Bridge Of a Song – The Contrasting Section

The bridge of a song is the part of the song that contrasts to the theme of the song. It is often called “Section B” of a song – Section A being the theme of the tune.

Click on this link to watch this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvwQmGrTS0Q&feature=youtu.be

Good morning. This is Duane, and we’ve been doing a series of videos called “How to Color on the Piano Without Crayons.” The idea is to take any popular song, or gospel song, anything but classical music, and add color to it through the use of color tones and chord substitutions and fillers and that sort of thing. Our latest project has been “Ain’t She Sweet” and we’re playing in a ragtime style.

The first week we went through the form of “Ain’t She Sweet,” and we said that every piece has a form of some sort, just like every house has a form. It’s got 2 bedrooms or 4 bedrooms or whatever. The same way with songs. We said “Ain’t She Sweet” is in a AABA format. In other words, there’s a theme that goes like this (piano playing). That’s the theme, that’s 8 bars long, or 8 measures long. Then it repeats the same thing, another 8 bars. Then, there’s a bridge, a middle part that goes like this: (piano playing). Then you go back to the theme which is 8 bars long. Okay. We have AABA. It’s easy to understand. Once we learn the A section, you’ve really learned 75% of the song, haven’t you? All you need to do is learn the B section.

Then we took up the concept of what our left hand is doing creating a rhythm using a swing bass. We talked about a swing bass. The reason it’s called a swing bass is because you swing between a low note and a chord. You hook the low note to the chord by way of your pedal. In other words, you push down your pedal as you hit the low note, and let it up as you hit the chord. That’s called a swing bass, or stride piano. Sometimes stride piano is used in ragtime a lot. Some people even call it [boom-chuck 02:06]. Boom-chuck, boom-chuck, boom-chuck. Kind of an imitation of the drum, in other words. Your left hand is creating a rhythm pattern.

In your right hand, we’re playing the chords as well as the melody. Of course, the melody’s the most important part of a song, but under it we put the chords. We said we could arpeggiate the chords by simply breaking them up in a rhythm-y kind of fashion. Say the first chord is E flat and melody’s C, so I could go (piano playing). Or I could break it up from the bottom. I can play it steady like that or I can syncopate it. There’s 4 choices right there. Okay, the next chord is E diminished, so … oh, wait a second. Here we go. There we go. I can break the chord down like that, or break it up. Again, we could syncopate it.

If we put that together, it sounds something like this: (piano playing). Then it repeats. Okay. Now we come to the bridge. In the bridge … it’s called a bridge because it’s a break from the theme. The chords are not only different, but your style should be somewhat different, too. I’m going to change from the swing bass to a sustained bass. In other words … after I play the first chord. The first chord will be A flat. Instead of using a swing bass, like that, I’m going to play a sustained chord. 1, 2, 3, 4. Like so. Okay? Let’s take it in context. Let me do it again.

Okay. Let’s take the walk-up first of all. The melody goes (piano playing). The chord is going from E flat to A flat. Up a fourth, right? 1, 2, 3, 4. Instead of just playing E flat, E flat, E flat, A flat, I’m walking up from E flat to A flat like that. I could do it octaves of course, and a ragtime player would probably do that. In my right hand, I’m playing a third above E flat. It’s way more than a third. It’s a tenth, then an octave. Let me play it as a tenth. See that? It’s like playing thirds, except they’re separated by an octave. Okay? Let’s take it that far.

Now I’m going to play an A flat chord with a seventh on the bottom, and then I’m going to slide up a half step, and then back down. I’m voicing the A flat seventh chord with a seventh on the bottom, the third in the middle, and the sixth on top. It’s called open fourth voicing. Okay? Again.

Now in the right hand, I kind of echoed what I did. My left hand (piano playing). My right hand’s playing the E flat chord as an echo of the melody earlier as an octave. In my index fingers, sliding off A flat up to A natural and back to A flat. Again. Or we could walk up again. Then we go right back to (piano playing). Okay?

The bridge is a contrast to the A section. Okay? Now, next time, we’re going to play the whole thing through so you can see it context. We’ve had to slow it down and take it step by step, but I want you to see the whole picture after it’s all said and done. Also, how we end it. That’s it for today. If you enjoy these little tips, come on over to playpiano.com and sign up for our series of free piano tips. Hope to see you there. Goodbye for now.

***For lots more good stuff on piano playing come on over to my website at https://www.playpiano.com and sign up for our free piano tips – “Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions!”

Here’s a great little book on chords and chord progressions on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Piano-Chords-Chord-Progressions-Exciting-ebook/dp/B0076OUGDE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404158669&sr=1-1&keywords=piano+chords+duane+shinn

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