2. the subdominant chord is followed by a back door progression (see Chapter l), returning briefly to I before going to the II7.
Minor variations on a prototype ( in this case 5 -A) won't prevent our ears from making the connection between that prototype and a "close relative".
Figure 5-C
The variation shown in 5-C is used in DON'T GET AROUND MUCH ANYMORE, ROSE ROOM, THERE'LL NEVER BE ANOTHER YOU, and IN A MELLOW TONE.
It s interesting to note that DON'T GET AROUND MUCH ANYMORE is the only tune of the four listed that has an AABA form.
The others all have an ABAB' structure.
This may be indicative of a subtle tendency or tradition in songwriting.
The the parenthesized chord symbols in 5-C indicate various options sometimes used with respect to harmonic rhythm and chord inclusion.
Sometimes a bridge will start on I and then modulate to IV, as is the case in MY FOOLISH HEART, shown in Figure 5-D.
Figure 5-D
In other cases, the modulating chords that lead to IV may be extended to encompass the first four measures of the bridge, delaying the arrival of the IV chord until the fifth measure, as found in TOO MARVELOUS FOR WORDS and ON A CLEAR DAY. (5-E)
Figure 5-E
When the composer chooses to go to a VIm before the II7, there may be modulating chords added that will lead to the VIm, as shown in 5-F.
MY FOOLISH HEART and I'M GLAD THERE IS YOU utilize that variation, and the latter also uses the early modulation to IV (like 5-C but without the subsequent "back door" feature).
Figure 5-F
Even if a IV major chord is followed by a #IV°7 (also covered in Chapter 1), ins tead of a back door, our ears can still catch the similarity between 5-A and the variation shown in the following figure, which appears in LADY BE GOOD.
Figure 5-G
Some tunes will move from IV back to I briefly without a "back door" or a #IV°7, as is the case in BEIN' GREEN (Figure 5-H)
Figure 5-H
Yet another variation might follow the IV major with a series of descending dominants, starting in the fourth bar of the bridge, leading down to the II7 of the fifth bar.
TAKE THE "A" TRAIN, among many others, has that sequence, as shown in Figure 5-
I.
Figure 5-I
The object in presenting the many variations on the "Montgomery Ward Bridge" (5-A) is not to confuse the reader.
The point is that minor variations should not deter us from aurally recognizing that this classic bridge has but three harmonic objectives:
1. to modulate to the subdominant (IV);
2. to arrive at a II7 chord on either the fifth or seventh measure; and
3. to end the bridge on V7, so as to be ready to return to the "home" key for the next section.
Those are the three constants.
Everything else is simply harmonic embellishment.
Other candidates for "classic bridges," though not as common as, say, the "Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward Bridges," are sufficiently common to be considered here as such.
Chapter 3 ("Modulations") introduced several of those candidates, though that chapter was chiefly concerned with modulations which occur anywhere within the tune, rather than only those which occur at the bridge.
Yet a considerable percentage of the tunes listed in Chapter 3 did indeed have modulations which transpired at the bridge.
Some of those commonplace modulations at the bridge were short-lived or transient, removing some of their significance as "classic bridges."
Hence the following lists will include only those tunes which modulate to a particular place, at the bridge, and which remain there for approximately four measures or more.
The number of tunes in each list will attest to the fact that those bridge modulations are common enough to be considered part of the "classic bridge" tradition.
BRIDGES WHICH BEGIN ON IIIm (A minor key that is located a major third above the tune's starting key, as in C to Em)
?? Don't You Know I Care
?? I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
?? If I HadYou
?? I HearA Rhapsody
?? Indiana/Donna Lee (at the second bridge m 25)
?? I Never Knew
?? My One And Only Love
?? Old Man River
?? These Foolish Things
?? They Can't Take That Away From Me
?? Yardbird Suite
BRIDGES WHICH BEGIN ON VIm (Relative minor of the starting key, as in C to Am)
?? Embraceable You
?? Georgia On My Mind
?? How Long Has This Been Going On
?? I Should Care
?? If I Love Again
?? Moon River
?? My Shining Hour
?? Nancy With The Laughing Face
?? Time After Time
"How Long Has This Been Going On" and "Time After Time" both start on VIm, then modulate to IIIm.
