how do you write a bridge? Song structure in general?

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Bradley Tanogna

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Hey all,

I've been playing guitar and making up stuff on it for a while, but I've only recently gotten serious about writing complete songs. So far, the hardest part for me has been the bridge. Now, I know you don't need one in every song, but it really makes a song sound more dynamic and musically interesting. So...
I'm not looking for a formula, however I've noticed that in many songs, the bridge starts with the V or VII chord, almost like a key change. Or if the song is in a major key, the bridge will start with a minor chord. Do you guys have any other ideas?
Also, my songs all tend to have the following format: v1, pre-chorus, chorus, v2, pre-c, chorus, bridge, outro. Are there any other formats that you've found also work? Ie., starting a song out with the chorus, or going back to the verse after the first "pre-chorus." Thanks!

Brad
 
Lyrically, the bridge is the spot where you shed new light on the story. It's the plot twist. You're telling the listener something they didn't know before that puts the song in a whole new light.
Musically, you're trying to do the same thing: interject something new into the song. You're right... a lot of bridges jump up to the IV or V to start. It's sort of a way to say "Hey! Something new is happening so listen up!" Often a different rythmic structure can work well too.

As far as songs that use bridges differently, listen to Eleanor Rigby (Starts with a bridge and then a verse, then back to the bridge. No chorus at all.) or Every Breath You Take (Starts with a verse then straight to the bridge, then back to the verse. Again, no chorus. Then... there's like a second bridge later in the song.).

There's no shame in using the song form you mentioned... there's a reason why it's so common. There is a point during the songwriting process where a song takes on a life of its own. If you listen carefully each song will tell you where it wants to go.

A
 
Aaron Cheney said:
Lyrically, the bridge is the spot where you shed new light on the story. It's the plot twist. You're telling the listener something they didn't know before that puts the song in a whole new light.
Musically, you're trying to do the same thing: interject something new into the song. You're right... a lot of bridges jump up to the IV or V to start. It's sort of a way to say "Hey! Something new is happening so listen up!" Often a different rythmic structure can work well too.

As far as songs that use bridges differently, listen to Eleanor Rigby (Starts with a bridge and then a verse, then back to the bridge. No chorus at all.) or Every Breath You Take (Starts with a verse then straight to the bridge, then back to the verse. Again, no chorus. Then... there's like a second bridge later in the song.).

There's no shame in using the song form you mentioned... there's a reason why it's so common. There is a point during the songwriting process where a song takes on a life of its own. If you listen carefully each song will tell you where it wants to go.

A
Click to expand...

Great post!!! Let me add the song will tell you if you need a bridge, not the other way around.
 
Dude you shouldn't worry so much about different sections of the songs and what they are called.

John Lennon wrote his early songs by taking the blues and turning it into 16-bar sections. Most blues songs do not have a verse and chorus. some do not even have a harmonic structure, but just sit on one chord. Try writing a song with one chord!!!!!

None of my songs have a "chorus". Just really catchy verses!

Anywayz...

The trick to writing a good bridge, or any contrasting section be it a chorus or whatever, is phrasing. the phrase being the melodic line, whether it is sung or instrumental. Most phrases begin on either the first offbeat, or as a pickup going into the first beat. When you change to a different section, your melodic line must start (and end) on a different beat. That is the trick.

To get more variation, you can also vary the number of beats you play each chord - double or half them or whatever. The idea is to change up the rhythm!
 
FALKEN said:
The trick to writing a good bridge, or any contrasting section be it a chorus or whatever, is phrasing. the phrase being the melodic line, whether it is sung or instrumental. Most phrases begin on either the first offbeat, or as a pickup going into the first beat. When you change to a different section, your melodic line must start (and end) on a different beat. That is the trick.

To get more variation, you can also vary the number of beats you play each chord - double or half them or whatever. The idea is to change up the rhythm!
Click to expand...

Well, that's one way to get contrast. I disagree with the whole 'must' bit, though. A good bridge should either by rhythmically different, have a different feel, a different progression, or ideally, some combination thereof.

