Active Tones: Using Tension & Resolution to Make Better Melodies

Not all notes are created equal. When you as a songwriter are working on crafting a melody, it helps to be aware of the different tendencies the various melodic notes (a.k.a. scale degrees) have over a given chord. Some notes will feel more settled; others will create various amounts of tension.

Recently, in a Facebook Group on songwriting, one of the group members asked me for some help with the concept of “active notes”. What he was really asking was whether there are any rules as to what notes you can use in a melody.

The short answer to that question is, NO!!! Of course there are no rules. In the end, the only thing that matters is whether or not you like your melody; whether it’s living up to your expectations or not.

That being said, if you understand some of the general tendencies of the various melodic possibilities, then you can more quickly formulate the kind of melody you're looking for; melodies with the perfect balance of tension and settledness.

In this video, I use the example of a C major chord and go through all 12 scale degrees in order from the most settled to the least settled. And I play each example on the piano, so you can hear exactly what I’m talking about.

1:08 What are active notes?
1:20 Tension and resolution
1:48 Too much tension
2:13 Not enough tension
2:53 Finding a balance
3:48 Example on piano: All 12 scale degrees over a C-Major chord in order from most settled to most tense

Even if you don’t play piano, it’s worth checking out the part where I play and talk through the various scale degrees, because it gives you a chance to hear what I mean by settledness and tension.

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