I need to write a couple of bridges...

[Tim C]

So I've got to write some bridges (which will essentially be bass solos) to make two parts that pretty much don't belong in the same song have a nice transiton to one another. by that I mean that one is like an upbeat funk-rock type feel and the other is a slower feeling smooth kind of line, almost like a dub or reggae feel. This is proving to be very difficult to do. I'll get something going but in the end it will either be too slow or too fast, or it will just sound wrong. What can I do to fix this? Do i just need to keep playing the parts until I can find a way to bridge them (which is what I've been doing) or is there a more efficient approach to writing these things? any ideas?

[Eric VB]

If it's a true solo -- not even drum accompaniment -- you're in total control of everything, including tempo. One "trick" to try would be taking your funk line up to some insane tempo (cheap thrills for the crowd) and then bring it down until it has the right feel for the upcoming section. Now it's just a matter of finding a segue harmonically. (Going down in pitch chromatically while simultaneously slowing the tempo down usually works.) Take your time and don't rush things; this won't be a 2- or 4-measure bridge.

 

John Paul Jones has a great talent for using arrangement to bridge dissimilar song sections. Some of his best examples, IMO, are on his solo recordings. In a nutshell, you have to start the change as the first section is ending; start playing your transitional line. The rest of the band drops out and you continue to play the transitional line, or variation(s) of it, until the band comes back in for the next section. After a short time, switch over to your dub part. Everything kind of overlaps that way.

 

Another approach is launch into a true melodic-style bass solo at the end of the first part. Do whatever you want. Use dynamics and judicious amounts of empty space to create a transition. [uh, I'm kind of thinking the way a blues guitarist can sometimes get very quiet and sparse during a solo. Or even the way "Shout!" does the "a little bit softer now" part, in a way.] At the end of your solo you may want to introduce the theme for the next section. If your drummer is good at following, take him/her along for the ride.

[Danzilla]

Without actually hearing the two parts, it's hard to give you any specifics (though Ricbassguy did a fine job- better than I could). But the first thing that came to mind based off of your description was "Quartz" by Marillion. Except that their bridge, the bass drops out quite a bit. So take what they did, and do exactly the opposite. Then it's not copywrite infringement.

[Rowbee]

You could just have a drum break? The drummer could easily totally change the feel and even the tempo and make it appear seamless? I know I've done it in previous bands and I think it's quite effective.

[dcr]

I don't understand the task. If the two parts don't belong in the same song, why are they in the same song?

[Davo-London]

Exactly - sounds like my writing style! One thing my drum instructor has me doing is playing 3/4 against a 4/4 beat and so it only resolves after 3 or 6 bars etc. This is a nice trick. Either way I would keep the drums going.

 

Davo

[Phil W]

What are the tempos of the two sections?

I would slowly pare down the funk line - focussing on the 'one' of each bar (presuming the reggae part is not a one drop). Once you've 'dubbed' down the funk part to absolute sparseness then build it up into the new line.

Otherwise, and particularly if the tempos are different try what Ricbassguy suggested - I like the idea of a melodic bas solo linking the two sections - think Paul Chambers on Coltrane's A Love Supreme but in s different contest, obviously.

[Tim C]

Originally posted by dcr:

I don't understand the task. If the two parts don't belong in the same song, why are they in the same song?

By that i meant that the parts are of two different genres, after i wrote the bridges it sounded just right.

 

I went with the approach of a melodic part that led to sort of a zeppelin-esque tempo change, and for the other one I did some chordal stuff to do another zeppelin-esque tempo change. (if you can't by now tell I'm a big fan of JPJ) thanks for the input guys, i love how i always get good advice here.