# Composition & Orchestration Devices for Conveying Emotions in Music



## Jean Paul

I thought I'd start a thread that might be useful when you want to convey a certain emotion in music, in terms of melody, harmony, & orchestration. Here is a preliminary list of stuff I can think of and ideas I gathered from books. Please feel free to add to the list.

1. Agitation: Quick movement using demi-semiquavers (thrity seconds). Use tremolo freely. A minor key is more suitable than major, without any definitive tonality in sight. Syncopation and rugged accents greatly aid the effect, but movement must never cease.

2. Pathos – Pathetic: Use of continuous falling Second intervals in the melody (eg Chopin's Funeral March). In a minor key, there are 3 minor seconds coming down the scale, in addition to the depression of the third and sixth, makes it more appropriate than a major key. Slow tempo, minor key, soft tone with occasional explosions. Sigh or Moan effect made by the fall of an accented discord. Minor melodies abounding in accented passing notes (eg. suspended 4th, 9th , 11th, 13th) especially in triple time (3/4 or 6/8 ) causing more prominence to the dissonances.

3. Yearning- Pleading: Opposite of Pathetic effect. Use rising Seconds in the melody, repeatedly to convey insistence.

4. Despair – Low-pitched music, slow, and soft (eg Wagner’s Prelude to Act II Tristan)

5. Energy: Quick passage, with unexpected burst of sound and erratic sforzando effects. Passage will have notes of widely different lengths. This is more forcible than notes of equal length.

6. Triumph : Start with German Sixth followed by a major 6 4 chord. Think Wagner’s recitative portion of Lohengrin. Mostly major keys, plenty of noise, animated, well-marked tempo. Melody leaps from one note of the chord to another

7. Expectation- Suspense: Work up a slow crescendo on a Dominant pedal

8. Gloom – Grief: Slow soft music. A lively polka with flute and bass drum would give that effect. A very slow tempo with hollow harmony gives a dreary feeling. Mostly minor keys played in lower octaves sounds more dissonant than when played on higher octaves. Best example Beethoven’s Funeral March in Eroica (broken sobbing fragments).

9. Mystery: Any meaningless succession of discords and harmony chords. No melody is really required.

10. Pastorale: chose an instrument (like Oboe or English Horn mostly used) over a drone bass. Bagpipes or Irish Whistle would be ideal.

11. Patriotism: A nice moving bass (like in marching bands)see-sawing between tonic and dominant. Harmony does not cross the beat but changes crisply with it. Triumphant trumpet rhythm adds to the effect.

12. Peace: Soft slow music with minimum movement. Heavenly peace use high octaves. Earthly peace use low octaves. Tonic pedal is mostly used with minimal dissonance (think Berceuse by Tchaikovsky). Soft sustained harmony in strings (preferably not muted).

13. Terror – Storm: Lots of noise. Similar to agitation, i.e. quick movements using semiquavers & tremolo, but more intensified. Use a suddenly unexpected chord (not necessarily extravagant).

14. Romance: too common to describe. Use intimate solo instruments (violin, oboe, etc). a build-up to an unexpectedly beautiful passage,etc.

Any other emotions? or maybe additons/enhancements to the above?


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## autopilot

15. Sharks. Minor seconds.



Nice list - I guess you gotta know the cliches to transcend them, but I'll bet there are as many exceptions as there are tracks that land that way.


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## madbulk

autopilot @ Thu Jul 14 said:


> 15. Sharks. Minor seconds.


lol


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## Nostradamus

autopilot @ Thu Jul 14 said:


> 15. Sharks. Minor seconds.
> .



:mrgreen:


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## Jean Paul

Nice one on the sharks effect  Yes, rising minor seconds definetly works.

Here's another one that is so typical in soundtracks, when a scene builds up into a nice moment (like a romantic scene) and the music tempo slows (rallentado) and then modulates to a new key that is 3 semitones higher. For e.g your tonic is in the key of C Major, and the last bar before you modulate is your dominant slowing down and playing the last note G, which is in common with the new modualting key of Eb major. At that moment typical hi strings soaring orchestration and all instruments join in.

Any other ideas? :roll:


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## clarkcontrol

Recently, as in the last several years, I have been leaning towards treatment as it relates to two things: kinetic energy and weight. 

In other words, orchestration and tonality can be liberated from the typical as long as one observes melodic and textural implications with each instrumental compliment.

