MOMENTUM

SADNESS
1. Suggested Tracks
To Have In Your Template
2. Style Definition
3. Step By Step
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SUGGESTED TRACKS
TO HAVE IN YOUR TEMPLATE
Must have
Strings Sustain (Ensemble)
Piano
Solo Woodwind (Legato patch) ie.
Oboe, Clarinet, or Flute...
Harp
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SUGGESTED TRACKS
TO HAVE IN YOUR TEMPLATE
Useful to have
Sul tasto or flautando strings
Chamber Strings
Celesta
Violins Legato
Cello Legato
DB Sustain
DB Pizz
Cymbal Swell (mf)
...
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STYLE DEFINITION
Tempo and Rhythm
Slow Tempo
Mostly utilize ¼ notes or ⅛ notes
Tempo would range from 44 to 90 BPM
Can be either in 3/4 or 4/4
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STYLE DEFINITION
Harmony
Mostly minor triads. Root position are favored but
other inversions can occur for stronger voice leading
Extensions can occur but are not frequent:
add6, 7, 9, 7sus4
Resolved suspensions are common progressions:
9-8, 7-6, 6-5, 4-3
Modulations are commonly used
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STYLE DEFINITION
Melody
Mostly in minor modes
Themes are frequently restarted when modulating
Mostly diatonic, predominantly using chord tones
Common non-chord tones are PT (Passing Tone),
NT (Neighbor Tone) and S (Suspension)
Countermelodies can occur. When used, they will
usually rhythmically contrast with the main melody
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STYLE DEFINITION: ORCHESTRATION

Harmonies can be played
by either :
a) The string section alone.

b) Any combination of low

strings (viola, cello and bass),
low brass (trombones and tuba),
and low woodwinds (bassoons
and bass clarinet).

Harmonies can often being enhanced

with the Harp playing arpeggios
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STYLE DEFINITION: ORCHESTRATION

A sense of “grandiose” can be
added with a choir

The melody can be played by either:

a) a lyrical solo instrument:
woodwind, horn, piano, violin or cello
are common. Celesta is a good
alternative.
b) a single string section by
themselves - Violin 1, Violin 2, Alto,
Cello - is also common
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STYLE DEFINITION: ORCHESTRATION

c) a combination of a) and b)
d) multiple upper string sections in
unisson, octaves or double octaves
e) adding high woodwinds to d)
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STEP BY STEP
Before you start - you may wanna start by recording or writing down
a quick melody/harmony sketch

1. Set the right tempo

2. Background - Create and Record

your Background

3. Direction - Write the Melody and the

Countermelody, if needed (you can start
with this if you prefer)
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STEP BY STEP
4. Bass - Create your Bass layer (if it
wasn’t included in the Background part)

5. Thicken the different layers, if

needed (optional)

6. Movement - perhaps harps playing

arpeggios or similar…

7. Sparkle and Ear Candy (ie. adding

Harp, Woodwinds…)
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TIPS AND TRICKS

Descending bass lines work
great in this style.
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MOMENTUM AND INSPIRATION

Any musical passage can have up to five elements. These are not layers. They are more
like musical components. They can either be combined or not. The five elements are:

1. Direction
Anything that creates a tendency.
Something that leads from point A to
point B (a melody, a harmonic
progression that creates more
tension as it progresses,
increasing/decreasing orchestration
density or thickness, etc).
This element makes the listener
feel like the music is progressing
from one point to another.
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MOMENTUM AND INSPIRATION

Any musical passage can have up to five elements. These are not layers. They are more
like musical components. They can either be combined or not. The five elements are:

2. Movement
An aspect of the music that creates
flow or action (a rhythmic pattern,
ostinato, harmonic progression
that repeats/modulates, call and
response between instruments
or families, etc). This element creates
motion and also aids
in creating direction.
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MOMENTUM AND INSPIRATION

Any musical passage can have up to five elements. These are not layers. They are more
like musical components. They can either be combined or not. The five elements are:

3. Background (Glue)
Anything that sits behind in the mix.
It will usually be something that
is not obvious, but it is there, and
you can tell when it is missing.
This element fills in the gaps
and helps join the different
musical ideas together.
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MOMENTUM AND INSPIRATION

Any musical passage can have up to five elements. These are not layers. They are more
like musical components. They can either be combined or not. The five elements are:

4. Enhancer
Something that intensifies,
augments or develops a musical
idea, helps connect sections, or adds
sparkle and “ear candy” (textural
flourishes like runs, scales, and trills,
woodwinds fluttering around behind
a soaring melody, cymbal or
timpani roll swells, etc).
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MOMENTUM AND INSPIRATION

Any musical passage can have up to five elements. These are not layers. They are more
like musical components. They can either be combined or not. The five elements are:

5. Bass
Anything that adds an extra low end.
The contemporary modern orchestral
sound requires an extra layer of a solid,
compact and controlled low end.
It is important that you are able to
create it. We have many resources
available like low synths, electric
basses, sub-boom percussion hits,
and well-recorded or sampled
double basses.