Personally, I prefer to do the change in feel as an instrument break, say Vs Ch Vs Br Ch Inst Br Ch. In that form, the bridge should connect the verse and chorus stylistically, and the instrument break should naturally flow into the bridge at the end (which is what gets a little tricky at times...). However, in such a scheme, the bridge really needs completely different changes or else it doesn't feel like a bridge. (Well, IMHO, it does anyway, but....)

A bridge is also a nice place for a key change... or a false key change, for even more fun. Here's one I like. For example purposes, I'm starting in C.

Verse ends on a C major chord. 2 beats per chord unless noted.

Ab Bb Eb Eb/G
Ab Bb Cmin(4 beats)
Ab Bb G7 Cmin
Db/F Ab/Eb Db Ab/C
Bbsusp4 Bb(1 beat) Bb/Ab(1 beat) Csusp4/G
Gsusp4(1 beat) G(1 beat)

Back in C.
 
Let the song dictate what happens when and where...

If you spend too much time trying to analyze structure and components, the song will end up sounding sterile and void of emotion...

I've written stuff where I've actually dropped a riff or progression that I figured would be the perfect bridge, but when playing the song, it just didn't flow into it...

In the end, it's the music that makes the call...

:)
 
Most all of the songs I've written certainly don't follow "traditional songwriting form" of into/verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/verse/chorus/verse/chorus/outro. Several of my songs are intro/verse/verse/chorus/verse/verse/chorus/BLAM it ends. And that's my stuff with lyrics. All of the surf guitar instumentals that I've created/noodled with for the past 15 years, I've had to "force" myself to create some kind of "chorus" and a bridge for, simply because it would be rather monotonous to hear the same "verse" played repeatedly for 2-3 minutes.

Matt
 
ok ok the truth

Writing a bridge to a song is pretty hard. Well, its hard if you want it to be a true bridge rather than just some novelty change up. Simply changing rhythm or moving to some "minor chord" is not enough and its a stab in the dark at making a bridge what it could really truly be if you knew more about what you were doing.

It seems like you are wanting your bridge to break the monotony and take the song to a new height before returning back. If that is the case you are talking about "modulation". Modulation occurs when the song changes to a new key. NOT JUST GRABBING SOME NEW CHORDS. First you must establish tonality in the original key. Make sure the listener knows what key you are starting in. Then you can modulate correctly (powerfully, smoothly). Then for the modulation to sound true and strong you must establish tonality in the new key. Establish tonality by using alot of the I, V, III, and IV chords, or if using odd chords use alot of I, V, III, and IV notes in the melody. There are only a few kinds of modulation:

SHIFT MODULATION: This is the sleaziest and easiest. This is what most amateur songs have. Basically you just choose a new chord and go for it. It takes no skill and it shows. The only way a shift modulation can sound good is if the new key repeats the same chords like a sequential modulation. Alot of 60s music uses that kind of shift. Like when the whole verse and chorus moves up one fret for the end of the song.

SEQUENTIAL MODULATION: This is when a short melody repeats then repeats at a different pitch, carrying the song into the new key. Like in the song "When Love Comes Knocking at Your Door".

RELATIVE KEY MODULATION: This is when a song starts in a key, then changes to its relative major or minor. Like if you started in A, you would change the key to F#m, or from C to Am. Now be careful when doing it this way because relative chords are closely related anyways, so using secondary dominants will help make it obvious that the key is truly changing and not just using its relative casually like most songs do anyways. Remember, tonality must be established for the new key to be apparent to the listener.

PARALLEL KEY MODULATION: The song starts in a major or minor, then modulates to the major or minor of the same chord. For example, you start in A and end up in Am, or start in E and end up in Em. Alot of old Kinks tunes do this.

PIVOT CHORD MODULATION: The song changes to a new key using a chord common to both keys. This is another tricky one because tonality can be blurry if you dont watch out.

Modulation in chords has nothing to do with the beat or the rhythm. Unless you are changing the underlying meter of the song, the beats mean practically nothing. Simply adding more snare hits or something is not going to do anything UNLESS the modulation is solid from a harmonic perspective.

