Sometimes I'm writing a song, and the verses and choruses are going well, when I think "Uh-oh, it's time for a bridge".
The bridge is tough. That's the section near the end of the song that takes the melody and lyric in a new direction, adding some kind of twist or transformation that makes the whole song more meaningful.
Some songs don't need a bridge. Their structure is "verse, verse, verse", or "verse, chorus, verse, chorus". Some songs have something called a pre-chorus too. Some songs (like "O Canada") don't have distinct, repeating verses or choruses.
When I'm writing a song, I know when it needs a bridge. I can feel it. To NOT write one would feel lazy...and would make the song incomplete.
That means I have to work a little harder, to come up with new material that hasn't appeared in the song so far and to truly understand where exactly my song is going and what it means.
Sometimes life needs a bridge too. Lately I've been feeling that a bridge is coming up in my life, and I have the familiar feeling of not knowing quite how it will look or sound.
As I begin to make this transition (the nature of which is still unclear) I need to do what I do when I'm writing a song: experiment.
What passage feels most natural? Does the song seem to call for a particular type of change, faster/slower, major/minor, a new key? Am I making little slips or mistakes that can show me a new direction? What just "sounds right"? Is there a transition that would bring all the verses and choruses so far into sharper focus?
Writing the bridge can be one of the most difficult aspects of the songwriting process, but when it's done well, it can elevate the whole song to a higher level. Knowing that helps me look ahead to transitions in life, trusting that they're necessary and worth the trouble.
5 comments:
I appreciated your comments on the bridge and how we have them as parts of lives as well. I'm a songwriter also, and am struggling with a song that I know needs a bridge. I'm sure you are like most artists, sometimes the stuff just flows, and other times things dry up (and that's when it can sound contrived or forced). Maybe you can give me a push -- the song is about a person who is contemplating in indiscretion of some kind. He has an angel on one shoulder but a devil on the other. The song is called "Vox Diaboli" (voice of the devil). I'm thinking the bridge will be the consequences of the lie, but welcome your twist.
Regards,
David
Thanks David,
Yes, I find that sometimes the flow does get bogged down at the bridge...it's important to keep momentum somehow. I think you're headed in the right direction re realizing the consequences. (The bridge is ideally suited to expressing that kind of epiphany...which then will hopefully lead naturally into the last verse.) A few other techniques that might be useful: writing the music first and singing nonsense lyrics until they fall into meaning (this gets the intellect out of the way somewhat, allowing the unconscious to speak); thinking of integration or connecting of the two images you have going, ie devil/angel...how are they related, twinned, conjoined... (that again is an intellectual approach but it may get the creative juices flowing and turns the song in a new direction). Finally, I find that it also helps to sing the song up to that point many times repeatedly, creating a readiness to "jump" into the bridge.
Anyway, it sounds like a great song...and perhaps you've already found the answer. Good luck and let me know how it turns out! - Lynn
Well written article.
This post is a sincerely written one. I was Googing "How to Write a Bridge" and I couldn't really find anything specific on the lyrical writing of a bridge until I stumbling upon your post. In the preview on Google it said, I know when a song needs a bridge I can feel it. That is precisely what I was feeling. I knew it would be lazy to just end it and I'm so happy that someone put my thoughts and feelings so accurately on a page. I shall not be lazy. Thank you poster for your true wisdom.
B flat always saves the day with a bridge. And then F.
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