Dynamics: Part 2

After working through Dynamics: Part 1 you will have developed your own dynamic dial and now we shall match these levels to feelings.

Start by printing off your lyric sheets for your songs and take a coloured pen. Draw a line between each structural section of your song. So verse one…draw a line, Pre-chorus if there is one….draw a line, Chorus….draw a line and so on. So the whole song is sectioned.

Then look at the lyrics within each section, take the general feel of the song at that point and write in a descriptive word for it. It could be that you use words like upset, heartbroken, sad, elated, joyous, angry, frustrated, agitated. Write at least one word in for each section.

Then taking these words into consideration assign them a dynamic number from your dynamic dial of 1 to 10 (1 being the quietest and 10 being the loudest). If something is angry it may be an 8 or a 9, if something is thoughtful and caring it might be a 3 or a 4, if something is joyous and elated it might be a 7 or 8. The dynamic number matches the descriptive feeling that you have.

Big, impactful, loud ‘money notes’ should be limited so they only happen once or twice. Highlight them or draw a box around them.

Try singing the song following your dynamic instructions and see how it feels. It doesn't have to remain like this forever, but it's going to start you off on a journey of dynamics and different emotions and feeling and keeping the listener's interest and attention.

A dynamic journey within a song can help to keep the listeners attention and set up the 'money notes' to land with impact. This video guides you through matching dynamic levels with relevant emotions.