Gary Ewer has a great post on tension and release in songwriting:
What keeps a listener listening? If you can’t answer that you’ll be relegated to the dust-heap of music history, along with all the other songs that listeners got bored with. The answer to the question? It’s tension, then release, that keep listeners listening.
It’s a great post and well worth reading. If I was going to add to it I would say, as I often do, that the whole V to I tension has been done to death and is best avoided, particularly in the major scale. My preference would be to try something modal fo example the tension between F and E minor in E phyrgian.
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Variation is great, but avoiding V-I cadences altogether? Not sure I’d like the results.
Well, this is entirely my personal taste here, but yes I’m serious.
Or at least, if you’re going to use it – be aware. The fact is the V I cadence in a major key sounds twee and clichéd (in my opinion).
V i in a minor key less so, but I think if a songwriter is going to use them they should be aware that they’re using a cliché.
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I’ve found that if you stay in mixolydian for most of the song, and then sneak in a major V-I, it sounds fresh and unexpected.
I don’t necessarily disagree with you about mixolydian or V-I cadences being cliche, but if you avoid all of the biggest cliches, what are you left with? You can’t write in major or mixolydian even when they’re appropriate to the tone you’re trying to set. You for sure can’t do four-four time or a backbeat. Can you use guitar in your arrangements? Guitar’s been done to death, after all.
It’s great to branch out in different directions, and if you genuinely hate mixolydian (or four-four time, or backbeats, or guitar), then by all means, avoid it. That’s a great method for developing a signature style. I’m just not sure “cliche” is a good enough reason to reject a way of doing things in and of itself.
Where is the article on tension and release? I haven’t been able to find it. Thanks very much in advance, Susan
Here it is:
http://garyewer.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/the-tension-release-principle-of-songwriting/
It was linked to in the article.
Thanks very much Tom!