EIGHT (8) THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WRITING A SONG BRIDGE

1.Write your bridge to happen after the second chorus. Most of the time, you’ll insert the bridge after a second go-through of the chorus: Verse 1 – Chorus – Verse 2 – Chorus - BRIDGE. 2.Create a new chord progression, one that explores an “opposite mode” from the chorus. For songs in a major key, it’s not unusual to have a verse focused primarily on minor chords, switching to major for the chorus. An effective bridge should therefore either switch temporarily to a minor key, or at least focus on using minor chords. 3.Good bridge chord progressions tend to be “fragile” in nature. In other words, a bridge is a good place to allow the music to move briefly to a new key, or use so-called “altered” chords (i.e., ones “borrowed” from a different key, like flat-III etc.) 4.Create a new melody, one that differs in shape and feel from the verse and chorus melody. Because the bridge heightens the emotions, you may want to experiment with a melody that explores the upper regions of the voice. 5.Allow bridge lyrics to deepen the emotional impact of your song. Verse lyrics tend to describe, while chorus lyrics usually centered on an emotional response to the verse. A good bridge lyric goes deeper and tells us more by alternating quickly between describing situations and being emotional. All in all, a bridge lyric needs to heighten the emotional level of your music. 6.If your song needs a 3rd verse (to continue a story), allow the bridge energy to dissipate so as to properly connect to verse 3. 7.If your song feels complete by the end of the bridge, follow it with a repeat of the chorus. In that way, a bridge will build energy so that the final run-through of the chorus is even more powerful. 8.Allow the final chords of a bridge to connect smoothly to what happens afterward. It’s not common to end a bridge on a tonic chord, because it has a way of killing energy. It’s better to end a bridge with some sort of “open” cadence: a V-chord, for example, or some other non-tonic chord. That chord will cause the listener to want to hear more, and sets up a return to a verse or the chorus very well. Before you look for ways to break out of the norm and be creative, try some of the suggestions above. You may find that a bridge will be that missing bit of your song that pulls everything together and helps the listener make a connection.