Is there a secret sauce to make your music sound better?
Well, just like how there are truly hundreds of different kinds of sauces out there, there are hundreds of ways to make your music arrangement sound better.
From changing lyrics to using exotic chord progressions, you can improve your music in infinite ways.
However, there is one surefire method that songwriters use to keep listeners on the edge of their seats, and we will be discussing this method in this article.
What is this secret sauce? The answer is Tension and Release.
Definitions – Tension and Release
Imagine yourself sitting on a chair, with a rope wound around your body.
There is someone standing next to you with the power to pull on the end of the string to make it taut.
How would you feel if that happened?
Surely, you will feel uncomfortable, tight, unable to breathe. Your heart rate would speed up, yet there will be an aching, a yearning for the discomfort to subside.
When that person finally loosens the rope, you can breathe, relax, and wiggle around to adjust your position.
This cycle repeats, and you are constantly subjected to the sensations of discomfort and comfort.
The ups and downs of music
When you listen to a song on YouTube or Spotify, do you realize that the music is filled with numerous instances of tension and release?
Just like being tied to the rope, you are at the mercy of the ebbs and flows of the song, taking you through its course like a water current taking your boat down the river.
Moments where the song starts soft and builds to a climax, when a chord fails to resolve immediately, or when the singer breaks their voice while singing an emotional line.
These are the things that keep listeners on edge, on the edge of their seats, or whatever other metaphors that mean the same thing.
If a song can retain its listener’s attention, it has employed some form of technique that emphasizes tension and release 9 times out of 10.
What are the Tension and Release in music?
Tension and Release in Harmony
You may have heard of the term ‘dissonance’ in music, covered in this post about pitch.
When you play 2 notes with very similar frequencies together (eg. 440Hz and 443Hz), it sounds like you are rubbing 2 hard surfaces together.
There is even a wave-like vibration that can be heard, and it will be fast or slow depending on how far apart the frequencies are.
Dissonance is the foundation of Tension in music, and we cannot escape from it due to the nature of sound. They are usually formed in intervals and chords when 2 or more notes are played simultaneously.
However, we can resolve this Tension by playing more consonant (opposite of dissonant) chords which carry more consonant intervals like a Major 3rd.
This resolution of the dissonance gives off a freeing sensation after a tight battle with the discomfort of dissonance, giving us a sense of relief. This is then the release as mentioned.
This is why certain chord progressions work because there are notes within the chord that tends to veer toward a resolving note.
Musicians very much want to lead to a resolution quickly, but some pieces do play on the idea of tension for as long as they can, with the most famous being the use of the Tristan chord, popularized by Richard Wagner.
Tension and Release in Dynamics
Dynamics describes the energy of a song, whether it has high or low energy.
As mentioned in this post about music arrangement, I have covered the basic idea of creating a story by varying its energy throughout its duration.
When you watch a movie, you have many different parts with different energy levels.
There are scenes where characters have conversations, set the context, and fall in love, etc.
Then there are scenes where conflict occurs: a fight between characters, someone falls off a tall building, the aliens invade Earth, and so on.
The cycle between both energy levels are what keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats.
Without this rotation, the movie will be either too boring or too much.
You can’t have the characters fight for the entire movie (unless you are John Wick, then that is a whole different story).
Similarly, music requires both highs and lows, ups and downs, to keep the listeners intrigued, interested, and wanting more.
You can start with just the Keyboard and Vocal, slowly build the music up, and then BAM the entire band comes in.
A masterclass of this is shown in the song This Is Me from the movie The Greatest Showman.
Absence of Tension and Release
Now think of a song that is devoid of Tension and Release. Can you least any?
I don’t think I personally can unless there is some experimental music out there that explores this concept. If there are any, do share them with me.
If you can’t think of a song like that, shall we conduct a thought experiment?
The question is: “What is a song without Tension and Release like?”
Well, we can’t have moving melodies or chords because they are bound to contain tension somewhere within.
The song’s energy will also stagnate throughout, giving it a one-dimensional and monotonous feel.
That is not to say that no one has attempted to create music that is free of Tension, as it is the case with Shostakovich:
Conclusion
How do we make music sound better? By adding Tension and Release.
We have covered multiple ways to change the music arrangement of a song to keep your audience hypnotized by your music.
With that being said, you don’t have to find every single chance to spice up your music. As mentioned above, it can get too much for your listeners if the music is only filled with too much Tension and too little Release.
As with many things, moderation is key.
Now go out there and tug on those heartstrings!