Home
News
Interviews

Interviews Featured Content

Yngwie Malmsteen Discusses his Roots, His Rep and his Latest Album in this 1986 Guitar World Interview

Rolling Stones: Keith Richards on the Making of 'Exile on Main St.'

Let the Good Times Grohl: Dave Grohl Talks 'Sound City: Real to Reel'

Art & Soul: Adam Jones Discusses Tool's Limited-Edition 'Opiate' EP Reissue

All Interviews Articles
Lessons
Lessons RSS
Lessons Featured Content

A Clean Sweep: Mastering Sweep Arpeggios with John Petrucci

The Capo Crusader: An Acoustic Arrangement of The Who's "Baba O'Riley"

The Capo Crusader: An Acoustic Arrangement of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child O' Mine"

Let There Be Rock: AC/DC's Angus Young on the Rhythm Playing of Malcolm Young

All Lessons Articles
Gear
Gear RSS
Gear Featured Content

La Grunge: The Top 10 Blues-Approved Overdrive/Distortion Pedals

Small Wonders: Five Essential 15-Watt Guitar Amps

40 Years After "Smoke On the Water," Fender Custom Shop Introduces Ritchie Blackmore Tribute Strat

Say Wah? Five Essential Signature Wah Pedals

All Gear Articles
Blogs
Girls

Girls Featured Content

Guitar World Girls: Brittany

Guitar World Girls: Miranda Velez — Video and Photo Gallery

Guitar World Girls: Sami

Guitar World Girls: Lariyah Daniels

All Girls Articles
Store
Subscribe
GOLDEN GODS HIGHLIGHTS

Talkin' Blues: Utilizing Unresolved Harmonic Tension to Create Dark, Eerie Music

Posted 10/25/2012 at 11:14am | by Keith Wyatt

1

The following content is related to the December 2012 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.

Last month we looked at some examples of blues phrasing with chromatic passing tones leading to strong chord-tone resolutions, but such neat-and-tidy phrases are only one side of the chromatic picture. On the other side is unresolved tension, i.e. deliberately delaying or avoiding consonant resolutions to create dissonance that evokes feelings of darkness and danger. This sound entered the realm of American pop music in the Fifties through sexy, smoky epics like the Viscounts’ “Harlem Nocturne” and the themes for TV detective series like Peter Gunn and Perry Mason, which paralleled edgy, urban noir (“black”) trends in fiction and film.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Topics:

1

Comment

+ Add a Comment

gtrpicker2

November 02, 2012 at 6:39pm

hi keith,
i always enjoy your columns and the way you explain the history or background of how these particular styles came into being. keep up the good work. thanks for sharing your knowledge.