middle eight

noun

1. the third contrasting eight-bar section of a 32-bar pop song

Example Sentences

The middle eight bars should do something that relieves the tension — gives the listener a break for a minute and then takes you right back in.

From Los Angeles Times

That late-first-half execution contributed to Cincinnati’s strong performance in the “middle eight,” the last four minutes of the first half and first four minutes of the second half.

From Los Angeles Times

“I’m the writer, so I need to know how every aspect of the song goes. I can hear the bass and the drums and the keyboards. That’s how I go into the studio. It has a verse, a chorus, a middle eight, a solo, an end. If it’s going to fade, if it’s going to end, whatever — I need to know exactly what that is.”

From New York Times

That allows you to pick out little details that were buried in the original - the sound of the pick on the banjo strings or the cymbal hits in the middle eight.

From BBC

Quarterback Sean Clifford, with a smudge of eye black still on one cheek, pointed out the good: Penn State was able to control “the middle eight” – the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half.

From Washington Times