How do you go about producing emotions?

Flippity · Post by **Flippity** » Tue May 08, 2012 3:20 am

I'm not sure if I'm asking the right question, so I'll further explain myself. I have making sounds and mastering the right way and putting things in the correct order, but I'm stuck on trying to get a certain mood or emotion into the song. I'm not entirely sure on how that is supposed to work. Does knowing things about musical scales and such make things easier for this or is there more to it? If anyone can help me it will greatly be appreciated.

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Tue May 08, 2012 3:21 am

http://www.gradfree.com/kevin/some_theo ... l_keys.htm

Flippity · Post by **Flippity** » Tue May 08, 2012 3:24 am

deadly habit wrote:http://www.gradfree.com/kevin/some_theo ... l_keys.htm

AHH

thanks so much, brother. This will help greatly. Any other tips about production that'll help?

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Tue May 08, 2012 3:26 am

yea sound design and sample selection go a long way when it comes to evoking emotion
also spatial awareness

Flippity · Post by **Flippity** » Tue May 08, 2012 3:28 am

deadly habit wrote:yea sound design and sample selection go a long way when it comes to evoking emotion
also spatial awareness

Makes sense. I'll just experiment. Thanks again. C=

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Tue May 08, 2012 3:34 am

take a burial tune for example, if you used a standard reese instead of a lowpassed one, or if it didn't have that bit of reverb would it still tug at the same emotions?
just listen to some tunes that evoke an emotion in you and ask what does that, is it the key it's in (just play it on your keyboard to see if that bit is it) or is it something else
also try this with headphones to see if there are incidentals that you subconsciously might not be picking up on so much on speakers

Flippity · Post by **Flippity** » Tue May 08, 2012 3:37 am

deadly habit wrote:take a burial tune for example, if you used a standard reese instead of a lowpassed one, or if it didn't have that bit of reverb would it still tug at the same emotions?
just listen to some tunes that evoke an emotion in you and ask what does that, is it the key it's in (just play it on your keyboard to see if that bit is it) or is it something else
also try this with headphones to see if there are incidentals that you subconsciously might not be picking up on so much on speakers

I can do that. I suppose I should have already figured this with some commonsense, but whatever.

nowaysj · Post by **nowaysj** » Tue May 08, 2012 4:08 am

deadly habit wrote:also try this with headphones to see if there are incidentals that you subconsciously might not be picking up on so much on speakers

I'll just come right out and say it, I'm helluv emotional when it comes to music, like it really moves me, so much so that it is hard for me to learn from it, because I get carried away with it so easily. But dropping a pro song into a daw, and looking at the waveform is extremely instructive for me, because all the devices that the producer uses to push my buttons are laid bare, I can just really see kind of behind the scenes the machinery of what it is that is moving me (without the distraction of actually being moved).

OP, this is a really advanced question in my opinion. Creating, sustaining and moving emotional states is what good producers do, and it is SO infrequently discussed on production forums. If you focus on learning this ability, you stand a much better chance at being a legit producer, rather than just focusing on how to make blender noises.

nowaysj · Post by **nowaysj** » Tue May 08, 2012 4:15 am

deadly habit wrote:http://www.gradfree.com/kevin/some_theo ... l_keys.htm

Deep depression, funereal lament, groans of misery and longing for the grave

My favorite key.

madmeesh · Post by **madmeesh** » Tue May 08, 2012 4:42 am

My vote for most emotionally evocative anything:

This kind of colour is mad of course, but the essence of these harmonies is in the 7th and 9th chords, known today as the Detroit 'stack chord' used in nearly every dub techno tune in existence. It has a jazzy flavour, without being too dissonant - it's like I'm describing wine, ha - but is widely enjoyed and is a nice place to start if you're into that dub techno sound.

Sonika · Post by **Sonika** » Tue May 08, 2012 5:15 am

I use this tune a lot as inspiration for making really emotional pieces
One of the most emotional pieces I've ever heard:

didge · Post by **didge** » Tue May 08, 2012 1:24 pm

madmeesh wrote:

Fucked>>>>>>

Thanks for posting that, the whole suite is on Spotify so gonna get ma listen on later.

wub · Post by **wub** » Tue May 08, 2012 1:30 pm

How do you go about producing emotions?

