Vermanubis

While subjectivity is an object of concern, I think that because of how music fundamentally works, and because of certain musical conventions to which most people generally ascribe a sound (harmonic minor being Egyptian, or the descending natural 7th of HM sounding "baroque"), a general template can be created to achieve a basic sound. For instance, a certain word can be connoted differently from person to person, but the word's fundamental meaning is still intact, if that makes any sense. I say "most people" because of how similar feelings are achieved in both Western and Eastern music (e.g. Goldeneye and Castlevania respectively). Some types of sounds just, in my mind, can't be mistaken as another kind, such as someone feeling like a moderate tempo song in a predominantly major key is terrifying. As for the question though, a harmonic representation of chaos could be done in a lot of ways. It can either be approached intellectually or, I guess you could say, "intuitively." By intellectually, I mean making the song itself chaotic and disharmonious, and by intuitively, I mean using a discernible structure, but consistently redirecting the flow of the song with either abrupt modulation, dissonant melodies/harmonies or both rather than through an actual chaotic structure so that the chaos is more felt than acknowledged. If I were express something "chaotic" I'd maybe prep the harmony with a consonant melody and progress in diminished, augmented or mmaj7 chords and false cadences into these chords. Like I said though, that would just be a template. I'd by no means use a "word bank" so to speak to make a song, since I think that'd be a disingenuous way to approach music. Briefly, my personal template for composing a "chaotic" song would be alternating time signatures, use of chromatic harmonies and melodies, false cadences, symmetric scales and possible tonal scales to create contrast and emphasize the dissonance of the symmetric scales. Rhythmically, there're a million ways. Alternating time signatures, syncopating on the off-beats, asymmetric note patterns. Words I keep in mind in addition to "chaotic" would be asymmetry, unpredictability and dissonance. Though, "chaotic" can mean a lot of different things, so the musical armory for creating a chaotic sound is pretty stacked. Though, that's another good thing to mention, is the decomposition of certain words into more basic, definite ones. To me, the epitome of chaotic is either a frenetic pace with no particular key destination or an ambient soundscape. Tone can be very important as well. And when you ask if the two differ, what do you mean? Oh, also, pretty familiar examples of what I feel represent "chaos" in music: - Curse ZoneIt has a solid melody, but it's mostly chromatic, never resolves and satisfies a lot of what I'd consider "soundscapes," with asymmetric ornaments. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wRi51ItCag - A Man of Artificiality A lot of rhythmic ornamentation that gets contrasted by the brief Minor resolution. Sorry for the huge post, but "chaos" is just such a broad term. I agree with the pedal tone, especially. The constant alternation of dissonant/consonant really bends your ear. - Golbez, Clad in the DarkUematsu spells out a diminished arpeggio on the accented notes. Such a cool sound.

That's actually a good point. The only reason I made it a Q&A instead of an FAQ is mainly because the number of things that could be covered would be enormous. It doesn't have to be a terribly specific kind of mood though; if someone has an idea in their head for a happy sounding song, that'd be enough for me to go on.

Hey, guys. I've lurked OCR for the longest time, but only recently decided to post. Hopefully a new guy making a music advice thread won't seem too presumptuous, but I feel that after a while of studying music and trying to become as intimately acquainted with is as I could, that I've developed a fair musical sense and a somewhat unique approach to it. If there isn't a thread like this already, I'd be very happy to see if I can help with any music theoretical questions, or if I can help you nail a feeling in a song you're composing. What kinda "feels" are there? Too many to name. A subtle shift in tempo, rhythm or note choice can alter the feeling of a song, and even more daunting, the surrounding context can morph that feeling even more (which to me, is one of the most potentially frustrating and seemingly impossible concepts to apprehend). Want to know what makes something sound "classical," "jazzy," "smooth," "dark," or "flighty"? Each feeling has an array of patently unique properties. The purposes I hope to achieve with this thread are: -Provide musical ideas to help push a song along -Provide subtle and simple composition techniques to ornament a song (hopefully to provide inspiration) -Help anybody struggling with a concept by explaining it and providing examples I know for the longest time I had a hell of a time trying to compose, because I had no idea where to take my songs. I know how frustrating it is, so I came here in hopes of maybe helping those who're curious about expanding their horizons or want to understand how to achieve a particular feeling so you don't end up spending hours over a keyboard just trying to get a basic atmosphere. I've personally found it best to examine and explore different sequences, phrases, modes, chords, melody and rhythm combinations to not have an exact idea of what I wanted my songs to be, but rather, a referential template that I could use to have a general idea, and how one could know where to "break the rules," so to speak. E.g. if I wanted a really whimsical, Stygian-sounding phrase, I could use a whole tone scale and resolve to harmonic minor and various techniques in between. Of course, it's not quite that simple, but I'd imagine you get the idea. In short, if you're curious about how to achieve certain sounds, I think I can help, at least to a reasonable degree. I apologize if there's already a thread of this nature. If not though, I hope I can be at least a mildly valuable resource. I'll also try to use examples to make the concept feel less nebulous and more practical, 'cause I know firsthand how frustrating it is to conceptualize music through words alone.

I think modulation's a great tool, but I'd personally only use it when I want an explosive resolution. I like to use it when I want to hold out a melodic line for a little longer without having to worry about the tonic gravity of staying in the original key.

I usually plan out a particular sound I want the solo to have, and how I want it to tense up and resolve. For example, if I want a song to have a dark feel and want it to explode into a really strong resolution, I'll compose a string of bars in the Phrygian mode or a diminished lick and make it resolve into a minor mode. So yeah, for me, it's all about tension and resolution. Michiru Yamane likes to do that a lot, too, with the Phrygian-to-Minor resolutions. I really like harmonic minor to minor, too.