when an artist suddenly features one of five auditory cues that indicate large size, resulting in listener chills when combined effectively with a Structural pattern
“When those horns kick in it’s so frickin epic. Eargasm every single time.”
How It Works
When artists use the Epic pattern they “trick” our auditory system for estimating the size of unseen sound sources. Humans and animals use a consistent set of acoustic features to predict the size and distance of unknown sound sources. Given that big animals and people are generally stronger and therefore more dangerous, we are especially sensitive to cues indicating a large size. When musicians feature cues indicating large size, they take advantage of this sensitivity in order to trigger a fear response that, when quickly integrated back into the musical flow, can move listeners to the point of chills.
Aggression and Epic cues share many technical features and tend to appear together.
Top Structural Pattern pairing:
Genre that most uses pattern:
Technique 1: Tonal Volume
Tonal volume is the main size cue used by humans and animals. It’s a combination of pressure and resonance at certain lower frequencies that we experience as the “space filling” quality of a sound. You know it when you hear it. When artists feature sudden high tonal volume, or an abrupt large increase in tonal volume, this can often trigger epic associations. Some of the ways artist implement this technique are:
— Many unison sound sources (e.g. full orchestra playing in unison, audience singing at live concert)
— Amplifiers and production (e.g. “wall of sound” with many overlaid takes or layered tracks)
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Frisson Reported by Listeners
Technique 2: Ambient reverberation
Prominent reverb is another reliable size cue used by humans and animals. Our ear associates “big” sounds with reverb because reverb results from sound waves traveling large distances (and hitting reflective surfaces along the way). If a distant sound is strong enough to reach us so that we can hear it, it likely came from a large source. Some of the ways artist implement this technique are:
— Artificial reverb added to impulse sources (e.g. drum hit, plucked guitar, solo vocals)
— Delay and echo effects
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Frisson Reported by Listeners
Technique 3: Harmonic “distance”
“Distance” between chords (on the circle of fifths) is an indirect size cue. Western artists have frequently chosen to use movement between “far apart” chords (i.e. with few or no shared notes) to represent large objects or distances, especially in film and classical music. As a result, large harmonic shifts can often trigger epic associations for Western listeners. Some of the ways artist implement this technique are:
— Certain upward leaps to major chords in minor modes (e.g., i-VI, i-V, i-VII)
— “Valving” between unrelated chords (e.g., I-bV-I-bV)
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Frisson Reported by Listeners
Technique 4: Texture contrast
High-contrast textures can communicate “intensity”, which is an indirect size cue. Intense sounds (e.g. very loud, fast, or uneven sounds) require significant energy to produce and therefore tend to indicate large sound sources. By featuring “intense” textures with radical differences across the parts, artists can sometimes trigger epic associations. Some of the ways artist implement this technique to create chills-inducing moments include:
— Fast vs. slow contrast (e.g. one line with short rhythmic values against another line with long notes)
— Ending vs. beginning contrast (e.g., elisions where a new line begins as another line ends)
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Frisson Reported by Listeners
Technique 5: Immersive repetition
Certain uses of repetition can boost the effectiveness of other size cues. Artists sometimes use prolonged repetition to encourage listeners to focus less on tension-release movements and more on the size and quality of the sounds. When done effectively, audiences shift to an immersive form of listening that can contribute to an “epic” feel. Some of the ways artist implement this technique to create chills-inducing moments include:
— Unison “motor” rhythms in minor modes (without a leading tone)
— New-age ambient minimalism
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Frisson Reported by Listeners