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Hi all,

what the heck is a button ending? Is that a sharp cut off? Does it bring you right back to the beginning?

I have never heard of such a thing. (of course, that's not unusual for me...)

Thanks,

John

I believe the term generally means a solid ending - not a fade out. It doesn't have to be abrupt and it should make musical sense. I like to think of it as if the music is going along, taaaaaaaaaa Bump.

hth
kc

Just means a well-defined ending, as a opposed to a fadeout or meandering and petering out.

Hi John,

It's a solid, finished, non-fading out ending. You have several options, however. The chord can be held for several seconds (known as a "fermata" for all you theory buffs); it can end after a beat or two but there is a "ring out" (where all of the instruments, strings, reverb, etc., die "naturally"); or it can end suddenly in a quick "bump" -- whatever fits the piece.

Also, if you're writing for production music libraries, it's best to end on the "tonic" chord. For instance, if the track or song is in the key of C major, the last chord should be a C Major chord; if it's in the key of A minor, then you would end on an A minor chord. (Although, sometimes it's acceptable to "Picardy-third" a piece in a minor key and end it on the C Major chord for dramatic effect.) Either way, this makes it easier for music editors to end the piece.

Hope that helps!

~ Tracey & Vance Marino

I love to use a snappy snare for button endings accompanied by phat bass & guitar stab.. it's like a stinger & in general should end with the root note of the track from what I've learnt from a very wise one..

KO

I would have to disagree with the notion that the cue needs to end on the I chord or root. It simply needs to end on a chord that is in the key of the cue and makes logical sense in context of the it - musically and mood wise. In other words, don't modulate to a different key center and end there (although it is fine to temporarily modulate to a different key center and back); end on a a chord that is "in key" or closely related.

For example, if you have a cue that is of a "searching" or "questioning" nature, it will usually make much more sense to end it on the IV or V or even bVII chord...cause the editor will usually want to end that "questioning cue" with a question mark, not an exclamation point or period.

So the key is to end on the, or a, note and/or chord that makes (the most) sense in the musical and emotional context of the cue, and not on something that sounds forced and unnatural.

Other than that I agree with what's been said...a button is simply a "real", "composed" ending...(as opposed to a fade-out).

matto

matto wrote:I would have to disagree with the notion that the cue needs to end on the I chord or root. It simply needs to end on a chord that is in the key of the cue and makes logical sense in context of the it - musically and mood wise. In other words, don't modulate to a different key center and end there (although it is fine to temporarily modulate to a different key center and back); end on a a chord that is "in key" or closely related.

For example, if you have a cue that is of a "searching" or "questioning" nature, it will usually make much more sense to end it on the IV or V or even bVII chord...cause the editor will usually want to end that "questioning cue" with a question mark, not an exclamation point or period.

So the key is to end on the, or a, note and/or chord that makes (the most) sense in the musical and emotional context of the cue, and not on something that sounds forced and unnatural.

Other than that I agree with what's been said...a button is simply a "real", "composed" ending...(as opposed to a fade-out).

matto

Thanks for clearing that up Matto..
Now I don't feel so restricted to that 1 rule which I think I had misinterpreted before..
Yays! to being able to end on the other forms/chords!

KO

Yeah, but......(and I hate to 'yeah, but' Matto, of all people) questioning cues are a lot more common in underscore than in production music, generally, so ending on the one chord and the fourth beat is a pretty safe bet. (I know, safe never won the race, except for that tortoise thing) There are many kinds of buttons that maybe don't involve a chord, like a sting, a brass fall or a rimshot; it could be anything that closes strong. Shave and a haircut, six bits...

mojobone wrote:Yeah, but......(and I hate to 'yeah, but' Matto, of all people) questioning cues are a lot more common in underscore than in production music, generally, so ending on the one chord and the fourth beat is a pretty safe bet. (I know, safe never won the race, except for that tortoise thing) There are many kinds of buttons that maybe don't involve a chord, like a sting, a brass fall or a rimshot; it could be anything that closes strong. Shave and a haircut, six bits...

While this is true, don't forget that with the proliferation of reality, news, lifestyle and docutainment (e.g. Discovery) programming, more an more production music is being used for underscore applications.
I just got my latest BMI statement and without running a detailed analysis, I would estimate at least 2/3 of my production music royalties come from underscore uses of my music...

I would have to agree with Matt Either a tonic "Bump" or what leads elsewhere into the next section.

Personally, I'd do a bunch of em, since they're all about 2 seconds long; 1.) A tonic kick&bass on the logical tonic of the cue; 2. A quick fade (40ms) if it's a atmospheric piece; 3. A Hard rock chord in the key, but really short w/ maybe a VERY quick fade. 4. An orchestral "hit," which you can find in every library!

HTH,

Ern