If you want to add a changing feeling try this (which you should be doing already if you are a skilled songwriter). You can make a song feel like its speeding up or slowing down by using augmentation or diminution of the melody rhythm. Meaning you just increase or decrease the number of notes you are singing from part to part. "Across the Universe" has a perfect example of how melodic augmentation and diminution work. You will also find it in a ton of other beatles tunes and practically every other great song as well.
 
Good Friend said:
Writing a bridge to a song is pretty hard. Well, its hard if you want it to be a true bridge rather than just some novelty change up. Simply changing rhythm or moving to some "minor chord" is not enough and its a stab in the dark at making a bridge what it could really truly be if you knew more about what you were doing.

It seems like you are wanting your bridge to break the monotony and take the song to a new height before returning back. If that is the case you are talking about "modulation". Modulation occurs when the song changes to a new key. NOT JUST GRABBING SOME NEW CHORDS. First you must establish tonality in the original key. Make sure the listener knows what key you are starting in. Then you can modulate correctly (powerfully, smoothly). Then for the modulation to sound true and strong you must establish tonality in the new key. Establish tonality by using alot of the I, V, III, and IV chords, or if using odd chords use alot of I, V, III, and IV notes in the melody. There are only a few kinds of modulation:

SHIFT MODULATION: This is the sleaziest and easiest. This is what most amateur songs have. Basically you just choose a new chord and go for it. It takes no skill and it shows. The only way a shift modulation can sound good is if the new key repeats the same chords like a sequential modulation. Alot of 60s music uses that kind of shift. Like when the whole verse and chorus moves up one fret for the end of the song.

SEQUENTIAL MODULATION: This is when a short melody repeats then repeats at a different pitch, carrying the song into the new key. Like in the song "When Love Comes Knocking at Your Door".

RELATIVE KEY MODULATION: This is when a song starts in a key, then changes to its relative major or minor. Like if you started in A, you would change the key to F#m, or from C to Am. Now be careful when doing it this way because relative chords are closely related anyways, so using secondary dominants will help make it obvious that the key is truly changing and not just using its relative casually like most songs do anyways. Remember, tonality must be established for the new key to be apparent to the listener.

PARALLEL KEY MODULATION: The song starts in a major or minor, then modulates to the major or minor of the same chord. For example, you start in A and end up in Am, or start in E and end up in Em. Alot of old Kinks tunes do this.

PIVOT CHORD MODULATION: The song changes to a new key using a chord common to both keys. This is another tricky one because tonality can be blurry if you dont watch out.

Modulation in chords has nothing to do with the beat or the rhythm. Unless you are changing the underlying meter of the song, the beats mean practically nothing. Simply adding more snare hits or something is not going to do anything UNLESS the modulation is solid from a harmonic perspective.

If you want to add a changing feeling try this (which you should be doing already if you are a skilled songwriter). You can make a song feel like its speeding up or slowing down by using augmentation or diminution of the melody rhythm. Meaning you just increase or decrease the number of notes you are singing from part to part. "Across the Universe" has a perfect example of how melodic augmentation and diminution work. You will also find it in a ton of other beatles tunes and practically every other great song as well.
Click to expand...

A damn good post...
 
32-20-Blues said:
Yep. I can't follow all of it, but its always impressive to see someone who knows their theory.
Click to expand...

That's true, in theory..... :D
 
No big deal really

Hey thanks for saying im at least a little smart.

Honestly i have been on both sides of the spectrum when it comes to music. There was a time when i was about 16 that i thought a cool image would sell a song. I figured that if i had crazy enough hair and crazy enough of stage presence that it would allow for great artistic possibilities. Unheard of realms. But then i (thought) i got wise and realized its more about signature sound than image around 18-19. So then i started getting into as much vintage equipment as possible, using alot of pedals and tricks to make my songs up. So basically i was taking a step forward in creativity, but still not quite where i wanted to be. I made some far out things, things that probably should have been documented. But it just wasnt enough. Equipment was NEVER enough.

