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for an outbreak of head-banging. You could reprise the intro, perhaps in a shortened form. It is often good to have a cha

The Middle Eight/Bridge
Or as James Brown famously exclaimed, "Shall I take it to the bridge?", and Robert Plant answered, "Where's that confo
The middle eight usually comes after the second chorus, though it might be inserted after the second verse as a way of d
it can even be inserted more than once.
The term "middle eight" reminds us that the commonest length is eight bars, though the term is now used regardless of i
function, which is to link different parts of the song. After the second chorus, songs often "need" to go somewhere else
introduced. The easiest thing to do is introduce a solo of some sort – a rock song would probably have a guitar solo, an M
(That way you don't have to write more lyrics). This tactic is not as common as it was.
Harmonically, a middle eight might have a key change, or work towards one. The traditional key change is to the domin
to return to the home key:

F G Am F C F D7 G

This song is in C major, with a middle eight that changes key to the dominant G major. But since G major is also chord
start of the next verse and be back in C. Simply turn G into G7. 'That'll be The Day' does this.
'I Saw Her Standing There' and 'Into The Groove' are examples of a IV-V change – two major chords a tone (full step) a
Harmonically, the middle eight may have some chords that have not been played elsewhere in the song. The Beatles had
verses that were all tough dominant seventh chords (17 IV7 V7: C7 F7 G7) with a bridge that sweetened the emotion w
Am). Listen to 'Can't Buy Me Love', 'I Feel Fine', and 'Hard Day's Night'. 'You Can't Do That' has a brilliant bridge in w
verse lapses momentarily into vulnerability:

III maj VI II III I III maj VI II III V

B7 Em Am Bm G7 B7 Em Am Bm D

The fleeting modulation to a wounded Em is cancelled out by the surly G7 (Em needs F# and G7 has an F on top).
Lyrically, the middle eight might give a new or different slant to the theme – perhaps leading to a realisation that will be
might be full of questions that are answered in the song's conclusion.

Last Chorus
Since the chorus is the beating heart of the pop song, songs often end with several of them back to back. Assuming that
chorus itself, last choruses often have a little extra something to spice them up. You can do this through the arrangemen
changing a word or two in the lyric, adding more voices, etc. The cheapest trick in the book is to ratchet up the exciteme