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Turtleneck Posted Mon 11 Jan, 2010 3:52 PM |
I have read the definition of a middle 8, but I need an example to understand how it differs from a bridge.
If someone could give an example of a song that has both, that would be cool.
These are the weird things I think of when I wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep. |
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weirdmom Posted Mon 11 Jan, 2010 4:56 PM |
| I think often those terms are used interchangeably. Though technically a Middle 8 should be 8 bars while a bridge could be 2 bars (or 4 or 10). |
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neverAcquiesce Posted Mon 11 Jan, 2010 9:10 PM |
weirdmom wrote: I think often those terms are used interchangeably. Though technically a Middle 8 should be 8 bars while a bridge could be 2 bars (or 4 or 10).
You pretty much hit the nail on the head.
Middle 8 definition |
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davidbova Posted Mon 11 Jan, 2010 9:20 PM |
| i have no musical training of course, but the way i always thought of them was the bridge was the connection between the verse and the chorus, and the middle 8 was the bit after the chorus that opens the song up into a different direction almost to break up any kind of monotony of verse/chorus/verse/chorus etc. |
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Typing to Reach You Posted Mon 11 Jan, 2010 10:06 PM |
| I basically understand it as davidbova put it. Take... Sailing Away for example. The bridge would be the "I live by the river" bit, whereas the middle 8 would be the "grab the bull by the horns" bit. I think. |
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neverAcquiesce Posted Mon 11 Jan, 2010 10:37 PM |
Typing to Reach You wrote: I basically understand it as davidbova put it. Take... Sailing Away for example. The bridge would be the "I live by the river" bit, whereas the middle 8 would be the "grab the bull by the horns" bit. I think.
Those bits would actually be the chorus and bridge/middle 8 respectively. |
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Turtleneck Posted Mon 11 Jan, 2010 10:40 PM |
Typing to Reach You wrote: I basically understand it as davidbova put it. Take... Sailing Away for example. The bridge would be the "I live by the river" bit, whereas the middle 8 would be the "grab the bull by the horns" bit. I think.
Wouldn't the "I live by the river" part be the first line of the chorus? It repeats 4 times. |
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davidbova Posted Mon 11 Jan, 2010 10:53 PM |
on the right lines but maybe not the best example. every song is different though, it just so happens that there are common templates.. nothing has to be set in a particular fashion. theres certainly variety in most travis songs in their structure
but the perfect example of mine and TTRY's idea of it(which i guess fits with the definition) is song to self
verse -> Pictures in your mind..
bridge -> By the time you hear this I’ll be gone
chorus -> I’m singing a song to myself
middle 8 -> the instrumental extension that provides a change in chord structure and opens the song up even more |
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neverAcquiesce Posted Tue 12 Jan, 2010 3:12 PM |
| I would think "By the time..." would be part of the chorus since it's repeated. Or an extended part of the verse. The bridge/middle 8 would be the part with the heavy acoustic and Fran's "any longer" and "hey!"'s. |
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Typing to Reach You Posted Tue 12 Jan, 2010 6:25 PM |
Turtleneck wrote: Typing to Reach You wrote: I basically understand it as davidbova put it. Take... Sailing Away for example. The bridge would be the "I live by the river" bit, whereas the middle 8 would be the "grab the bull by the horns" bit. I think.
Wouldn't the "I live by the river" part be the first line of the chorus? It repeats 4 times.
Y'see I hear the "I live by the river, live by the river and I'll die by the river" bit as the bridge to the chorus of "I'm sailing away...". But yeah I guess it could all be the chorus. Meh. Not best example, I just happened to listen to it recently. xD |
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Turtleneck Posted Tue 12 Jan, 2010 7:55 PM |
Luke, you may be right. I dunno.
After much searching, I have seen the example of the Elvis song, "Suspicious Minds" as having a real middle 8. "Oh, let our love survive..." that part.
Most people are saying they are pretty much the same. I was just wondering if there is a song somewhere out there with both so I could differentiate between the two, but, oh well. It's not that important. I'm sure I'll think of something else to ponder in the wee hours of the morning. |
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Typing to Reach You Posted Tue 12 Jan, 2010 9:49 PM |
Hmm I'm struggling to think of any good examples of songs that have both in, even though I'm sure there are loads. But I stand by the idea that the bridge and middle 8 are relatively distinct from one another. Or, possibly, that middle 8's are a type of bridge, but a bridge is not necessarily a middle 8. :P
Anyway, I can think of two separate examples off-hand that are Travisy in nature. Closer's "and when I see you..." bit I see as a bridge (connecting the verses to the chorus). And The Humpty Dumpty Love Song's "oh what a perfect day..." I reckon is a middle 8, because it occurs once, in the middle of the song. Structurally middle 8s often seem to appear at the same place you might expect to hear an instrumental or solo - after the second chorus (incidentally I'm sure that middle 8s can be instrumentals). But the middle 8 can typically have a different effect on the pace or mood of a song than a solo would, as it seems to suggest here. |
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neverAcquiesce Posted Tue 12 Jan, 2010 10:59 PM |
| Doing a bit of searching it appears that the linking bit between the verse and chorus can be called the bridge, but it is more commonly referred to as the pre-chorus. |
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Turtleneck Posted Wed 13 Jan, 2010 1:31 AM |
| Between this thread and the gravity/bleach/helium thread on G-chat, I think my curiosity is satisfied for the time being. |
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