![]() ![]() Take a page out of Hans Zimmer’s book and start mixing in some cinematic elements with your productions! Combined with delay repeats, this type of experimentation can provide endless musical opportunities to create emotion within your mix. Similarly, more aggressive forms of modulation like chorusing, phasing, tremolo & flange can start to make things sound really spacey and complex.Īdding harmonics to a melody or lead instrument also creates an interesting emotional dynamic as a 4 th above your note will create tension with every note you play while switching to a 5 th or octave will release that tension. Putting a solo instrument in a massive room with reverb can add an instant sense of loneliness regardless of key or composition. Reverbs and delays often set the tone and space around a sound, but this area is ripe for the emotional taking. Using effects in your song can provide similar tonal changes without any music theory required. Mixing with Modulation & Time-Based Effects Simple key changes like going up or down a step can create rising or falling tension, but only through some experimentation with modulation can you create complex emotional storytelling musically. ![]() This is where genres like jazz experiment with movement and modulation – going from one key to another to paint a section of a song in a different light. Sure – major and minor are basic decisions with the earlier sounding brighter and happier and the later sounding more melancholy, but what about more complex emotions? Choose the Right Keyįrom a music theory perspective, choosing the right key might be the single greatest way to change the emotion of a song. And this song isn’t alone – Third Eye Blind, Motion City Soundtrack, Weezer, and dozens of others have experimented with similar lyrical themes in their music. For those that aren’t familiar (or haven’t actually paid attention to the lyrics) – the song is an incredibly upbeat pop rock track, complete with a “whoa” call and response in the chorus.īut the rest of the lyrics? They’re about drug addiction and depression. The perfect example of this is “Bouncing Off The Walls” by Sugarcult. Interestingly enough, lyrics can also add a juxtaposition to how a song sounds and feels. Lyrics about partying and having a good time add to any song that’s already got a good vibe to it. While they won’t be able to tell you what key a song is in or the technique the guitar player is using, they’ll be able to interpret the lyrics of the song after just a single listen.įor this reason alone, lyrics can add a very strong emotional context to many songs. For non-musicians, lyrics provide a relatable anchor for them to follow along with as long as the lyrics are in a language they speak. Lyrical content is the main thing many listeners are going to pay attention to when they’re hearing a song for the first time. So, if genre doesn’t dictate emotion – what does? How can you as an artist add emotion to your songs? 1. They just hit you a certain way and you feel it. ![]() The same goes for pop music – while we might associate the genre with happiness, the reality is that some of the most heartbreaking songs of all-time are ballads from pop artists. It’s not as though all metal is aggressive – there’s a ton of different genres and genre-bending artists making sure they’re adding variety to it. What’s perhaps even more amazing is that the emotion of music transcends genre. That something might be sorrow or anger or overwhelming joy and just about everything in between. If there’s one thing that music is amazing at, it’s making listeners feel something. ![]()
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