This is an interesting question…”should you repeat your hook in the chorus?”

In country music there’s a danger if you repeat your hook too many times without a good reason to do it you could dilute the effectiveness of that hook and increase the “burnout” rate of your song (the rate at which people get tired of hearing it).

But there are some masters of using repetition effectively in a chorus to make it more singable.

Multiple hit songwriter Marty Dodson uses repetition in choruses brilliantly.

Here’s one example…the song “Fire It Up” performed by Johnny Reid from Canada…

Notice how the chorus is written so anyone listening who has never heard the song before can sing along after the first chorus.

Also notice how the hook isn’t just repeated. There are lyrics before each repeat of the hook to make it more interesting, engaging and emotionally powerful.

And her heart said “fire it up”
And her soul said “fire it up”
And her mind said “fire it up”
And let love live again

That’s some serious songwriting craft there.

You can get more advanced songwriting tips from Marty Dodson at SongTown.com