Bridge

The word bridge has two related meanings in music. Both describe a passage that connects, or contrasts with, the main sections of a piece.

The bridge in songs

In popular songs, the bridge is a section that sounds different from both the verse and the chorus. It usually appears only once, most often after the second chorus, and leads back into a final chorus.

A bridge typically brings at least one of these changes:

• New chords, often starting away from the home chord (on IV, vi or another chord) or briefly moving to another key.
• A new melody, sometimes higher and more intense, sometimes quieter and more reflective.
• A change of texture or groove: instruments drop out, the drums switch pattern, or the song breaks down to voice and one instrument.
• A new angle in the lyrics: a realization, a twist or a question.

The bridge exists to prevent fatigue. After two rounds of verse and chorus the ear knows what to expect; a fresh section makes the last chorus feel like an arrival.

The bridge in AABA songs

In AABA (32-bar) form, the bridge is the B section, bars 17–24. Jazz musicians also call it the release, and British musicians the middle eight (because it is often eight bars long). It usually moves to a new key area and then prepares the return of the final A.

The bridge in classical forms

In sonata form, the bridge (or transition) is the passage in the exposition that moves from the first theme in the home key to the second theme in a new key. Unlike a song bridge, it is usually not a tune of its own but energetic passagework: scales, broken chords and sequences that modulate and build momentum. In the recapitulation, the bridge is rewritten so it stays in the home key.

Not to be confused with

• The bridge of a string instrument, the wooden piece that holds the strings up from the body of a violin or guitar.
• A pre-chorus, the build-up that comes before every chorus. A bridge normally appears once.