[Intro], a very special section
The most important section in the page is usually the [Intro] section. And not only because this is how the song starts! Indeed, unless mentioned otherwise, it will serve as the basic chord structure for the rest of the song. This is especially true for Verses, which very often share the same structure as the Intro.
Note
Despite being the first section, the [Intro] doesn’t always sits at the top of the page. Indeed, in order to make the most out of the space in the page, it’s often defined later on where there was some available room. So, before you start playing, first look for an [Intro] section.
In this one-pager for instance, the [Intro] section is defined half-way through the page (see red box) and it also serve as a chord structure for the Verses and the Chorus:
The [Intro] chords might be defined together with the chords of another section
Sometimes, you will see the name of the [Intro] section enclosed within the name tag of another section, separated by an &. This simply means that the [Intro] and this other section share the same chords.
In that example, the chords of the [Intro] section are the same as those of the [Chorus] section (see red box). Note that the song actually starts with the [Intro] section played twice (see green box).
An unusual and subtle case: a two-part Intro
Some songs start with an Intro divided in two sections:
- The first one is usually an instrumental section that has its own and unique structure
- The second one would then be a different instrumental section, but this one will become the basic structure for the rest of the song (like a common
[Intro]section)
In that case, these two sections will be defined one after the other, to make it clear that they should be played in that order.
Note
There’s no convention for the name of the first and second sections. Sometimes, the first Intro section is called [Intro] and the second Intro section is called [Link] or [Instru], but it can be the other way around.
In the below example:
- The song starts with the
[Intro]section (in red), followed by the instrumental[Link]section (in green) - Both the
[Verse]and[Chorus]sections, as well as the second Verse, use the same chords as the[Link]section
In this other one-pager:
- The songs starts with an
[Instru]section (nĀ°1, in red), followed by the[Intro]section (nĀ°2, in red) - The chords of the
[Intro]section are then used by all the other sectionsāboth the[Verse],[Pre-Chorus]and[Chorus]sections, as well as the second and third Versesāexcept for the[Riff]section
