Editing Song structure (section)

===Bridge===
{{main article|Bridge (music)}}

A bridge may be a ''[[transition (music)|transition]]'', but in popular music, it more often is "...a section that contrasts with the verse...[,] usually ends on the dominant...[,] [and] often culminates in a strong re-transitional."<ref name="Everett16"/> "The bridge is a device that is used to break up the repetitive pattern of the song and keep the listener's attention....In a bridge, the pattern of the words and music change."<ref name="D&H7">Davidson & Heartwood (1996), p.7.</ref> For example, [[John Denver]]'s "[[Country Roads]]" is a song with a bridge while [[Stevie Wonder]]'s "[[You Are the Sunshine of My Life]]" is a song without one.<ref name="D&H7"/>

In [[music theory]], "[[Thirty-two-bar form#Middle eight|middle eight]]" (a common type of bridge) refers to a section of a song with a significantly different [[melody]] and lyrics, which helps the song develop itself in a natural way by creating a contrast to the previously played, usually placed after the second chorus in a song.

A song employing a middle eight might look like:
        ....  ....    ....  ....    ........  ....     ....
 Intro-<nowiki/>{Verse-Pre-Chorus-Chorus}{Verse-Pre-Chorus-Chorus}-Middle 8-<nowiki/>{Chorus}<nowiki/>

By adding a powerful upbeat middle eight, musicians can then end the song with a [[hook (music)|hook]] in the end chorus and finale.