Expression and Narrative
Making the music tell something.
Dynamic Trajectory
- The idea
- A dynamic trajectory shapes loudness over a long span.
- Try this
- Shape sixteen bars from piano through a crescendo to forte and then pull back.
- Example
- Bars 1–4 p, bars 5–12 crescendo, bars 13–14 f, bars 15–16 diminuendo.
- Listen for it
- Grieg, In the Hall of the Mountain King
Articulation Contrast
- The idea
- Articulation contrast changes character by changing how notes are joined or separated.
- Try this
- Repeat the same melody legato and then staccato, with the same pitches.
- Example
- C–D–E–F–G slurred and then the same five notes detached.
Rubato Framing
- The idea
- Rubato framing slows before a cadence and then resumes the tempo.
- Try this
- Mark a short ritardando before the cadence, followed by a tempo.
- Example
- rit. over bar 7, cadence in bar 8, a tempo at bar 9.
Harmonic Surprise
- The idea
- A harmonic surprise delays the expected chord with an unexpected one.
- Try this
- Delay the expected tonic with a chromatic predominant chord.
- Example
- In C major, replace IV with the Neapolitan D♭ major (F–A♭–D♭) and then G7–C.
Registral Ascent
- The idea
- A registral ascent places each phrase ending higher than the last.
- Try this
- End each phrase higher until a final peak.
- Example
- Phrase endings on C5 and then E5 and then G5 and then the peak on C6.
Text Painting
- The idea
- Text painting makes the music depict the words.
- Try this
- On the word “fall,” write a falling line that stays singable.
- Example
- “Fall” set to G4–E4–C4 within an easy range.
- Listen for it
- Handel, Messiah, “Ev’ry valley” (rising line on “exalted”)
Tension by Density
- The idea
- Tension by density adds simultaneous notes to build intensity.
- Try this
- Grow the texture from two voices to six and then thin it suddenly.
- Example
- A pair of voices in bar 1, four in bar 3, six in bar 5 and then a single voice alone.
Delayed Resolution
- The idea
- Delayed resolution holds a dissonance longer than expected before it resolves.
- Try this
- Hold a dissonant ninth across the bar line and then resolve it down by step.
- Example
- Over C in the bass, hold D across the bar line and then fall to C: a 9–8 suspension.
Dramatic Silence
- The idea
- A silence after a strong sound can carry as much weight as the sound.
- Try this
- Insert a full bar of rest after a loud full-ensemble chord.
- Example
- Fortissimo chord on beat 1 and then a full bar of silence and then a quiet return.
- Listen for it
- Handel, Messiah, Hallelujah chorus (the pause before the last “Hallelujah”)
Character Variation
- The idea
- A character variation keeps a theme's pitches but changes its mood.
- Try this
- Recast a gentle theme as a march with dotted rhythms and brass.
- Example
- Even quarters in strings become dotted-eighth and sixteenth figures in trumpets and horns.
- Listen for it
- Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique (the idée fixe)
Other chapters: Motif and Melody · Rhythm and Meter · Harmony and Tonal Motion · Counterpoint and Voice Leading · Texture and Instrumentation · Form and Architecture · Jazz and Contemporary · Electronic and Acoustic Design · Revision and Craft
Not every technique suits every style. Adapt it to your instrument and your music.
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