Ron Chaplin asks >>I wonder if you would explain a little more about what tension-release is >>in music. Mike Leghorn explains: >I use the term "tension-release" to refer to the way most "modern" >Western music has a build up of tension, and a resolution of the tension. >This pattern occurs on multiple scales, small and large. For example, >on the small scale you have harmonies that become "tense", i.e. the ear >wants them to resolve. When a song ends on a cadence, the harmony goes >from a tense state to a resolved state. The I-IV-V-I harmonic sequence >encapsulates this (The song "Hear & Soul" uses this sequence). SORRY, Mike. The song "Heart and Soul" (and "Blue Moon" too,) use the sequence I, VI, II, V ... Pick another song for your demo! >An example of the larger scale is Beethoven's 5th Symphony. The first >movement is full of conflict, and the last movement is a resolution of >the conflict. Disclaimer: this is just my opinion. I'm not an expert >on the subject, and I don't know if you'll find this in any text books:-) Almost any Good Ol' Fashioned Elementary Harmony text book will discuss traditional classical harmony, and probably this concept of tension - release will be at the beginning of the discussion. Mimi Ezust