Technical definitions of "bridge", "coda", "reprise", and anything else like that.

[JacobTM]

Technical definitions of "bridge", "coda", "reprise", and anything else like that.

I don't know a great deal about music theory, and what I do know is pretty much all about harmony and melody, not structure.

From just reading tabs and living in our society, I know what a verse and a chorus are, though I wouldn't be surprised if I misunderstood their technical meanings. To me, a chorus is a section that is repeated almost verbatim each time, with perhaps a change in the number of times it's repeated. A verse is also repeated almost verbatim each time it is played, but usually with a different set of lyrics or a different melody over it.

Now here comes the stuff I really don't know.

A bridge, I assume, is just something which links a verse and a chorus, in either order.

However, a reprise, or a coda, I don't really know what those mean...

This came up becuase I'm trying to tab this song called Better Living Through Chemistry. It starts out with what obviously is a verse, then it goes into something that I'd call a chorus because it's repeated later with the same words. Then, after the first chorus, it goes into a very long instrumental section with different music than the verse and chorus, then back to the verse, to the chorus, and it ends from the chorus.

So it's verse, chorus, instrumental section, verse, chorus.

However, in the instrumental section, there's a series of vocal harmonies that is actually repeated over the last chorus. The instrumentation in the last chorus is unchanged, but the same types of harmonies are sung over it. Does that give a clue as to what the instrumental sections technical name might be?

Thanks,
Jacob

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: Technical definitions of "bridge", "coda", "reprise", and anything else like that.

Re: Technical definitions of "bridge", "coda", "reprise", and anything else like that.

A lot of times the part after the chorus is called a Tag. There is probably another name? Anyhow, songs are discribed as having form and that form is often spelled: ABACAB. In other words each section has a letter. Classical music uses a different set of names. There are dictionaries available with music terms.

 

[YJM_Rocks]

Re: Technical definitions of "bridge", "coda", "reprise", and anything else like that.

Re: Technical definitions of "bridge", "coda", "reprise", and anything else like that.

A coda is the part that ends the piece. Sometimes you'll see something like D.S. al Coda, that means to go back to the D.S. and play that until you get to the coda, then you play the coda, which will end the piece. A reprise usually has something to do with repeating the peice from the beginning but I am not sure of the actually definition.

Sorry for the crappy explanations, but you get the idea.

Try this link:
http://www.classicalworks.com/html/glossary.html