How to Write Melodies with Tension and Release

Music is an incredibly powerful tool that can evoke strong emotions in both listeners and composers alike. It can be used to convey feelings of joy, sadness, anger, and more. This use of music is often called “expressive music” because it expresses the feelings and ideas of the composer and is enjoyed by the listener as art or entertainment. The compositions of songwriters, like Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin, are well-known for their expressive quality. While the works of these composers may elicit similar emotional responses from their listeners, each composer creates their works with unique elements that make it different from the next artist’s work. One of the most prominent elements of expressive music is melody. In classical music, melodies are made up of a sequence of notes that produce a specific sound when played on an instrument. These notes are often arranged in patterns that create a theme for the composition and convey specific feelings to the listeners. This process of arranging notes and creating a pattern to create a melody is called composition. Because emotions are often associated with certain musical elements, composers often include tension and release in their compositions to produce an emotional effect in the listeners.

What is melodic tension?

Tension in music refers to the force exerted by the notes in a musical piece. When a note is played, it is either held or released in order to sustain a musical phrase. The amount of pressure exerted on the note by the musician determines how long the note is held before it is released. In classical music, tension is often produced by the repetition of long notes followed by short notes that disrupt the pattern and disturb the harmony of the composition. This technique is often used by composers to create a feeling of instability or agitation in the listener’s mind. Synthwave music, by and large, is no different as it relies primarily on tension and release notes to create compelling melodies.

What is the difference between tension and release?

Tension and release are closely related terms that often get confused with one another. They are essentially opposite concepts that describe two different aspects of the musical composition process. The concept of tension was first defined by German composer Richard Wagner in the late 1800s as part of his concept of leitmotifs. The idea of leitmotifs is based on the theory that there is a recurring theme in a piece of music that conveys a particular emotion or idea to the audience. According to Wagner, when a listener hears a particular musical motif for the first time, it inspires an emotional response that is not related to the actual content of the song. This is the principle of the leitmotif, which emphasizes that music contains emotional content that does not necessarily coincide with the lyrical content of the composition. According to Wagner, the use of motifs helps the audience to emotionally connect with the piece and identify with the emotions that are portrayed in the song. The concept of leitmotifs is still widely used today by many composers as a way to create a strong sense of emotional connection with the audience. The principles of tension and release have also been adopted as part of the creative process in many modern genres of music such as rock, pop, and jazz. In this context, the concepts of tension and release refer to the manner in which the rhythm and melody of a song work together to create a dynamic connection between the audience and the music.

Tension is created by a repeated note that is maintained for an extended period of time before being released. For example, imagine playing a rock drum beat that keeps repeating for the duration of the song. The repetitive nature of the drum beat creates a sense of tension and restlessness in the listener that is channeled into the music and conveyed through the energy of the drums. Once the drums stop playing and the beat ends, the listener is left with a sense of relief and relaxation as the music comes to an end. This concept can also be applied to vocal melodies that are supported by a strong bass line that creates an underlying feeling of tension between the vocal line and the supporting chords of the guitar or keyboard. This sense of tension is then released when the vocals and instruments come together for a climax at the end of the song.

How to use melodic tension and release in Synthwave music?

As mentioned in the previous section, there are many ways of creating musical tension and release in a given composition. Moreover, the concept is applied to EDM genres such as synthwave. For instance, let’s examine the scale tones of a typical natural minor scale. Let’s use C natural minor as an example. On the piano, our left hand plays a simple C minor chord comprised of the following notes – C Eb G. When creating a melody, the right hand is left with the option of playing any series of notes found within the C natural minor scale – Those notes are as follows: C – D – Eb- F – G – Ab – Bb – C.

At first glance, one would think that to create a melody means that they only need to rely on the notes found within the aforementioned scale. The problem with choosing notes of that scale while playing the C minor chord is that you’ll inevitably will strike tension and release notes. To be brief, the tension notes of a given scale are the 2nd, 4th, 6th and sometimes 7th note of the scale while the release notes are summarized as the tonic (1st), 3rd and 5th note of the scale. See chart below.

Melodic tension and release notes of a C minor chord

This chart implies that certain melodic notes would sound better than others. In theory, if one relied on playing the notes from the C natural melodic as a basis for a melody, there wouldn’t be any “wrong” notes. Admittedly, some notes (release notes) would sound “better” than others. Why is that?

The trick to writing a great melody that resonates with your audience lies in its ability to weave in and out of the tension and release dynamic. Specifically, some notes of a scale hold more weight and importance than others and as such, composers must strike the right balance to render melodies that make sense. For instance, melodies that emphasize the sweet notes (release notes) 1 , 3 and 5 typically sound better than melodies that highlight tension notes – 2, 4 and 6. That being said, relying exclusively on release notes make for boring and off-putting melodies. Instead, aim for incorporating tension notes that eventually resolve to a chord tone (1, 3 or 5). This sequence of tension resolving to release notes are common in most Top 40 and EDM music.

As it stands, rhythm plays an important role in melodic parts. For instance, melodic sequences that contain tension notes that are sustained for long periods or repeated often enough can turn off a listener. Moreover, a melodic run that offers little cadence or respite (release) can sound unresolved while failing to engage a listener. With this in mind, melodic phrases that use tension notes that resolve to a release note is often preferred.

Resolving tension notes

As previously discussed the resolution of tension notes create a dynamic and satisfying melody. The trick for creating compelling melodies it to offer an adequate and somewhat predictable resolution. Here are some tricks for resolving tension notes to a release note.

The chart above displays the tension notes and their relative resolution notes. Keep in mind this is a basic guideline and melodies present themselves in different shapes. As a general rule however, we can use this chart to plot out our melody sequence and aim to highlight the release notes. For instance, we can end a melodic phrase with a sustained release note (a note that corresponds with the underlying chord tone). For some producers, this idea of note resolution comes first nature. In fact, proficient artists are able to cook up melody that sounds great without the use of charts. To them, this comes naturally. This may not be the case for beginner musicians so a chart like the one above can be useful. Also, a series of repetitive tension notes followed by a sustained release note can also be the secret ingredient to a great sounding hook.

Finally, if you struggle to create compelling melodies and aren’t confident that your melodic line makes “sonic sense” then be sure to double check the resolution of your sustained released notes with the support chord. When in doubt, double check your melodic and chord MIDI clips and carefully comb through the melodic pattern while ensuring that you are using release notes to the best of your ability.