BRIDGES WHICH BEGIN IN A MAJOR KEY LOCATED A MAJOR THIRD ABOVE THE STARTING KEY (as in C to E)
?? Once In A While
?? Polka Dots And Moonbeams
?? Prelude To A Kiss
?? The Song Is You
?? S'Wonderful
?? Watch What Happens
The preceding list would be considerably longer if we were include those which begin the modulation at the start of the bridge, those tunes which don't modulate until the second half of the bridge, and tunes which arrive at the new key just before the bridge.
BRIDGES WHICH BEGIN IN A MAJOR KEY LOCATED A MINOR THIRD ABOVE THE STARTING KEY (as in C to Eb)
?? China Boy
?? Idaho
?? My Old Flame
?? Opus 1
?? Just The Way You Look Tonight
?? When Sunny Gets Blue
?? Long Ago And Far Away
At least 10 more commonly-played tunes could be added to the previous list if we were to include bridges which begin on the IIm7 and V7 of the new key, then resolving to I.
BRIDGES WHICH BEGIN IN A MAJOR KEY LOCATED A MAJOR THIRD BELOW THE STARTING KEY (as in C to Ab)
?? Darn That Dream
?? Do Nothin' Til You Hear From Me
?? Early Autumn
?? Easy Living
?? For Heaven's Sake
?? In A Sentimental Mood
?? I'll Keep Loving You
?? I'll Take Romance
?? Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
?? The Best Thing For You Is Me
OTHER COMMON BRIDGES
As startling as it might seem to the reader to learn that so many tunes modulate the same distance up or down for the bridge, it is even more surprising to learn that many bridges share the same two successive key relationships!
For example the following bridge format is used in GODCHILD, BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW,
PARISIENNE THOROUGHFARE, I'D DO ANYTHING FOR YOU, A PORTRAIT OF JENNY, LET IT SNOW, and LOVER! (all placed here in the starting key of C for purposes of study and comparison).
Figure 5-J
I DIDN T KNOW ABOUT YOU, TAKIN A CHANCE ON LOVE, DAAHOUD, and BROADWAY (not ON BROADWAY) all use the following format:
Figure 5-K
STAR EYES has an only slightly different format from the one shown in 5-K:
Figure 5-L
Another reasonably common bridge, though perhaps not a "classic," is the one which appears in A NIGHT IN TUNISIA, TOPSY, and ALONE TOGETHER, where a minor tune's bridge modulates to IVm (by way of Vm7b5 and I7alt of the original key) during the hrst four measures of the bridge, then in the second four bars the IV chord is treated as II of a new key a whole-step lower.
For example, if the tune were originally in Cm (during the A section), the entire bridge would be: Gm7b5 - C7alt - Fm (in the first 4 bars) and Fm7 - Bb7 - Eb major (in mm.5, 6, & 7), then Dm7b5 and G7alt in the eighth bar to facilitate a return to Cm for the last A section.
Finally, there are at least two tunes that have bridges that modulate up in minor third intervals for two or more keys.
In OPUS I, the bridge abruptly (without modulating chords of II and V) starts in a new key that is a minor third higher than the key of the A section, staying in the new key for 4 bars, then shifts up another minor third to a new key (also abruptly) for 3 bars, then shifts up a semi- tone in the last measure to a V7 of the original key.
In the bridge of Benny Carter's WHEN LIGHTS ARE LOW, there are three
consecutive modulations up in minor third intervals, each as a II-V-I progression lasting two measures, with bars 7 & 8 being taken up with preparing to return to the original key.
It is important to remember that even key relationships (i.e., modulations up or down a major or minor third, or to IIIm or VIm, etc.) and successive modulations (such as
"downstep modulations," modulations down in half-steps, or those shown in K and 5-L) can be aurally cognized, so long as one takes the time to learn some of the tunes that use them, listen to them, play them at the piano, and learn to make associations when confronted with an unknown tune that incorporates those traits.