From the course: Music Theory for Songwriters: The Fundamentals

Unlock the full course today

Join today to access over 23,400 courses taught by industry experts.

The bridge or middle 8

The bridge or middle 8

From the course: Music Theory for Songwriters: The Fundamentals

Start my 1-month free trial Buy for my team

The bridge or middle 8

“

- The term bridge in today's music has been borrowed from 32-bar AABA form, and is used loosely to describe any linking passage between one section to another. Namely, it's a section that's not a verse or a chorus. When a song uses a bridge in the middle, it's sometimes referred to as the middle eight, which stands for eight bars, even though a middle eight can be 16 bars or longer. In many songs, it'll come in after the second chorus to change it up, creating a break before ending the song with the chorus again. And sometimes, production elements can take the place of a bridge, like a drum break or a bass drop.

Contents