Dark Sounding Musical Ideas
So, you have started writing music recently and you want to write something that sounds ‘dark’ or ‘sad’ or has some other kind of negative emotion. Perhaps you are past the stage where you have just started to write music. In the beginning you thought that if you could just write something that ‘sounded good’, that would be great. If you could improvise or solo while sounding good on the guitar that would make you happy.
But now you get bored with just making solos or phrases that “work”. You don’t want to write things that just work anymore. You now want to create phrases that convey a specific emotion, such as darkness or sadness. But how do you do this? Well, first I will tell you how not to do it.
Consonant pitches and their uses
A consonant pitch is a note that sounds pleasing or sounds like it ‘fits’ over the particular chord or arpeggio you are playing over. These are typically notes contained in the chord itself. For example, the consonant pitches in the E major chord would be E, G# and B and the consonant pitches in the Am chord would be A, C and E.
Consonant intervals such as the root, octave, the 3rd or the 5th all convey different feelings, but each one sounds pleasing or sounds like it ‘fits’ in some way. This is very useful to know, especially in the beginning of your song writing efforts.
Here’s what they can’t do, however: they can’t express negative emotions.
If you want to create some type of dark, aggressive, scary or sad emotion, consonant pitches will not create that feeling. So, what can we use to convey darker emotions?
Dissonant pitches are the way to go
The answer is to use dissonant pitches. Dissonant pitches have the opposite effect of consonant pitches. These are notes that sound ‘unstable’ over the chord that is playing. Some pitches sound dissonant over a specific chord but are still part of the parent key. Yet other dissonant pitches step out of the key entirely, and these tend to be the most dissonant of all.
Here are some examples of very effective dissonances:
The minor 2nd and major 2nd intervals
On an A chord, begin or end your phrase on the A# or the B. The exact feeling you will get with these pitches can depend on the octave of the note. The minor 2nd especially sounds very harsh. Try ending a phrase on the minor 2nd while emphasizing it with a pinch harmonic. That will sound really evil!
You will get the same result if you use this interval over any other chord. For instance playing an F or F# over an E major chord will create the same kind of feeling.
It’s no coincidence that the beginning part of the famous ‘Jaws’ theme is based on a minor 2nd interval. It just sounds extremely menacing!
The Augmented 4th/ Diminished 5th (also known as the ‘tritone’)
The tritone is known as the ‘devil in the music’ for a reason. It’s a really dark sounding interval. Not surprisingly therefore, it’s a favourite device of bands like Black Sabbath and Metallica.
An example of a tritone interval would be a D# played over an A chord.
The major 7th and minor 7th
These tend to have an ambiguous quality depending on context, especially the major 7th. Joe Satriani and Steve Vai are very fond of this type of intervals.
To hear the effect produced by these intervals, try playing G or G# over an A chord.
The major 6th and minor 6th
The minor 6th especially can sound pretty harsh when played in the lower register of the guitar. If you play high notes however it can actually sound dramatic.
Try playing F and F# over an A chord to hear how these intervals sound.
In closing
And there you have it. Several ways to inject some dark sounding emotions into your music.
That said, you do not want to overuse these dissonant pitches. They are most effective when combined with consonant pitches to create tension and release in your music, which is what makes music interesting.
About the author: Jake Willmot is a musician and composer based in Exmouth, UK. If you live in the area and would like professional help with your guitar playing and musical knowledge, be sure to check out guitar instruction in Exmouth.