes, will have a different chorus’s in the song. which makes it better and more creative rather than repeat the same thing you said before.
None of the youtube clips load. They are all down for copywrite infringement or something :(.