Lesson 5 · Arlo
Repetition and Ritual
In folk music, repetition is not a structural convenience — it is a ritual. When a line repeats, it deepens. The first time you hear "the times they are a-changin'" it is a statement. By the fifth time, it is a prayer. The words have not changed. You have changed, because the verses between the repetitions have changed you.
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Arlo takes this apart properly inside Songmatter — the rest of the lesson, the exercise that goes with it, and a critic who reads what you write back.
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