Song elements: the bridge or middle eight

I was having a discussion about songwriting today with a co-worker. The subject of the "bridge" or "middle eight" came up. We agreed that the definition was easier than the implimentation in the craft. Although the concept is simple, the correct crafting of one is not.

I also pointed out that Country music, which almost never had a bridge (10-20 years ago) is almost never without some variant in modern Country music.

Anyways, I know there are folks out there that really don't know what a bridge/middle 8 is. I found this "definition" in my word doc's, but don't know the reference.

The bridge serves as a departure or a release from the rest of the song. It usually consists of two or four lines of lyric, and four or eight musical bars. The bridge's job is to add a new dimension to the song, take it to the next level, and lead the listener back to the chorus, title and hook, from a new angle. If that's not enough of a challenge, the bridge needs to accomplish all of this while still managing to sound consistent with the rest of the song.

When using a structure that includes verses and choruses, the bridge can occur in only one place

For some reason bridges come really easy for me. I think I have a short attention span and always feel the urge to put them in my songs.

The downside is that those who are fmailiar with my writing style start to expect bridges from me and it ends up being a little predictable.

To cure that I force myself to write a couple simple two-chord songs or one-riff songs or something and then reward myself with a song with a bridge ... heheheh ... whatever it takes right?

-dm

Good post. I was reading a biography of Tom Petty recently, and one thing he discovered through years of songwriting was that a song didn't "need" a bridge necessarily. If it felt complete without one, then he wouldn't worry about it. But in some songs, it's essential. I have taken that to heart in my own writing--sometimes it's just V/C or even AAA.

Another interesting point that some forget when trying to craft a song is mentioned in the above definition:

"The bridges job is to...lead the listener back to the chorus, title and hook..."

"It is your last chance to lead the listeners back to the title and make it pay off one more time".

I've seen many lyrics on this forum that don't contain the title of the song in the chorus. Many times the title is the hook or part of the hook. In fact, some don't contain the title anywhere in the song.

The logic of course, is for the listener to remember the chorus or the hook, thus remembering the title of the song. By remembering the title (name) of the song, they can request the radio DJ to play it or find it online or at the store.

Although I've written songs that don't follow this rule, they don't seem to be as memorable to me and I wrote them:freak:

They're also considered less commercially acceptable unless they contain some other fantastic element that will make the lack of title/hook less significant.

There are always acceptions to the rule.

Just my .02

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Quite a good read, very informative topic.

hmmmm

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Yeah, a lot of the time he doesn't write a bridge. Sometimes he doesn't even write a chorus (Free Fallin' is a good example). He is often a lazy lyricist. But his songs almost always work.

Structural and compositional rules are excellent tools to make bad songs into better songs. However, if you look at great songs they seldom strictly adhere to structural and compositional rules, so there are always obvious counter-examples (in fact, supporting examples are the exception rather than the rule). However, unless you are Tom Petty, usually the easiest way to make your songs better is to follow the rules.

Good discussion here.

The problem is that there seems to be some impetus on turning songwriting into a formulaic exercise, like we are writing etudes or something. Songwriting is about conveying emotion, and emotion does not always, and should not always come out in an a-b-a-b-c-b format. If you are just trying to sell songs, then by all means, stick to the formula. I say if you are making art, then let it flow and put whatever piece of the song wherever you like.

I am sure no one is suggesting that we stifle those bits of creativity; I just don't like talking about songwriting as a formula.

"Abacab, he's in anywhere."

Free Falling doesn't have a chorus?

There is a lyrical chorus ("I'm Free/Free Fallin) and the production/arrangement is different, but the chords in the chorus are the same as the chords of the verse.

I am not sure how that is not a chorus then. You are saying that the chord progression has to change in order for it to be a chorus?

Nope. One or a combination of chord/tempo/lyrics is usually enough. Depends on who's reviewing the song.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=481684

My point is there are accepted formulas and rules that apply to commercially viable tunes.

My reference is first hand submissions to Taxi. Their screeners review the songs with comments like: "the chorus melody is too similar to the verse" or "could really use a bridge", even if there was one.

The "Gatekeepers" are screening songs for the big boys in the industry and if you want to get noticed, you have to play by the rules. Out of the other side of their mouth they whisper, "we want something different; something unique". All this within the boundaries of our industry.

There is a certain excitement or anticipation to see if your song gets forwarded to an A&R rep in the music industry, but it soon subsides:freak:

I still submit songs, but I don't expect any amazing results. They, on the other hand, do.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=481684

I used to enjoy writing bridges, because that's the part of the song where anything goes. You can be as offbeat and creative as you'd like in that middle part as long as it takes you back to the chorus.

I used to write bridges to all my songs. I thought it was a cop-out not to have one. More recently though, I've opted not to write them. I've realized that it really starts to get predictable. You always know it's coming, which sort of defeats the purpose of having a bridge in a song. For a typical verse-chorus song, unless there's a point you need to make lyrically which requires extra space to say it, I think bridges really aren't that crucial. They have become so common in pop music now, that even when I listen to songs by other people, and the bridge comes around, it sounds cliche to me. That isn't to say they don't work really well when used sparingly.

So yeah--write a bridge if you think the song calls for one; if not, don't sweat it. I think that's a good general rule.

I wrote one song a while back that I really like. I might've posted it on here I don't know. It uses A B A B C D A C D. Proof that formulae are for noobs.