Then i started to slowly notice how great songs by great songwriters were SIMILAR. Not different. That opened up a whole new world to me. Up until then i thought music was all about make believe shit. But i had to come to grips that music and art is not about genius inspiration. And it is not about technique. Its somewhere in the middle grey area. And just like everything else in life, the grey area makes for much debate and much uncertainty.

So i say, keep your creativity, but realize that your creativity may grow or strenthen, or even just become faster and more efficient, as you learn what goes on within music. And it aint about memorizing scales, man.

"People make a mistake who think my art has come easily to me. Nobody has devoted so much time and thought to composition as i. There is not a famous master whose music i have not studied over and over."-- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Now if you dismiss that quote because you think it probably only applies to classical music, take a deeper look. Mozart is recognizing that people would assume his ability is something inherited or inborn. But he is saying "my ability comes from learning how music works, THEN expressing my creativity".
 
GoodFriend has done a great job of describing the theoretical mechanics of modulations and that certainly is a major part of the structural underlayment of moving to a Bridge section.
Of at least equal importance are the melodic change and the lyrical content.
In it's most simple form, a "bridge" will provide the listener with another viewpoint in a story. You could describe this as : "And Then....or "On the Other hand"...."Meanwhile"......"But Here's what actually happened"......etcetera. It gives the writer a chance to "flesh out " a story line or perhaps to give a better , fuller picture of the event or the people involved. A great example is from John Mayer's 'Daughters' when all of a sudden he sez "Boys you can break......." He expands our image of what's going on by providing a great contrast .
I hope this has helped. The cool thing about writing is re-writing. If you don't like it, change it.
Another thing I would add....Master the tools of the trade. Learn about music theory and composition. Master your chosen instrument(s) as best you can , Master the language by developing your skills as a writer and finally, master yourself so that you will have the grit to get up in front of people and stay in control of yourself, and by extension , control of the audience.

writeonnnnnnnn
chazba
 
I agree with the people who've said not to be formulaic, but it's worth pointing out that many of the pro hitmakers are totally formulaic when it comes to song structure and the use of a bridge. For me it's totally instinctive - sometimes a quite standard break, sometimes no bridge at all, sometimes an ambient section (as 10cc famously did in I'm Not in Love). It may be helpful to know the music theory but it's certainly not essential.
 
A lot of very informative posts here. A Bridge, to paraphrase the great Tunesmith, Jimmy Webb, is a brief but complete musical and lyrical departure from the verse. It shouldn't, however, be inconsistent with the rest of the song.
 
tdukex said:
A lot of very informative posts here. A Bridge, to paraphrase the great Tunesmith, Jimmy Webb, is a brief but complete musical and lyrical departure from the verse. It shouldn't, however, be inconsistent with the rest of the song.
Click to expand...

Man, I love Jimmy Webb. Is it true that he wrote MacArthur Park because someone bet him he couldn't write a number one about a cake? If it is, the man must have problems sitting down upon such huge balls.
 
32-20-Blues said:
Man, I love Jimmy Webb. Is it true that he wrote MacArthur Park because someone bet him he couldn't write a number one about a cake? If it is, the man must have problems sitting down upon such huge balls.
Click to expand...

It's been a couple of years since I read Tunesmith. I'll have to look that one up. BTW, it's a great book if you haven't read it.
 
Good Friend said:
Writing a bridge to a song is pretty hard. Well, its hard if you want it to be a true bridge rather than just some novelty change up. Simply changing rhythm or moving to some "minor chord" is not enough and its a stab in the dark at making a bridge what it could really truly be if you knew more about what you were doing.

It seems like you are wanting your bridge to break the monotony and take the song to a new height before returning back. If that is the case you are talking about "modulation". Modulation occurs when the song changes to a new key. NOT JUST GRABBING SOME NEW CHORDS. First you must establish tonality in the original key. Make sure the listener knows what key you are starting in. Then you can modulate correctly (powerfully, smoothly). Then for the modulation to sound true and strong you must establish tonality in the new key. Establish tonality by using alot of the I, V, III, and IV chords, or if using odd chords use alot of I, V, III, and IV notes in the melody. There are only a few kinds of modulation:

SHIFT MODULATION: This is the sleaziest and easiest. This is what most amateur songs have. Basically you just choose a new chord and go for it. It takes no skill and it shows. The only way a shift modulation can sound good is if the new key repeats the same chords like a sequential modulation. Alot of 60s music uses that kind of shift. Like when the whole verse and chorus moves up one fret for the end of the song.

