Music and Narrative Science

theory
#1

I’m pairing down my author’s arguments to match my story’s issue. There were several songs I’d play on Youtube which encapsulated the messages I wanted to express in the story. So, I began playing them. Listening to “Save the Best For Last”, I noticed the song’s title came at the end of the first section of singer’s arguments (something like the first stanza), then came a new sort of singer’s comment/arguments followed by the song title again. Then came another section reminding us of the initial section, followed by the song title. I tried a few other songs, even testing out whether some had four distinct sections. This might’ve been like the “signposts” in Narrative Science/Dramatica.

Sometimes I only found three sections. Perhaps the middle section is really two linked together, as happens with Dramatica… we don’t notice two signposts if they’re diagonally related.

I wonder if that urge to put an instrumental right before the final section relates to how the mind interprets story.

Is there a chart which could be constructed around tempos and octave shifts in music? I’m guessing the tempos would be the difference between Dramatica story drivers and the octave shift or amplitude shift might be the shift in dramatic tension. One example is “Baby Baby” by Amy Grant in comparison with the slower “Save the Best For Last” by Vanessa Williams.

#2

Are you talking about lyrics or music? If the former, yes, you can do the exact same analysis as you would for scripts or novels. If the latter, it would probably take a lot more knowledge of music theory than I have on tap. I’m just barely beyond “major keys sound happy, minor keys sound sad.” :sweat_smile: I don’t think tempo changes or key modulations can be easily translated into Dramatica terminology. Both suggest a rise in tension or intensity, but they don’t have to. Rock Island from The Music Man famously uses tempo changes to simulate a train speeding up and slowing down. (Also, klezmer music.) If you want a song with lots of key modulations, I’ve got plenty of examples, but since I’ve been thinking a lot about Hamilton recently, have a Hamilton song where he directly references it.

This isn’t related to modulations or tempo changes, but I also want to give a shout-out to Build a Wall from Bastion. It sounds like a very sad, mournful song until you listen to the lyrics. “Gon’ build that wall until it’s done / but now you’ve got nowhere to run.” :anguished:

#3

I was thinking of both. The co-founders of Narrative Science/Dramatica have speculated about the next phase in this massive project: figuring out timing and pacing. Okay, there’s been speculation on other aspects of what a more encompassing version of the theory would be. I wondered about how the pacing of the song would relate to its mood. This could relate to film pacing as well.

#4

Hmm. Pacing is an interesting question. The theory does already have the Catalysts, the Inhibitors, the Benchmarks, the Driver, the Limit, etc. The theory also gives you a certain space to expand or contract below the level of sequences. I really hope Dramatica never becomes “Save the Cat!” where you can predict the occurrence of events down to the minute.

After I read your question, I wanted to try and analyze a song for narrative elements. The song that came to mind for me is one of my favorites from Hamilton, The Room Where it Happens. I think it’s broken up into four pretty clear acts:

Act I: Verse 1. Hamilton and Burr discuss the best method for achieving immortality. Burr recommends dying nobly, but Hamilton chooses direct action, “doing whatever it takes to get my plan on the congress floor.”

Act II: Verse 2, Chorus, Verse 3, Verse 4, Bridge (part 1). While Burr watches helplessly from the sidelines, Hamilton pulls strings and makes compromises to get his plan through. Despite Burr’s protestations that things of value are being lost, he has no control over what happens.

Act III: Bridge (part 2). Burr suddenly realizes Hamilton’s game. Hamilton trades things that appear valuable in order to get the things that really matter. Hamilton explains that because he cares so deeply about his legacy, he will do anything to see it realized. He then exhorts Burr with the question that resonates throughout the musical: “If you stand for nothing, Burr, what will you fall for?”

Act IV: Chorus (Coda). Burr breaks down. He finally admits that there is something he cares deeply about: the ability to shape his own destiny. “I wanna be in the room where it happens.”

This song is a really important moment in the play as a whole, but I hope in this way I’ve shown a very simple arc across just here. Burr is a Change, Start, Do-er, Holistic Main Character, with Hamilton as his Influence Character. (In the rest of the play, these roles are reversed. Hamilton is the MC and Burr is the IC.) It’s a Decision, Optionlock, Success, Bad, I’d say. (Success because Hamilton gets what he wants, but Bad because Burr feels dirty for allowing himself to delve into the “art of the compromise: hold your nose and close your eyes.”) As for the Overall Throughline… Physics/Obtaining/Self-Interest/Avoid? (I semi-intentionally made those four Acts fit the four Activity Concerns. Act I is Obtaining, Act II is Doing, Act III is Understanding, and Act IV is Learning. Kinda.)

Anyways, that’s my analysis of the lyrics. This song has a pretty simple instrumentation, but I hope I can point out some interesting quirks to it.

  • Each verse starts with the trumpet call. It’s very sleazy-sounding, drawing attention to the events that are unfolding here. It contrasts with the quiet, sneaky sound of the verses.
  • Verse 1 starts with just the drumkit and the two characters talking. It gives us a neutral positioning, so that when the intriguing piano riff comes in, we feel disconcerted as Hamilton explains his technique. The same thing happens in a couple other places: when George Washington and Jefferson make their deal, when Burr realizes Hamilton’s game, and when Burr finally decides to step in. In each case, the goal is to make the conversation more prominent.
  • The chorus adds the banjo. In my opinion, it gives those sections a “wheelin’-and-dealin’” feel. It also accentuates Burr’s distaste for the proceedings.
  • Jefferson’s lines in Verse 3 seem to skip and jump across the beat, while Hamilton, Burr, and Washington generally fit the beat better. I think the point of this is to demonstrate how Jefferson is much less willing to work with Hamilton, whereas the others are more amenable.
  • As Burr gets more upset, his part gets more involved and energetic. His lines as the narrator are very simple and balanced, but when he sings as “himself,” it’s very intense. “What did they say to you to get you to sell me your city down the river?!”

I don’t know if that analysis makes any sense. In any case, I don’t really get solid concepts from musical choices so much as abstract sensations.

#5

Wow . That’s really good work. Hamilton’s songs also lend themselves to this because they’re part of a narrative already.

#6

Hi all, I thought I would add that songs tend to have a structure similar to a story, as songs often are stories. There is a simple song form called the AABA, I think the below structure is what it might look like in a song. Notice the Middle 8 (8 bars of music) is called the Bridge, and might function like the 2 Goal movie structure of switching to the 2nd goal about half way through. There are a ton of song forms, AABA is just one. I bet there is some kind of song writing software that is trying to do something similar to Dramatica but for songs. There is a forum out there for song writers and someone is posting about this software program for writing stories and how its just like the Song-o-Matic software. Bizarro Dramatica!

Example song structure from wikipedia:
Intro-{Verse-Chorus}{Verse-Chorus}-Middle 8-{Chorus}-{Chorus}-(Outro)

Doh!
http://www.howmusicworks.org/910/Writing-Songs/Song-Structure