JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum What Are The Pros And Cons Of Using A Bridge

What are the pros and cons of using a bridge. I have found that they are useful to change up the song and to climax the storyline. What are your thoughts?

P.S. Neither of my posts on the subjects of a long chorus or the use of a bridge are intended to single out someone for critiques. This is just a learning tool for new beginners and for some of us with more experience. Please do not take this personal.

The pros of a bridge
Let me just list a few
One, you’ll keep your feet dry
And your car more like new
The cons of a bridge
Well the tolls can be high
And the speed limit’s lower
Should the law you abide
Sometimes there’s no choice
From Point A to Point B
And a bridge you must take
Over rivers and seas!!!!

Bridges can be the hardest for me. Keep it short. 2-3 lines. Usually half as long as the verses if you need a benchmark. Um. Oh, they shouldn't repeat anything that is already in the verses or chorus. The rhymes should also be different. I see a lot of repeated rhymes in the bridges. I think people give up and get sloppy and generally don't care but bridges matter a lot. A bad bridge can severely damage a really good song so it's important to get it right. Whether you're writing for cuts or just for yourself, people still might see or hear it. I always look for how strong a bridge is in songs. They connect the rest of the song.

Just an example using one of my songs. I had to rewrite the bridge a many, many times before I had the right one.

For I Take Thuis Beer originally it was:

I do, I do, I do, yeah I do.

That was weak and eventually moved to the end of the song.

Then I had

She probably thinks I'm miserable and lonely
But If she only knew we were dancin' on the bar
And singin' karaoke

I figured that didn't match the song at all seeing as he was just left at the altar. I kept the first line though because it fit the rest of the song and wasn't rehashed information.

Finally I came up with the rest.

She probably thinks I'm miserable and lonely
Too bad she ain't here for my barroom ceremony

This was the final version of the bridge. I spent a couple of days trying to get it right. I wish I kept the papers of all the lines scribbled.

Rewriting is the key. Something you're not afraid of doing Wes and that's what good writers do. Rewrite until it's right.

Bridges are hard for me and if I believe in the song I will spend a lot of time getting it right.

I hate bridges and don't use them anymore.....to predictable and in POP Music they aren't in a lot of the songs....just the cookie cutter Nashville Machine Songs....still pretty good songs but SO Predictable.
B

Bridges are a link, from one part of a song to another.

Let's say you just sang a chorus after you explained what the song was about in the verses.
There's nothing left to add so you could use a bridge to summarise what the song is all about and then finish with another chorus.
That's just one way to use a bridge.

Vic

I personally like having a Bridge. In some songs I've written the bridge is my favorite part - despite the hooky chorus.

It really comes down to the song - is it getting the idea across in an efficient manner.

Another way to use a bridge is to add a twist in the song that no one saw coming. I like those when done right. Sometimes the listener can see it coming. Then others use the bridge to try to get you to tear up. I'm not a fan of those but they are also common in the tearjerkers.

Some awesome feedback! Thanks to all of you for posting. Even Lynn's which I thought was funny. They do come in handy don't they Lynn? Aaron, I look at a bridge the same way you do. I don't always get it right but I'm pretty particular when it comes to them and how they are structured as opposed to the rest of the song. Barry, some folks feel just exactly as you do. I know a lot of people who write without a bridge. Jody and Vic, thanks for your input too. Some really insightful stuff everybody and I thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on the subject. Best wishes to you all!

Wesley.
It only needs it if it needs it.
Vic

The pros and cons?

On the pro side, they generally arrive at just about the time the listener's mind is about to wander, and is an opportunity to deliver another hook, and upon exit from that bridge, another approach to the main theme. Done well, the listening experience is enhanced...the song takes a journey and comes back around, and all is well with the world.

On the con side, it may not be the sort of journey that works for the song...you might be better off holding the line and driving home the main theme, front and center, until the end.

I LOVE bridges. That doesn't mean I think every song should have one, but they usually appeal to the part of me that bores easily...and as a writer, the bridge is often my favorite part of the composing experience...it feels a little bolder to accomplish somehow than the other parts do.

Thanks Vic and Mark,

I appreciate you taking the time to weigh in on this subject. The feedback on these subjects has been amazing.

sometimes I need one to end my story. Other times I write one and it wasn't necessary.

I agree with Vic. I know I don't set out beforehand to say, "ok this song is gonna have a bridge", but if during the writing process, I've determined that there is some additional color that needs to be added to my story, then I'll use a bridge. Or if I want to change the direction of my story, or introduce a twist to the picture I've painted in the verses, then I will use a bridge.

Sometimes, I'll have my song written already, but maybe it's running longer than I intended. So sometimes, I'll take that last verse and trim it or rewrite it and turn it into a bridge instead to help trim the song length. On the flipside, there have been times I've written a bridge, then determined that I haven't finished telling the story, so I'll turn the bridge into a verse, so I can get some more details in.