I find masturbation produces euphoria. Then shame if I realise the cat was watching.

MKRUGGER · Post by **MKRUGGER** » Tue May 08, 2012 1:46 pm

Deadly Habit basically hit the nail on the head!

Simply put, most people would say "Major = Happy, Minor = Sad" There's your emotion.
But it really depends on the way you structure your sound, and the sounds that you use in your song.

Different sounds can sound sad, some can sound happy, whether they are in Major or Minor, it's all in the atmosphere of the tune, theory is just there to help you construct, but an artist doesn't rely solely on his theory, so don't take it as a one way street, you can use theory and still be creative.

If you don't have anything inspiring going on in your life, then think of a scenario or scene, picture it in your mind and imagine would it would sound like in music, or what kind of score would be played over the scene in a movie.

For instance, you could think "Robot escaping toy factory, wielding a mini-flamethrower and jetpack." and try to build a tune around that image in your mind, I figure something fast-paced and robotic would come out of that, maybe a bit happy sounding, or neutralish.

Maybe "Pink butterflies flying through the park on a breezy afternoon" And maybe expand on that with whatever comes into your mind.. Sounds happy to me! Why would something sad come out of that?

Now do the complete opposite if you are going for something sad..

These are just ideas, I'm no professional.. Just sharing some knowledge :]

Sharmaji · Post by **Sharmaji** » Tue May 08, 2012 2:16 pm

emotion is a response to something changing. so create situations that change. easiest way is via opposites:

full/empty
light/dark
complicated/simple
hidden/exposed
happy/sad
finished/unfinished
resolved/unresolved
tension/release

etc, etc, etc.

take those big-picture ideas and pair them w/ relevant little-picture, musical ideas. rhythmic density vs. sparsity, dissonance vs. consonance, etc. in production-- wet vs. dry, near vs. far, and all those sliding scales.

MKRUGGER · Post by **MKRUGGER** » Tue May 08, 2012 6:25 pm

Sharmaji wrote:emotion is a response to something changing. so create situations that change. easiest way is via opposites:

full/empty
light/dark
complicated/simple
hidden/exposed
happy/sad
finished/unfinished
resolved/unresolved
tension/release

etc, etc, etc.

take those big-picture ideas and pair them w/ relevant little-picture, musical ideas. rhythmic density vs. sparsity, dissonance vs. consonance, etc. in production-- wet vs. dry, near vs. far, and all those sliding scales.

Deep man... Deep. o_o

Well said though.

mtl6 · Post by **mtl6** » Tue May 08, 2012 7:17 pm

haven't read through this yet but it looks like it could be interesting...

http://psy2.ucsd.edu/~charris/schererzentner.pdf

Artie_Fufkin · Post by **Artie_Fufkin** » Wed May 09, 2012 1:46 am

This is something I struggle with so much and I often get frustrated and give up. I start with an idea of what I want to convey but it just doesn't come out into sound. @ what deadly posted: how can C and Db Major be so different? How can any of the same scales be different sounding if they're the same intervals? As well as major/minor scales. They're basically two sides of the same coin, right? I understand the difference in sound between major and minor chords, but the difference between the scales is something I don't really understand. C Major and A minor as essentially the same but with different roots. I'm so confused.

I wish I could make music as beautiful as I think this is:

__________ · Post by **__________** » Wed May 09, 2012 3:09 am

You can use theory to break music/emotion down and try to form a basis for a tune, but really, I don't think you can teach this kind of shit in an organic way.

You say
"I have making sounds and mastering the right way and putting things in the correct order, but I'm stuck on trying to get a certain mood or emotion into the song"
- it sounds to me like you're approaching music in a technical, utilitarian way. I also get drawn in to the technicals more than the songwriting at times, but really, once you've finished fannying about with plugins, you need to be able to lay down some raw funk/dark/comedy/headbanging shit, and that's not something you can put in to words IMO.

If you're really trying to say something genuine with your music, the notes will come naturally!
If you have a girlfriend, get her to dump you, then you'll write some emotional beats for sure. Or you could just sample some rain.

Huts · Post by **Huts** » Wed May 09, 2012 3:16 am

£10 Bag wrote: If you have a girlfriend, get her to dump you, then you'll write some emotional beats for sure. Or you could just sample some rain.

best advice so far imo

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