famous beagle
Well-known member
As to the original question
Bradley, regarding your original post, I'll say this:
There's nothing wrong with the form you're writing in. It's a well-established pop song "formula" that's been used by everyone from country writers to Nirvana. (Cobain actually was one of the most formulaic writers--in terms of song form that is--that I've seen in a long time.)
Here are some other common forms:
verse/bridge form - the Beatle's "Yesterday" is a great example of this.
verse/chorus/verse/chorus (or start with chorus) - Dylan's "Tambourine Man" and "Like a Rolling Stone" are examples.
verse/verse/verse/verse/etc. - Paul Simon's "The Sound of Silence" uses this old folksong form.
The short of it is, as has been said by others, don't worry too much about it, and let the song suggest to you where it wants to go. If you want to make money from your songs, then a good chorus or hook that returns certainly doesn't hurt, so a "through-composed" method (like "Happiness is a Warm Gun") might not be the first choice. But that's not set in stone!
Regarding bridges, if you think the song needs one, then yes moving away from the tonic is a standard practice. You might start a bridge on a IV chord, V chord, vi chord, or maybe a ii chord. Or you could modulate (as Good Friend pointed out).
Alternatively, you could stay in the same key but use some borrowed chords (borrowed from the parallel minor mode). This could be like this: if you were in the key of C major, you might use an Fm chord (minor iv).
Or, you could modulate to the parallel minor key. So, if the song were in A major, you could modulate to A minor. "Every Breath You Take" is a perfect example of this. The song uses mainly a I - vi - IV - V progression for the verses. But the bridge modulates to the parallel minor and uses bVI - bVII -bVI - bVII - bVI - I progression.
All of the modulation techniques Good Friend listed are great. (I'm aware that he listed the parallel one, but I just wanted to elaborate on it a little bit.)
But I just want to end with saying this: Don't let anyone tell you what you "should" or "shouldn't" do. There's nothing wrong with learning all you can, but just don't ever think of it as a set of rules. Music is an art more than it is a science (in my mind, anyway). MANY of the great writers throughout history, such as the Beatles, are the ones who broke some "rules" along the way. A bridge doesn't "have" to be anything. If it works for the song, it works. Period.
Bradley, regarding your original post, I'll say this:
There's nothing wrong with the form you're writing in. It's a well-established pop song "formula" that's been used by everyone from country writers to Nirvana. (Cobain actually was one of the most formulaic writers--in terms of song form that is--that I've seen in a long time.)
Here are some other common forms:
verse/bridge form - the Beatle's "Yesterday" is a great example of this.
verse/chorus/verse/chorus (or start with chorus) - Dylan's "Tambourine Man" and "Like a Rolling Stone" are examples.
verse/verse/verse/verse/etc. - Paul Simon's "The Sound of Silence" uses this old folksong form.
The short of it is, as has been said by others, don't worry too much about it, and let the song suggest to you where it wants to go. If you want to make money from your songs, then a good chorus or hook that returns certainly doesn't hurt, so a "through-composed" method (like "Happiness is a Warm Gun") might not be the first choice. But that's not set in stone!
Regarding bridges, if you think the song needs one, then yes moving away from the tonic is a standard practice. You might start a bridge on a IV chord, V chord, vi chord, or maybe a ii chord. Or you could modulate (as Good Friend pointed out).
Alternatively, you could stay in the same key but use some borrowed chords (borrowed from the parallel minor mode). This could be like this: if you were in the key of C major, you might use an Fm chord (minor iv).
Or, you could modulate to the parallel minor key. So, if the song were in A major, you could modulate to A minor. "Every Breath You Take" is a perfect example of this. The song uses mainly a I - vi - IV - V progression for the verses. But the bridge modulates to the parallel minor and uses bVI - bVII -bVI - bVII - bVI - I progression.
All of the modulation techniques Good Friend listed are great. (I'm aware that he listed the parallel one, but I just wanted to elaborate on it a little bit.)
But I just want to end with saying this: Don't let anyone tell you what you "should" or "shouldn't" do. There's nothing wrong with learning all you can, but just don't ever think of it as a set of rules. Music is an art more than it is a science (in my mind, anyway). MANY of the great writers throughout history, such as the Beatles, are the ones who broke some "rules" along the way. A bridge doesn't "have" to be anything. If it works for the song, it works. Period.