Definition

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Surprise is when an artist guides a listener to form an expectation about what is going to happen next in a song, but then the artist fulfills the listener’s expectation in a way that is different (and better) than expected. This takes two forms: guiding listeners to expect that nothing new is going to happen and then suddenly introducing something new (e.g. vamping a filler phrase then abruptly transitioning to a new section), or guiding listeners to expect one type of resolution but then delivering a different resolution instead (e.g. a Picardy cadence). A surprise has to contribute to the flow of a song for frisson to occur. If an artist subverts expectations randomly or too many times in a row, this will likely diminish the effectiveness of a surprise. There is a fine line between a chills-inducing vs. annoying surprise; artistry is required.

Mechanism

When musicians use the Surprise pattern effectively, they trigger a listener’s startle response. This involuntary reaction prompts listeners to hold their breath, duck their head, close their eyes, release adrenaline, and take other defensive measures. Unexpected changes in sound are effective for prompting this response because hearing is the fastest of the five senses. While light travels faster than sound, it is processed more slowly in the eye than sound in the ear. Whether its an unseen door slamming or a musical surprise, listeners’ brains automatically take a better-safe-than-sorry approach and activate this response when presented with unanticipated changes in sound .

Technique #1: Create a sonic surprise

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The first Surprise technique involves startling listeners with deviations in dynamics, timbre, and frequency content. In chills-inducing passages, the most reliable ways we see artists pull this off are:

• Large changes in dynamics: where an artist features a loud stab after a quiet section or silent pause (intensified with compression and fast-attack instruments like percussion), but also less frequently where an artist features a sudden decreases in volume (especially during the bridge in pop songs)

• Certain initial timbre entrances: where an artist introduces a “contrasting” timbre whose frequency content differs from previous texture (e.g., male vs. female singer, acoustic vs. electronic instrument, falsetto vs. chest voice) or a new vocalist or voice-like timbre (e.g. saxophone, cello, oboe)

• Abrupt broadening or contracting of the frequency range: where an artist adds or takes away low bass and/or high treble via orchestration (e.g. transitions from soloist to full ensemble or vice versa) or production techniques (e.g. using EQ and filters to strengthen and fill in parts of the spectrum)

Don’t interpret this technique as a “hack” that automatically results in chills. A vocal entrance won’t “work” by itself. Whether listeners experience frisson depends on the preceding music and certain features like the change in harmonic vs. inharmonic overtones. Artistry is required in the set-up, follow-up, and execution. Consult the Frisson 101 page for tips on how other artists have used the Startle pattern.  

Technique #2: Create a harmonic surprise

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The second Surprise technique involves startling listeners with deviations in chord progressions and structures. In chills-inducing passages, the most reliable ways we see artists pull this off include:

• Modal interchange: where the artist feature a borrowed chord before a resolution (e.g. ii-II-I), a “backdoor” resolution (e.g. bVI-bVII-I), or a Picardy third resolution (e.g. iv-v-I), all of which make the tonic “brighter” than expected and the release more satisfying for listeners

• New chord structure: where the artist abruptly harmonizes a previously unharmonized lead line or introduces a new chord type on a release (e.g. diminished chord after a section the featured major triads), pairing chord change with sparse arrangements to focus listeners on the harmonies

• Inharmonic noise to harmonic pitch: where the artist temporarily features a dissonant burst or swell, after which the artist resolves back to harmonic pitch

Technique #3: Create a tonal surprise

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The third Surprise technique involves startling listeners with deviations in modes and key centers. In chills-inducing passages, the most reliable ways we see artists pull this off include:

• Modal shifts: where at the end of a conventional, well-signaled cadence the artist modulates to a parallel or relative mode that minimizes changes in accidentals (e.g. FM to Fm, CM to Am), and after which the artist immediately continues the musical flow to smooth the transition and reinforce the new modal sound

• “Remote” modulations: where at the end of a cadence the artist directly transposes the tonal center by half step, whole step, or minor third (all of which are far apart on circle of fifths with few shared notes), typically embellishing with skipped beats and bass line movement that widens the pitch changes 

• Resolution of tonal ambiguity: where an artist establishes an unambiguous tonal center after a tonally ambiguous, pantriadic, or atonal sequence (e.g., in “The Long and Winding Road” the verse hints at EbM and Cm with seventh chords and added 9ths and 11ths, but doesn’t confirm EbM until the last note)

Technique #4: Create a rhythmic surprise

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The fourth Surprise technique involves startling listeners with deviations in rhythmic emphasis, subdivisions, and tempo. In chills-inducing passages, the most reliable ways we see artists pull this off are:

• On-beat vs. off-beat emphasis: sudden changes from straight to syncopated rhythms in the bass line at the start of a new section, repeated switching into and out of syncopation in the lead line, or an “early” entrance on the upbeat of a phrase repetition after previous on-beat emphasis

• Even and odd-numbered subdivisions: hemiolas that shift emphasis from duple and tuple meters or one-off instances of added (or skipped) beats, all of which are emphasized with texture and dynamic changes to call listener attention to the rhythmic shift

• Certain tempo changes: subtle shifts involving a 4:3 or 3:2 BPM ratio that cause the beat to shift from being felt as straight quarter notes to a triplet quarter note pattern, large unprepared shifts in BPM (dramatic increases and decreases can both work), or picking the tempo back up after a rubato passage

Don’t interpret this technique as a hack that automatically results in chills. Just switching to a syncopated baseline won’t “work” by itself. Whether listeners experience frisson depends on the contrast with the preceding music, certain ratios in the rhythmic and tempo changes, and the follow-up. Artistry is required. Consult the Frisson 101 page for tips on how other artists have used this technique.

Technique #5: Create a melodic surprise

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The fifth Surprise technique involves startling listeners with interval size, phrasing, and themes. In chills-inducing passages, the most reliable ways we see artists pull this off include:

• Establish-reinforce-violate phrasing: where an artist repeats an antecedent phrase (or section of a song) twice or more in a row, then instead of another repetition the artist introduces a radically different consequent phrase (or new section), often mid-repetition or via a skipped beat to enhance the contrast
  

• Sudden disjunct motion: where at the end of a conventional, well-signaled cadence that featured steps and small intervals, an artist abruptly introduces a leap by a fifth or more on the tonic note or chord, often in a contrary direction to the previous contour to enhance the contrast 

• Return of a theme: where an artists seeds a theme, then after passing through other sections and setting up a prominent climax or transition moment, the artist brings back the theme, usually with expanded orchestration and dynamics to elevate it into a new version of itself

Don’t interpret this technique as a hack that automatically results in chills. Just featuring a leap by a seventh after a series of half steps won’t “work” by itself. Whether listeners experience frisson depends on the set-up and follow-up and certain aspects of orchestration and note length during execution. Artistry is required. Consult the Frisson 101 and Library pages for tips and examples of how other artists have used this technique.