SPRING ACTION! ADD SOME TENSION AND RELEASE TO YOUR MUSIC.

Like any good story, movie, road trip, conversation, joke, relationship or song, a bit of adversity and tension can make the journey WAY more interesting and fun. For example, there is a twist in the movie plot where a piece of evidence is found, on your road trip you forget to pack any underwear or what I plan to talk about in music; a Bb bass note is put under a C chord for half a measure to create some strain and pressure before softly resolving to a C chord.

Tension and release is a classic and timeless tool used by countless songwriters to create emotional excitement and anticipation in a song. It is almost natural for human beings and our ears to crave some sort of dissonance simply because we crave what usually happens next even more – the release of that dissonance. The liberation of musical tension in a song is ear candy for us and it will remain that way as long as music keeps getting created!!

At the heart of it - this push and pull technique in music is essentially offering contrast for our ears. It’s a way to mix up not simply playing 3 of the same chords in a row for 3 minutes as we all know that can be very boring and monotonous for a listener’s ears.

Some great ways to create tension and release in music are listed below:

Cadence and rhythm: Intentionally putting the start of a lyric NOT on the downbeat where a listener expects it to fall so it almost makes the melody/lyrical rhythm feel awkward and abrupt. To provide the release of this when you move to the next section of the song you fulfill the listeners “wants” by dropping the lyric on the downbeat.

Harmony: This is probably the most obvious and widely used way to create tension and release in music. More dissonant chords like a diminished or augmented chord briefly and eloquently used in a song can provide great pressure and anticipation to the song assuming it resolves to an appropriate and smooth sounding chord. Other examples would include using the 3rd or 5th of the chord as a bass note or even using notes not in the chord to create some real strong dissonance. Using chords not in the key signature is another great way to create strain in a section of a song – for example in the Key of C using an A major chord instead of the A minor can create a rock and blues feel to the song.

Melody: Ways to create urgency and release through melody are by using unique and contrasting interval jumps, singing notes that are not in the chord/harmony being played or it could be a vocal technique that creates some “raspyness” and grit in the singer’s voice that adds a sense of passion and anticipation to the particular section of the song.

Lyrics: Unique rhymes placed in the middle of words, saying something very abrupt or shocking for the genre of music you are creating or holding details until the right moment are all great ways to add excitement to a song.

Some of my favorite examples of adding tension and resolve to a song include:

1. Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks – On the 2nd chord of the song they use a Bb diminished 7th chord that resolves to a B minor chord. The diminished chord is about 4 seconds long so it’s short but it is very effective in creating an interesting and tense moment that resolves appropriately.

2. Sam Hunt uses a very unique style of phrasing and singing where he almost speaks in a conversational voice and tone with no melody but then he will sing a section with melody following it. This technique creates amazing amounts of interest and pressure with a pleasant resolve and he has become known for this technique and style.

3. In pop and EDM music using straight quarter notes on the drums/snare can create huge amounts of tension and anticipation and is literally used in almost every dance song these days. This section usually releases to is what is known as the “drop” giving the listener pure ear ecstasy.

Just like a healthy and fun coffee conversation that has some dissonance and contrast in opinions music needs the same thing to keep it exciting and fresh. Try it out next time you pen your next track!

Stay in tune and stay in touch, Kent