Tricks and techniques for creating tension in a track?

[Nephew]

What are some tracks and techniques you guys use to create tension and then release that tension to make your tracks have that much bigger of an impact? Been trying to much around with this for about a week and nothing seems to feel right.

Any and all suggestions are welcomed!

[GODMON]

Automate some sweeps or shit like that. get ahold of a power synth to do it the easy way

[Quantize]

Hi,

If you scroll down this page http://www.quantizecourses.com/pages.php/?cat=3 there are a couple of videos on reverb builds that you might find helpful.

[Nephew]

Was looking to avoid using white noise/reverb to build up tension as everyone else is doing that at the moment, trying to find a different approach.

[Pitch Black]

make some parts run in reverse until the last moment... see how many parts you can flip sequentially backwards until its too much, then back it off a little from there..

or

the anti-fill... how much silence can you stand before the drop?

or

cut the "hit" of the drop into a single beat, reverse this snippet then dub it off into a delay - the longer and more modulation the better. take this delay print and reverse it and paste it back under the mix before the drop as a buildup.

[Pitch Black]

or

909 snare roll... isn't it time again?

[Nephew]

cut the "hit" of the drop into a single beat, reverse this snippet then dub it off into a delay - the longer and more modulation the better. take this delay print and reverse it and paste it back under the mix before the drop as a buildup.

That actually sounds pretty rad, might give that a try.

[bkm1978]

cut the "hit" of the drop into a single beat, reverse this snippet then dub it off into a delay - the longer and more modulation the better. take this delay print and reverse it and paste it back under the mix before the drop as a buildup.

That actually sounds pretty rad, might give that a try.

I does sound cool doesn't it!

Think about music theory too! Like holding 5ths before bringing in the tonic

[Guff Tong]

One of my all time favourite builds is the 'wind-up' section on Nannou by Aphex Twin.

There's another tune from way back where a repeating rythmical pattern evloves into a sample of a saw sawing wood. sounds well random.

....I like comedy builds me coz builds on the whole are cheesy by their very nature.

I also like fake drops; Where say a 303 pattern is creating the build though the actual start point of the pattern has been 'forgotten' so when the beat finaly drops it seems to be a beat late. (if you get my drift.)

[simonlb]

or

909 snare roll... isn't it time again?

Yep, not enough of it in today's music

[Nephew]

Think about music theory too! Like holding 5ths before bringing in the tonic

I remember reading something about that, but my music theory is sub par to say the least. Something I really need to brush up on. Looking to take piano lessons this summer to help with my basic music theory hopefully.

Think you could break that down into layman's terms? That's how you usually play pads,right?

[Tarekith]

http://tarekith.com/assets/transitions.html

just a few ideas.

[toneburst]

Rather than using reverse reverb, I like to automate the volume of random sounds so they build up at the end of a bar, and then cut off as the next bar comes in. Seems to work well with generic noisy sounds, and choir sounds, too. You could also try doing the reverse reverb trick, but with delay. That may already have been mentioned, though.

[doghouse]

There's lots of ways to create tension:

--Cross rhythms

--Dissonant harmonies (resolving to consonant harmonies)

--Pedal tones in the bass while harmonies shift above

--Repetition in general

[yur2die4]

shortening tones and sounds gradually til they are super tight. whether it be percussive sounds, or tones. Of course having an 'elephant in the room' isn't out of the question either, where there is something long and drawn out.. as if you are balancing the fine line between 'wasting someones time' and 'worthwhile listening experience with excruciating tension'.

shortening tones also makes room for making things gradually more complex. timing complexities, mini-surprise elements bouncing here and there. all this can get more and more 'tight'. as if it would all fall apart on someone if they were not so focused. And then go back into 'casual jam mode' hahaha