Definition

The Epic pattern is a set of auditory cues that indicate large objects and spaces. Humans and animals use a consistent set of acoustic features to predict the size and distance of an unseen sound source. Given that large objects are generally more dangerous than small objects, we are especially sensitive to cues indicating a large object. The more abruptly artists introduce epic cues into a song, and the more artists intensify the unique acoustic features that distinguish them, the more likely we are to experience chills.

Listen to examples ▾

Mechanism

The Epic pattern works by tricking our auditory system for guessing the size of unseen objects. Humans and animals use an acoustic feature called tonal volume to estimate the size of a sound source. Tonal volume is different from loudness or decibel level; it’s a combination of resonance and pressure at certain lower frequencies. You know it when you hear it – tonal volume is the “space filling” attribute of a sound. 

Technique #1: High-tonal volume instruments

Technique #2: Many unison sound sources

The second technique for creating an Epic pattern is to sound many low tonal-volume instruments loudly in unison. Certain instruments blend together well when they sound in unison. This can produce exponentially higher aggregate tonal volume than adding up the tonal volume of each player. To borrow an anecdote from frisson expert David Huron, this is why orchestras use 30 violins instead of one violinist amplified to 30x loudness.

In chills-inducing passages, the most reliably ways we see artists pull off this technique are:

• Unison string instruments: violin, viola, and cello sections, typically sounding loudly in unison directly after a quiet, low-tonal volume, solo section 

• Large vocal ensembles: classical choirs, crowd singing at live concerts, crowd-sourced projects featuring 1,000+ singers 

• “Wall of sound” production techniques: many overlayed takes or layered tracks of a single voice or instrument (e.g., Enya’s producer layers her voice 30 times in a single track)

• Set-up
• Follow-up
• Context

Anecdote:

Technique #3: Reverb and delay

The third technique for creating an Epic pattern is to use pronounced reverb. Our ears associate ambient reverberations and echo effects with distant sound sources and large spaces given that faraway sounds hit more reflective surfaces as they travel toward us than close sounds. 

In chills-inducing passages, the most reliably ways we see artists pull off this technique are:

• Heavy reverb added to impulse sound sources: especially plucked electric guitar, drums, and piano, all of which usually decay immediately

• Staggered delays applied to vocals: often combined with reverb to smooth the transience   

• High-reverb instruments: especially tubular bells, humming choir, gongs, and rich synth pads

• Set-up
• Follow-up
• Context

Anecdote:

This technique was the centerpiece of Phil Spector’s famous “wall of sound” in the 1960s that featured recordings in studios with exceptional echo chambers. Spector even described this sound as “a Wagnerian approach to rock & roll”. 

Technique #4: Suddenly filling out the frequency range

The fourth technique for creating an Epic pattern is to have a large ensemble playing loud, interlocking, fast rhythms. This technique combines the first three Epic techniques, often implementing each technique in each line or section of the music, to create a single, large, enveloping sound sound.  

In chills-inducing passages, the most reliably ways we see artists pull off this technique are:

• High-tonal volume instruments in lead line with many unison low-tonal instruments in supporting line: all playing fast, busy, interlocking rhythms

• Audience applause and crowd swells  

• Production techniques 

• Set-up
• Follow-up
• Context

Anecdote:

Technique #5: Large harmonic “distances”

The fifth technique for creating an Epic pattern is to feature shifts between chords that are “far apart” chromatically and on the circle of fifths. Unlike the four previous techniques that mimic sounds in nature, this technique takes advantage of learned associations in Western music that large harmonic shifts often represent themes of distance, size and space (which is why they are sometimes referred to as “god chords” or “space chords”).

In chills-inducing passages, the most reliably ways we see artists pull off this technique are:

• Direct modulations between certain distant keys: chromatic mediants (e.g. I-bIII, I-bVI), “far fifths” (e.g. i-IV), or tritone transpositions between major triads (e.g. I-bV) 

• Valving between distant keys: repeated undulations back and forth between two distant chords  

• Extended sequences across distant keys: often featuring repeated jumps through hexatonic or octatonic scales

• Set-up
• Follow-up
• Context

Anecdote: Scott Murphy tritones