5 More Ways to End A Song

Last time we talked about five different ways to end a song, and we threw in a sixth way just for the fun of it. Today we are going to talk about five more ways, and probably throw in a bonus as well.

1. A Capella - One of my favorite ways of ending a song is when the band does an a capella thing at the end. I always liked the ending of "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" by Journey. I feel like this gives a song a timeless sing a long feel that everyone loves.

2. Drop-Outs - I also like when the band drops from a full band, powerful sound, down to a really simple just piano or soft guitar and vocal ending. I think this, especially coupled with a similar intro, brings the journey back home and completes the Hero's Quest so to speak.

 3. Segue - I think of a song like "Layla" where the song ends and then the band continues on into a new section that eventually fades out. I think segue's like this are really cool. Also there were several albums I remember from the late 70's and early 80's where the band would bleed into the next song on the album. I can specifically remember Genesis, Chicago and Elton John all doing this at one point or another. I don't think you hear it much anymore.

4. Intro as Outro - Another really cool thing is to repeat the intro of the song as an outro. A really talented composer might also rearrange the outro, developing it a little bit, to make a much more powerful statement at the end of the song. This again is a type of Hero's Quest type of ending.

5. Repeat another Section of the Song - Something you don't see very often, but could be really interesting is to play another part of the song, say a section of the bridge reworked as an ending, to be the ending of the song. This would take a little creative composing, but I think done right it could go over very well.

Bonus:

6. Song Weaving - This is a cool thing that I  heard the band Antigone Rising do once when I was running sound for them. They took the choruses of three different songs and wove them together to be a fugue at the end of their show. I thought it was so cool and powerful. I think an artist could take the choruses from some of their more popular songs and weave them together to come up with an ending. Sting does this sometimes when he quotes from some of his older songs, but if you could use the actual melodies it would be awesome.

I hope these help you when you try to finish off your next song. If you found these tips helpful, you can find out more about songwriting tips and trick in my new book: "Lyrics and Music: Music Theory for Aspiring Songwriters" available now at Amazon.com, or with several additional Appendices at Barnes and Noble.

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