What is this ... how do you say ... "key changes"?percussion boy wrote:
Maybe it's harder to build a working bridge without some knowledge of key changes -- which some musicians don't bother to get. Changing the key center or at least the harmonic vibe lets the listener know they're not in Kansas anymore.
The standard routine is to drop to the relative minor (as somebody mentioned) or to modulate up a whole step (as we have discussed)
When I hear either of those two tricks, though, I think "oh, it's the bridge".
"Fool In the Rain" doesn't evoke that same ho-hum response in my head. It is, though, just a reworking of the basic melody/progression from the hook, sort of, although it sure sounds completely different if you're not listening with analytic ears.
But: I just heard 'You Can Call Me Al' for the three thousandth time today, and noted that the 'bridge' is a bunch of 'oohs' in the home key, followed by that rapid hand drumming deal, followed by the fretless bass freak-out. That works, IMO, without modulating. I wonder if that 'bridge' was written on the fly, in the studio, with suits hovering. It's more of a performance bridge than a songwriting bridge, I say.
I will check out that Steely Dan bridge and see how much it annoys me.
I would like to see a list of tricks to use in a bridge. I have academic articles about hooks and they are very useful to browse when I'm stuck halfway through a song/arrangement and I need a push.
