Music Lesson: Understanding the Bridge and Modulation

So, I showed you the verse, the chorus, and a little tag at the end of the chorus. We'll go over it again.

The Bridge (or Middle Eight)

When we get to the bridge, which is also called a middle eight, it can be a bit confusing.

• In the UK, a bridge is a pre-chorus.
• In the US, a bridge is a middle eight.

So, you know, not to blow your mind, but that's a little confusing if you ask me.

The Structure

When we get to that kind of middle section, you know, it usually happens between the second and last chorus. There's a little shift, and I call that a bridge. In the UK, they call that a middle eight.

Chords Needed

For this part, the chords we're going to need are:

• E minor
• D
• A

Now, we've already hopefully gotten confident with our E minor (great chord!) and feeling good about our D. We're gonna bring that A in there.

Modulation

Now, something interesting in this song, which can be a bit cheesy, is called a modulation.

• It's when, for the last triumphant moment of a pop song, you raise it up a key.
• Think about "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston; you know, that money note.

Sometimes, it can be a little dramatic, but for me, in this song, it feels really sweet and special.

Preparing for the Last Chorus

I've told you about the different chords, and now I'm going to bring you to this modulation for our last chorus. Then, I'm going to walk you through it from the beginning to the end so you understand the song structure.

First, we need to line up all of our chords. We know we need:

• G
• B minor
• C
• D
• E minor
• A

So get your chords kind of ready so that you're familiar with them.

The Moment in the Song

After we go out of the middle eight (or bridge), we use E minor, D, and A.

"Hear me, this is the point in the song where I just hold out the note as long as I can."

It's usually a moment on stage where everyone starts cheering, and it's really sweet. I hold the note out as long as I can, and I'll fall on my knees. That's when we hit the modulation.

The Modulation Transition

For the modulation, we go to:

• D to E

Then, we have a bar chord. This is an F sharp minor.

"This is a little advanced because you're going to need to make a bar chord."

It's that bar chord on the second fret.

• It's similar to the E shape, except you would pick up your middle finger.
• You're only doing stuff on the second and fourth fret.
• If you were in an E, you're just picking up that middle finger.

I hope that's not too confusing! So, we're going to need this F sharp minor for the modulation chorus, and then we go back to the D.

Summary of the Chords

Those are all the chords needed for the lesson.