Bottom line, it just depends, and each song is different. For me, a lot of times when I am in that "zone" and my mojo is working, the song will just about write itself, so I just follow the muse and see where it takes me, never trying to force anything, just letting my muse be my guide. -TK

People have very short attention spans when it comes to music today. I attempt to make every section of the song sound somewhat different from the previous one. Different instruments on each verse, more harmonies as the song unfolds, bigger sounding choruses each time.....and then a bridge to shake things up more and keep the listener interested.

I just learned two cover songs to play out, Seminole Wind and 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. Neither has a bridge, yet they are very good songs. But do they hold the listener's interest as much as they would if they did have a bridge? Who knows.....but I use one in nearly every song because I need all the help I can get.

I asked Bugsey this is what he had to say:

I think it comes down to how many repeated listens the song can take.

If stairway to heaven had two verses and ended, it would have been nowhere near close to the most requested song on radio. It took 7 minutes of masterful composing, where every part is different, yet similar enough not to lose the listener. All the little different parts flow seamlessly.

If we will rock you never had that great electric part at the end, it would merely be a strong song, not a legendary song.

One thing you should never do is say "Ahh it dont need a chorus"
simply because you cant think of one"

Bridges are very hard to write, no writer has an easy time with it, and when you think about it, a bridge needs to be better than the verse and chorus, because you dont want to let the song down midway through. It's like seeing the best part of the movie first, and then seeing the rest and wanting to leave early.

It needs to somehow fit the song as a whole, yet often be dramatically different. bridges are where pop music excels, im talking mostly musically here.

Good Luck all!

Adds "interest", as you relate to that in your comment about it.

Musically, (aside from lyrically if done), it can take a turn not expected, which again, comes down to being interesting, or "effective", to steal an often used saying of Mike Caro's.

It also challenges the writer to be creative. To make a good song maybe even a better one. NOT saying any song needs to have a bridge to be even better. BUT, think of this: The most popular song of all time in Pop could be argued to be McCartney's "Yesterday", which to me, the bridge IS the main part of the song, being: "Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say, etc". It is brought into the song VERY early, and not needing to wait till near the end, for the song had NO chorus! Brilliant, for Paul to do that! Concise, and VERY "Effective"! It sounds like a bridge, so I guess it can be called one! The chorus would have been dumb, as in: Oh Yesterday, yeah yeah yeah, Oh Yesterday, Yeah Yeah Yeah! Instead, he must have thought, "Screw it! I'll go right into a bridge sound and feel right after the second verse! Brilliant! THEE best Bridge to come along that is the gist of the song, NOT just some add on to try to make a song more interesting or whatever. Just brilliant! Another great bridge would be the pair's use in Paul's once unfinished song, "We Can Work It Out", where Lennon had a song started, so he used the verse AS the bridge in Paul's song! Another Brilliant decision! And those two examples are just one reason, (the clever use of a bridge), that sets them apart from the trained, usual songwriters. They FELT something and went with it! FEEL is the key, and is also the key to great Bridges.

Love a great Bridge! Especially when used in such a meaningful, clever way to BE a main ingredient of a song, not just a tag along near the end! Wish I was a Beatle to know to do that in my early twenties! Ha! I didn't even write my first full decent song by then!

Oil Well

Which brings up a good point: in an AABA song, the B is the bridge.

I think most people think of the bridge mainly in terms of Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus. But they're both the bridge.

Personally, I find a bridge useful primarily for crossing a body of water you can't ford. Or dodge. Or chevy.

I realize the Nashville Rules insist on bridges. I don't pay attention to much of their other rules, either. I have used bridges only when needed. Which isn't that often.

Joe

Just watch for the trolls hiding under it

Seriously, in a normal verse chorus song, the bridge serves as a crossover - setting up the final part of the song. It also provides diversion and hopefully a different perspective on the song theme

How long is a piece of string??

Sometimes you need one
And sometimes you don't
Sometimes its puente
Sometimes it's le pont
No matter the language
Its place, back or front
Sometimes you need one
Sometimes you don't

Rules should be followed
Sometimes they should not
But never not followed
Because you forgot
No matter the reason
The rhyme or the plot
Rules should be followed
Sometimes they should not

Isn't it nice to know
That you can make up your own mind
On anything resembling art?

Critics expound by
The deluge it seems
Sometimes something trivial's
Drowned out by their screams
And even when something's
the stuff of your dreams
Critics expound by
The deluge it seems

Ya just can't make it right for everybody

Joe, there aren't really any "Nashville rules', another myth. Bridges aren't a hard and fast rule in anything. Are less of them in Nashville songs than are in them. Only if the song calls for it. Adds to the length of the song and is only used to bring a 'break for the human ear musically' and to act as a 'Third Act' for the song.

MAB

BINGO... That's me.

That's the only way I've ever used a bridge.

I would never use a "pro and con" angle to help me decide on adding a bridge or not, if, after listening to the song, the song is either improved with a bridge, or not, it just depends on the song.