Deciphering the feedback...

[hummingbird]

Had this R laying around a bit, had another look/listen today...

Listing:
MINIMAL, TENSION-BASED HYBRID INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by an extremely active Boutique Music Library for placements on a number of TV Shows they're regularly supplying music to. They're looking for well-crafted, Down-to-Mid-Tempo Tension Hybrid Cues that you'd expect to hear in shows like Secrets and Lies, True Detective, American Crime, etc., etc., etc. Give them great Cues that can help propel a tense scene forward by delivering a steady, edge-of-your-seat type vibe, using a hybrid of Electronic and Orchestral elements. Build your Cue around a central melodic theme that keeps the audience fully engulfed in tension by adding and subtracting layers of instrumentation it progresses. Build it up, tear it down, build it back up, then climax at the end. Imagine the music you'd hear while the lead detective is just about to find out the "perp" is someone he knows! That's what they're looking for! Please submit Instrumental Cues that are at least 2 minutes long. Easy edit points and non-faded, buttoned/stinger endings are strongly recommended for this pitch. Broadcast Quality is needed (great sounding home recordings are fine).

Track:
https://soundcloud.com/hummingbird-26/h ... ay/s-lbt3e

R feedback (397):
"Good cue, but it is missing a central melodic theme and is a little too "scary" for this listing, but it is really good!"

Yeah it's a bit 'scarier' than 'tense'... hard to get 'on the edge of your seat' without a touch of 'scary', eh? lol but in terms of the other comment - I take it they mean the central melodic theme of the track starts too late at 1 min? What'cha think? Guess I already know the answer (start with the 'meat and tatties') but nice to hear other thoughts.

cheers
H

[Paulie]

Ah yes... that comment is the bane of my composing existence. But, I've figured it out I think. You need a short theme or motif that repeats throughout the cue, with slight variation over time. Go through the Forwards section of the forum and listen to successful tension cues. That's how I learned.

Here are two examples of my own tension forwards, the piano motif is the sort of thing they are looking for. Often the a la's don't have one that is obvious, so you have to listen for them (or insert them if the listing calls for one). The first cue below has a repetitive theme, the second one has a repetitive instrument (also piano) that states a theme and then noodles a bit.

https://soundcloud.com/paulcroteau/hope ... nsion-cues

https://soundcloud.com/paulcroteau/sewe ... nsion-cues