“The Songwriting Trick No One Notices … but Dylan was the Master!”

A song without a chorus

Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changin’” has five sections of roughly the same length, each ending on the title line. This is a form known as AAA. The name doesn’t mean there are three sections. It means there’s no chorus, just verses with a refrain line returning at the end of each. Long popular in folk music, it’s a lovely alternative to verse-chorus form, and sometimes a more fitting way to express an idea.

The risk of repetition

Five similar sections in a row can easily feel repetitive. Listeners want new information, and without enough contrast, attention can drift. So how does this song stay so engaging?

The answer between the verses

The answer lies not in the verses but in the short instrumental interludes between them. Here, they are the variation. The song is in 3/4, and when you count the bars, each interlude is a different length: seven, then eleven, then six, then seventeen. Odd numbers of bars feel less settled than even ones, and that slight lack of resolution makes us want to hear what comes next. Because each interlude is a different length, we’re never hearing a copy of the last one. It’s unlikely Dylan mapped this out deliberately. More likely, he felt the need for variation and followed it.

Using it in your own songs

You can borrow the idea directly by adding instrumental moments between sections and varying their length. It also applies to the sections themselves. Even in a verse-chorus song, a 16-bar verse, 16-bar chorus and 16-bar solo can start to feel predictable. Making the verse 14 or 18 bars, or even 17 for something a little less stable, adds variation. Knowing how many bars are in each section keeps repetition from creeping in unnoticed, and gives you a way to surprise the listener.