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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
How do you create tension in your solo???
How do you create tension in your solo???
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undertheradar
38 posts
Jul 18, 2013
11:54 AM
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I for one have a hard time composing a solo that creates good tension. Any tips, video links would be greatly appreciated.
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Rick Davis
2128 posts
Jul 18, 2013
12:02 PM
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Start low and slow, longer single notes. Leave space. Tension comes from space. As you get to the V chord move up the harp and play two-hole draw chords, such as 4 and 5. Continue the rhythmic chord to the turn-around. Then wail on the 1st bar of the next 12.
That should get you started.
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The Blues Harp Amps Blog
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Littoral
934 posts
Jul 18, 2013
12:16 PM
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Space, like Rick said.
It's not what you do but WHEN you DON'T do it.
Foreplay.
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FMWoodeye
754 posts
Jul 18, 2013
1:25 PM
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Pull out your pistol and shoot a couple shots into the ceiling. That should make everybody pretty tense.
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The Iceman
1023 posts
Jul 18, 2013
2:01 PM
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One very effective concept is that tension is created in the ears of the listener when you delay something that their inner ear is screaming for.
Another is to understand the scale degrees and how each one has a different gravitational pull towards the tonic. With this knowledge, you can hold a note with lotsa downward pull for a long time, even increasing its volume as time moves forward, until it almost "snaps back" to the tonic of its own volition.
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The Iceman
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nacoran
6949 posts
Jul 18, 2013
2:03 PM
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I've been thinking about this a lot. I've got some that work and some that don't, and I've been trying to figure out what the difference is between them. Once I get it all figured out I'm going to make a quick audio of it, but in the meanwhile, I suggest this-
Take a common, simple, fairly catchy song, like "When the Saints Go Marching In" and tab it out, but tab each bar on it's own line and compare the bars. Usually you'll get the first three bars are virtually identical, simple, and don't resolve, and the third one will use some trick- reversed order, changed rhythm (often speeding up), a little flourish on the end or starting a couple notes higher. The same interval pattern may get repeated, shifted in pitch to match the chord progression for the next 4 bars. Of course every solo will be a bit different. The repetition is what gives people the little surprise when you change things up.i
Here is a riff that I do for one of our old songs (its not technically a solo, it's more of a lead line, but it's built on that principle of repeating then changing, and has a little inverting.) I'll use it as an example because I've spent a lot of time thinking about this one (I guess it's 8 bar):
(Make sure your speakers aren't up too high. I did the recording in a hurry, and I seem to have recording it kind of loud!)
Sammie Brown
(I'm through embedding audio until I can figure out how to get it to not autoplay, but that link should work).
1st bar- the basic hook plus a little 'huh' note
2nd bar- hook repeated
3rd bar- the basic hook plus that 'huh' note again
4th bar- a resolve
5th bar- hook #2
6th bar- hook #2 variant
7th bar- hook #2
8th bar- hook #2 variant
Then, since it's a lead part, I repeat 1-8, just changing the end of the 3rd bar to a wail. I think that creates a little anticipation for bar 4 to sort of explode, but I don't... I'm saving that for the 3rd time through.
The third time through, this is what I've been setting up for. I play 1-3 again, including that wail, and then I change it on bar 4 to go off on a tangent. I do hook 3 three times, then resolve with a rapid high flury.
I haven't worked out the end without the rest of the band, so I just played a slowed down variation of 1-3 again to sort of wind it down.
It's a busy piece, but I try to use a few little pauses- when I don't do the 'huh' (I call them that because in my head they sound like they fit the same spot in the music a singer would put a 'huh!', it's to create a sense of anticipation. I play it first, and then do a repeat that is exactly the same, only it's missing a note on that beat. The audience bops their head to it anyway! (Or at least that's the idea.) Repeat a pattern with slight variation, resolve, rinse, repeat. It's like the rule of threes in comedy (only in music you can get away with 4s too)- you establish the pattern, then you yank the pattern away from the audience. It makes it feel exciting and builds tension. (Or at least I hope it does!)
edit: Iceman posted while I was composing. He mentions delaying "something that their inner ear is screaming for". That's kind of what I'm talking about about building a pattern and then yanking it away.
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Nate
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Last Edited by nacoran on Jul 18, 2013 2:17 PM
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CWinter
26 posts
Jul 18, 2013
6:53 PM
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"Another is to understand the scale degrees and how each one has a different gravitational pull towards the tonic."
- Iceman
@Iceman
Would you please expand on your thoughts here? I, for one, would be very interested in how you describe this pull toward the tonic and some ideas for how to use the knowledge.
Thank you so much for your time and energy.
~
Chris
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FMWoodeye
755 posts
Jul 18, 2013
7:17 PM
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Corky Siegel was a master at building tension, especially in a 60 or 72-bar solo. He would have people begging (inwardly) for that four-hole draw wail. On the other hand, on a 12 or 24-bar solo, he might just go balls out the whole distance. They played a song called "I don't want you to be my girl" in which he played a solo, maybe 48 to 60 bars, pretty much balls out. Corky is a skinny guy, but he was still my hero. He's still very active today. Many people are the same way with music as they are with food. Sometimes the cheap, greasy stuff is the most popular.
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The Iceman
1024 posts
Jul 18, 2013
9:06 PM
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Get a backing track (or create one through a music program or looping) that just stays on the I chord.
In 2nd position, play the 2 hole inhale (tonic).