The categories described by the OP are totally valid IMO. But let's say that the leitmotif associated with our main character violates the intervalic prescriptions for a particular emotion. Are we to abandon the characters identity because we need to use upward leaps in the French horn for the nobility treatment?

John Williams is a master at interpretation. In every scene, for instance, he rotates between all colours of the orchestra while staying faithful to a very disciplined melodic development. For almost every type of emotion. So if we say that certain intervals equate to certain emotions then we would be limiting ourselves unnecessarily. For instance, half steps for sharks will only work in lower registers in a certain performance quality. Imagine half steps in the middle clarinet register. You get the soundtrack for The Terminal instead of Jaws.

Pastoral can mean brass (saving private ryan) woods (close encounters) or strings (memoirs of a geisha). Suspense can mean strings (jaws) brass (minority report) or woods (Harry potter). 

Funny thing is, you could shuffle all the movie titles immediately above and you would still have correct answers. The key is energy and weight. 

RE: tonality

I will only briefly touch on this. My observations on keys/modes and treatments can be found in the Harmony tips and tricks sticky. For the catagory 'expectation' as defined above: this can be almost any chord that contains internal tension. It must want to resolve somehow. Polychords, change-bass chords, chords that contain minor seconds/ninths, whatever. This could resolve or not. The point is the texture must convey internal kinetic energy.

Conclusion? All 14 items described above can be quantified by energy and weight as it relates to orchestration and thematic development. WITHOUT committing to particular tonalities or instruments. 

So to say one emotion uses so and so instrument in a minor key is fine but ultimately limiting IMHO. 

Clark


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## Jean Paul

> Recently, as in the last several years, I have been leaning towards treatment as it relates to two things: kinetic energy and weight.
> In other words, orchestration and tonality can be liberated from the typical as long as one observes melodic and textural implications with each instrumental compliment.





> Pastoral can mean brass (saving private ryan) woods (close encounters) or strings (memoirs of a geisha). Suspense can mean strings (jaws) brass (minority report) or woods (Harry potter).



I totally agree Clark. You summarize it nicely, as it all boils down to energy and weight. Its motion and orchestration color, and how these vary in time.

Nothing is carved in stone..The above were just very few examples of what composers have done in the past, I am sure there are thousands of others and no generalization is intended. 
But there are certain patterns that emerge when certain emotions are being conveyed. Like pathetic feelings are almost always conveyed by falling down melodic themes, while yearning is almost always in rising lines, second intervals, or any interval...It might have to do with psychology and how the brain percieves depression as a downward thing, while yearning is mostly associated with looking upwards, whether this is a religious thing or an instinct that humans aquired while evolving.

Of course there are no rules. In film, music has to carry in context some emotions. While on the other extreme, you have guys like Stravinsky who once said film music can only explain music itself and nothing else. (or something to that effect). (luckily he composed the Rite of Spring and Petrushka before this change of heart!) o/~ 

It would be nice, if someone wrote a book with a chapter on each main emotion and how it has been treated musically over the last say 100 years. But until that happens, I'll stick to sharing ideas on VI Control..


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## clarkcontrol

Sorry it sounds like I'm bagging on your list. Truth is I like it and it is a great jumping off point to be sure. 

If I'm going for a particular emotion quite often I'll reference those things you listed above. In addition, I strive to implement this orchestrational rotation for a couple of reasons: orchestration is all about variety(and this is what the masters did), and the variety helps my mockups sound more real.

If I'm hanging too long on a particular sample, it's continued use/repetition will more times than not signal my ear to the fakeness or limitation in that patch (limited velocity layers etc.). So I can establish the 'sound' but then I HAVE to start rotating or my samples start to betray me!

So the list is quite valid, and it's fun to remember bits and pieces of filmscores in the back of my mind when I read each item. 

And I agree on the book with emotion-chapters. I imagine it would have to have a massive amount of score excerpts and track/minute/second references from soundtracks for it to fully exploit this approach, as every combination of instruments can be used across a great many emotions. 

Clark


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## Jean Paul

Totally agree Clark. Orchestration is all about variety in tecture, timbre color, volume, (especially with samples) for the simple reason that you want to continue to grab the listener's span of attention without inducing boredom.. tension and how it is released (if ever) in the theme is the second main ingredient.


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