JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Mentor Questions Forum writing bridges

My question is: do songs need to have a bridge? Can a bridge be
4 or 6 lines long?

No!

Yes!

How'm I doin'?

Sorry. Seriously, no, a song doesn't need a bridge. But the purpose of a bridge is mainly to avoid boredom...it usually hits after a couple of verses and choruses and gives us something different to chew on. They can also be the place where some sort of major change happens in the lyrics. It can be really short or as long as a verse...but on the other side of that bridge, we come back to a verse or chorus again.

Sometimes they're only just a line, phrased slightly different than the other elements of the song. Sometimes they are an entirely new section.

So, no, songs don't NEED bridges. But it's always good to put on your "BoredoMeter", that part of you that can objectively determine whether or not your song is becoming monotonous, and decide whether a bridge will benefit your song.

I LOVE bridges. I really like when they drift off into strange places...it seems the stranger I can write them, the more effective it sounds when it comes back into the main theme.

I write all my songs with bridges. Sometimes, I start a song telling myself I won't need a bridge in it but when I put my "BoredoMeter" on, I always find myself adding a bridge.

A bridge can be purely musical. It's also called "Middle 8" by some people, because traditionally, it was often 8 bars long, but there are no rules.

Me with Mark. A bridge is primarily useful for crossing a body of water that you can't ford (or dodge, or chevy). In other words, you do *not* need them--but sometimes, they're a good idea.

I like the idea of the Boredometer. That's a good way to tell if you need to inject some variety.

Joe

I do think that in some instances, as bridge is necessary...not optional, but necessary. That said, those instances are few and far between. I never hesitate to use one if I think it is necessary. But, I must convince myself that without the bridge, the song suffers.

I have written a little over 600 songs and have used a bridge perhaps a dozen times or so. Boredom is one reason, but for me not the most common reason. If elements of a song need to be brought together and the verses and a chorus do not accomplish that, I write a bridge. Some folks would say, well...rewrite the chorus, or rewrite the verses. My answer to that is the verses and chorus are just the way I want them, at least. But, I still need something to pull a few things together. That something is a bridge. Just my thoughts.

Alan

Hello Shine:

Bridges are optional... and should be used whenever you think the song needs it. A bridge... just for the sake of writing a bridge... can cause trouble if it complicates an otherwise straightforward song. There are no hard and fast rules. Use a bridge whenever the spirit moves you.

Good luck,

Dave

i write alot of story type songs for country, i use them to wrap up the lyrical tension and tie up any loose ends between the characters. I also make this the absolute crescendo of melody for the entire song and then i usually run back to the chorus and then run for the exit...musically the section is different from the verse and chorus, maybe a minor thrown in to differentiate it,or a key change, i do some modulations there and come back to the chorus a step up to keep the build going...2 lines, 4 lines are common, 6 lines it better be a tempo as bridge sections for commercial writing are something to kind of get in and get out of timely. All that said, i don't always use them...the song will dictate what it needs , and if you have any questions on a particular song, most here will be glad to offer our opinion, so long as you offer us yours...ha...write great, be well...moker

In contemporary country, a bridge is so common as to be almost expected. They do what Moker just described, they contain the dramatic crescendo of the song.

They also just about expect the last verse to drop half the instruments and get all close and intimate, and then a big bang last chorus, and a quiet but memorably emotional tag.

Hey Shine,

Often referred to as a "middle 8" or in some cases, a breakdown.

It can change key, it may not. It may change tempo, it may not.

Just a quirky little thing to provide interest.

One thing however, if a songwriter can take it out there, and bring it back seamlessly, it's an indication of a craft well learned.

cheers, niteshift

The answer is ‘no’, and if you don’t believe me ask John Fogerty

I think Joe is closest to how I would define a bridge. Lyrically and musically a bridge will be just that ‘a bridge’ from one bit of the song to another. The lyrical part will normally offer a slightly different angle of the story or situation; maybe a new character appears, or it maybe there’s a passage of time. It will often have a different rhyme scheme or meter. Music also has its part.

There is no set number of lines or bars, just whatever is right for the song.

Great insights. Very valuable lessons here for a new songwriter like me.

Tom

Did you hear about the jazz musician who drove off the bridge in Indiana? There is no bridge in "Indiana."

Bridges are useful devices. Music is presenting something that becomes familiar, moving away from it with another part, then back to it. After you've done that a few times, the other part becomes familiar so the bridge takes you farther out, then when you come back it's like..."Wow, Lucy, I'm Ho-ome!"

Short bridges are somewhat in fashion now. "Still Crazy After All of These Years," had a long bridge "Bridge Over Trouble Waters" had a longer bridge...and rightfully so. Some songs have musical bridges.

If the song works without a bridge, don't force it. Also, make the bridge complete, or it will be a partial bridge.

All the Best,
Mike

Oh Please, Dunbar... not more humor from the "foot." LOL!

Hope you've recovered from the "Demo Derby" sufficiently... and... we're all waiting to hear Vikki's song. Perhaps she has come down with Canadian Laryingitis? I am told that it can only be cured by a nightly shot of Canadian Club.

Dave

So you can beat laryngitis with a Canadian Club? Interesting image, there...

Joe

This becoming a violent thread!

The nice thing about bridges is they offer a little relief from familiar terrain.

My last song was rife with sax and violins.

Me with Bullwinkle. "I like violence 'cause they smell so pretty."

Joe

Mark! Dude! Your avatar is wearing me out!

I LOVE good bridges! My favorite part of most songs I have written. Like real bridges, for me, they take me higher, to give a lift in the song. To maybe bring up other points, but to bring me back to "either" the verse or chorus. Bridges can curve and go places not expected if we let 'em!

Ahh,,,,a bridge!

And, they can be a pre chorus or chorus, or even a verse of another song that has been discarded. "Life is very short, and there's no time,,,,,,for fusin and fighting my friend", for example. Lennon had that as an unfinished song. When he heard Paul's "Try to see it my way" verses, he said he had a middle eight for it, and so it was!

More Cowbell... Mark! LOL!

Mark, that's a very "moving" avatar!!!!

Oh and on bridges, gotta love em!!!!

Someone should link the YouTube clip of Chris Walken doing the Cowbell skit on Saturday night live.. = )

Brian

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhSkRHXTKlw

Funny for sure!

Thanks!

At a TAXI Road Rally a speaker from ASCAP did a study on #1 songs in country and pop for structure and found that by far most of them had bridges. Does that make it a necessity? No. However when I do critique songs here, I find that most are without bridges. What many writers overlook is the emotional payoff in a song. Songs where the lyrics actually mean something should usually have a bridge to accomplish the emotional impact that will motivate the listener to like and buy the song. IT'S NO SALE IF YOU DON'T! So country and pop songs are likely to need bridges if they are to be commercially successful. The #1 Country Song on Ourstage in July was my personal choice for the top song. Yet I wrote the artist that a bridge would put it over the top. In instances like this, a bridge is the artist/songwriters conduit to commercial success as opposed to just having a popular likeable song.
Genre does determine the necessity of a bridge. A lot of us here who have commented write Novelty/Comedy songs. A bridge really isn't a necessity - and it's usually because there's no serious emotion involved.
In conclusion I would say if you're writing a serious tune and want to make an emotion impact - which is what will ultimately make a sale - use a bridge.

I agree, summeoyo. Lately I find myself questioning why I wouldn't write a bridge, because I've grown to enjoy writing them so much. Not only do I like the emotional payoff, I find that it is often my favorite part of the song. I like going off in another direction for a bit, then slamming back "home".