That note just lays there. It doesn't want to move to another note.
Then play 4 hole inhale (5th degree). Sustain it for a while, then quickly play the 2 hole again abruptly.
Do the same with the 5 hole inhale (dominant 7th degree).
Each of these other notes doesn't feel comfortable just sustained there. They want to move to a resolution.
Open up your feelings as you listen. You will start to feel the tension. When you hit that short tonic again, you will feel the tension resolve.
It's not intellectual.
It's a feeling.
This is how you start to understand the gravitational pull towards the tonic.
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The Iceman
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nacoran
6952 posts
Jul 18, 2013
9:11 PM
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CWinter, Iceman can probably give a better answer, but certain note progressions lead to each other. I'm reminded of an anecdote my grandfather told me:
There were a father and a son, both who played piano. The son, in his late teens, was going through his rebellious phase. One night they had a huge blowout and the son stormed out angrily. He didn't come back until the wee hours of the morning. Still angry, he played a IV chord, followed by a V chord, loudly on the piano. Then he stomped off to bed.
The father tossed and turned, and finally couldn't take it anymore. He stomped downstairs and played a I chord, and went back to bed.
Sometimes it's tough on a site like this to explain theory, since everyone is at different levels and you aren't sure what background anyone has, but I'll take a shot. That's probably about at the top of my theory understanding. There are certain notes, chords and progressions that resolve well into each other. I'm not sure if it's physiological or conditioning, but try this-
#1
Play a slow 5 blow, followed by a slow 5 draw. And then just sit there for a second. Doesn't sound finished does it? Now try playing it again, but then go back to the 5 hole blow again. That three note pattern should sound a little more finished.
#2
Play a slow 4 blow, followed by a slow 4 draw. Sit there for a second again. Doesn't sound finished either. Now try 4 blow, 4 draw, 4 blow. That won't sound finished either! (But if you play 4 blow, 4 draw, 5 blow it will sound okay.)
Scales are made up of intervals. If you look at a piano and start on a C (the white key to the left of the set of two black keys) and play a scale up to the next C, just playing the white keys, you've played a C major scale. Keys are weird though. On a piano, each note (black or white) is a 1/2 step from the one next to it. Because a piano has a pattern like this: WBWBWWBWBWBWW (or actually because of the scale, the piano is form following function) there are different intervals- gaps of 1/2 or 1 whole step between notes. That creates a pattern to our ear. We listen for that pattern, and expect it to resolve in a certain way.
Songs almost always end on the I chord. The ones that don't won't sound finished (sometimes people do that on purpose). There is some actual physics to it. When sound waves lay on top of each other they create wave patterns and some patterns are more 'resolved' than others. If you play unresolved combinations, either on top of each other or in sequence, it creates an expectation that the music is going to resolve, and the better you trick people into thinking you are about to resolve, generally speaking, the more tension it brings. (As to which notes lead to tension, that's got a lot to do with the circle of fifths, but someone else can probably explain that better.)
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Nate
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Last Edited by nacoran on Jul 18, 2013 9:13 PM
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Kingley
2918 posts
Jul 18, 2013
10:14 PM
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Some of the best solo's tend to stick closely to the melody line of the song at first. Then they veer away from it, but use signifying moments to keep the listeners attention.
You can mess with the beat and play behind, in front or right on it. Use cut off phrases to create tension within a song. Use space and don't be afraid of not filling every moment with notes.
Watch Rick Estrin's DVD. He explains a lot about creating tension in music.
Last Edited by Kingley on Jul 18, 2013 10:15 PM
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Rubes
728 posts
Jul 19, 2013
4:09 AM
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And what about the tension of leading people up to that high note....'Whamner Jammer'...etc...
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The Iceman
1025 posts
Jul 19, 2013
7:26 AM
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To those curious ones who are having trouble understanding the concept of feeling the gravitational pull, I've developed a concept that works wonderfully.
Get a rubber band.
Hold your harmonica in one hand and slip the rubber band over your pinkie finger.
As in the exercise I suggested above, when you play a note on the harmonica that is not the tonic (5th, 7th, whichever), as you sustain it, take the other end of the rubber band in your other hand and stretch it out.
The longer you hold the note, the more you pull on the rubber band.
When you hit that tonic note eventually, release the tension in the rubber band.
This way you can feel the tension/release in a tactile sense.
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The Iceman
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S-harp
145 posts
Jul 19, 2013
12:53 PM
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-> Kingley ... " Some of the best solo's tend to stick closely to the melody line of the song at first. Then they veer away from it, but use signifying moments to keep the listeners attention.
You can mess with the beat and play behind, in front or right on it. Use cut off phrases to create tension within a song. Use space and don't be afraid of not filling every moment with notes. "
Second that, and second that again.
I remeber K.Wilson saying something like keeping it at 70% ...
I think keeping the listerners wanting mooore is a safe way to go... not maxing out, and absolutely not climaxing to early!! Better yet, no climax, hold it ... hold it ...
Instead of throwing More notes in there it's nice to raise the intensity working the tone ... the volume ... holding longer notes ... working the frasing ...
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The tone, the tone ... and the Tone
Last Edited by S-harp on Jul 19, 2013 12:56 PM
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SteamrollinStan
20 posts
Jul 20, 2013
2:18 AM
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Adam said something regarding playin all over the wall, space is important, i run out of ideas, so space is good.
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