SEQUENTIAL MODULATION: This is when a short melody repeats then repeats at a different pitch, carrying the song into the new key. Like in the song "When Love Comes Knocking at Your Door".

RELATIVE KEY MODULATION: This is when a song starts in a key, then changes to its relative major or minor. Like if you started in A, you would change the key to F#m, or from C to Am. Now be careful when doing it this way because relative chords are closely related anyways, so using secondary dominants will help make it obvious that the key is truly changing and not just using its relative casually like most songs do anyways. Remember, tonality must be established for the new key to be apparent to the listener.

PARALLEL KEY MODULATION: The song starts in a major or minor, then modulates to the major or minor of the same chord. For example, you start in A and end up in Am, or start in E and end up in Em. Alot of old Kinks tunes do this.

PIVOT CHORD MODULATION: The song changes to a new key using a chord common to both keys. This is another tricky one because tonality can be blurry if you dont watch out.

Modulation in chords has nothing to do with the beat or the rhythm. Unless you are changing the underlying meter of the song, the beats mean practically nothing. Simply adding more snare hits or something is not going to do anything UNLESS the modulation is solid from a harmonic perspective.

If you want to add a changing feeling try this (which you should be doing already if you are a skilled songwriter). You can make a song feel like its speeding up or slowing down by using augmentation or diminution of the melody rhythm. Meaning you just increase or decrease the number of notes you are singing from part to part. "Across the Universe" has a perfect example of how melodic augmentation and diminution work. You will also find it in a ton of other beatles tunes and practically every other great song as well.
Click to expand...

While I agree with parts of this, you're coming off as someone who thinks that when a book tells you something, it's right and that's the end of it.

First of all, to say that a song has to modulate to be a real bridge is ridiculous. There are probably many more examples of bridges that don't modulate ... in modern rock written after the 40s that is.

And I particularly don't like your statement on shift modulations requiring no skill and sounding amateur. These type of modulations have their place, just like others.

I know you meant well, but you come off (to me at least) as someone who's read up on songwriting but doesn't have a lot of experience. The more I learn, the more I realize that there is no formula for great writing.

There are far too many examples of different writers that write great songs in all different ways. Cobain, for instance, probably stuck closer to the clasisc pop song format than anyone in recent years. But then there's songs like "Happiness is a Warm Gun," which pretty much defies any kind of formal analysis, and no one's going to tell me that it's not a great song.

I'm not trying to come off as a jerk, and I aplogize if I've offended you. I just don't like it when people talk about the "right" and "wrong" way to right songs.
 
As will immediately become apparent, I have no grasp of techincal theory.

But I am a good songwriter.

If the formulaic approach works for you, take it. If not...

Here's what has worked for me:

I listen hard to find what it is about certain songs that makes me like them.

I think being a good player starts with being a good listener.

I try to listen to a piece of music and determine what "makes it work" like it does relative to the other parts. Keep these "tools" in your hip pocket for when you need them. Don't worry about genre, musical tools cross those lines all the time. Focus on what exites you about music, and drill down on that.


Know where you want to go before you start writing, and then brainstorm around the tools that you know will get the job done.

You will fail countless times, but each time you will learn a little more about what does not work, and why.

The rest is just time and effort, you're no stranger to either.
 
Sometimes I just drop something in to break it up. Other times I don't bridge at all but follow the groove. There are other times when I sit down & consciously work something out from the existing structure, progression, instrumentation or themes to up the ante' - usually with a view to throwing in the trad M8 solo.
If you're silly enough to listen to my stuff you'll hear what I mean.
Oh, listen to lots - particularly to Supercreep's music for a variety of effective structures & excellent songs.
 
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