Bridge (music)

${ \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major <e gis b d>1_\markup { \concat { \translate #'(-3.5 . 0) { "C: III" \raise #1 \small "7" \hspace #5 "VI" \raise #1 \small "7" \hspace #5.5 "II" \raise #1 \small "7" \hspace #5.5 "V" \raise #1 \small "7" } } } <a, e' g! cis> <d fis a c!> < g, d' f! b> \bar "||" } }$

The ragtime progression (E⁷-A⁷-D⁷-G⁷) often appears in the bridge of jazz standards.^[1] The III⁷-VI⁷-II⁷-V⁷ (or V⁷/V/V/V–V⁷/V/V–V⁷/V–V⁷) leads back to C major (I) but is itself indefinite in key.

In music, especially Western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section that prepares for the return of the original material section. It adds a sense of progress within a piece of music and can be used to introduce a source of tension, ^[2]. In a piece in which the original material or melody is referred to as the "A" section, the bridge may be the third eight-bar phrase in a 32-bar form (the B in AABA), or may be used more loosely in verse-chorus form, or, in a compound AABA form, used as a contrast to a full AABA section.^[3]

The bridge is often used to contrast with and prepare for the return of the verse and the chorus. "The b section of the popular song chorus is often called the bridge or release ",^[4] or boredom-breaker, ^[2].

^ Boyd, Bill (1997). Jazz Chord Progressions, p. 56. ISBN 0-7935-7038-7.
^ ^a ^b "Song Building Blocks - Songstuff". Songstuff. 14 March 2025.
^ "A Guide To Song Forms – Song Form Overview". Songstuff. 12 March 2025.
^ Benward & Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I, p. 318. Seventh Edition. ISBN 978-0-07-294262-0 Emphasis original.

[1] Boyd, Bill (1997). Jazz Chord Progressions, p. 56. ISBN 0-7935-7038-7.

[Songstuff_1-2] "Song Building Blocks - Songstuff". Songstuff. 14 March 2025.

[Songstuff_2-3] "A Guide To Song Forms – Song Form Overview". Songstuff. 12 March 2025.

[4] Benward & Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I, p. 318. Seventh Edition. ISBN 978-0-07-294262-0 Emphasis original.

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