The 8-16-8 rule: song structure that works

Most hip-hop and R&B songs are built from the same blocks, counted in bars. Learn the blocks and you’ll never stare at a beat wondering where to start.

• Intro: 4 to 8 bars. Set the mood, then get out of the way.
• Verse: 16 bars. Your story.
• Hook: 8 bars. The part people sing back.
• Bridge: 8 bars, optional. A change of pace before the last hook.
• Outro: 4 to 8 bars. Let it breathe out.

The usual shape: intro, hook, verse, hook, verse, hook, outro. That’s where “8-16-8” comes from: an 8-bar hook, a 16-bar verse, an 8-bar hook.

When does each section start?

A bar is four beats, so how long a section lasts depends on the beat’s tempo. Put in a BPM (it’s shown on every beat on the site) and see the whole song laid out.

You don’t have to count bars on the site: the Writing Pad already knows where each section of a beat starts, and lays the boxes out for you.

Write a verse