Energy in a song

[mehrdad.sedghi]

Hi dear producers.
This is mehrdad,
I wanna ask you what parameters make a music energetic?
When I produce a song people say its more emotional than Energetic!

This make me so sad, do have any idea?

[Kinh]

Shit, what are you on about?

[Zexila]

When I produce a song people say its more emotional than Energetic!

And that's a bad thing why?

Majority couldn't touch real emotion if their life depend on it, only thing they know is how to make wasted folks jump like monkeys on festivals.

[KBSoundSmith]

Energy management is handled by a number of compositional parameters, working together (any one parameter by itself, may/may not create the effect you want)

--Dynamics. Louder is often perceived as more energetic (but doesn't have to be ... ever been in a room where there's tense silence after an argument? Quiet can also be tense). Crescendos are an obvious
--Rhythmic density. In short, how many notes are there per second? The more notes/events there are, the more likely they are to be perceived as energetic
--Tempo (rate of the beat). Fast is usually more energetic than slow (but again, doesn't have to be...like the tense silence example above)
--Articulation
--Contour of the melody/foreground material. Smooth lines are usually (not always) less energetic than more jagged, jumping lines.
--Harmony, varying levels of dissonance
--Timbre (tone color). A group of flutes playing a loud chord can certainly be energetic...but a group of Trumpets playing the same chord will be even more energetic.

Anyway that's a few things off the top of my head. Rhythm and volume are the easiest to manage for the effect you want. Experiment, try different combinations.

[thecontrolcentre]

Tempo and performance can give a song "energy" ... doesn't mean it cant be " emotional" too. Can you post one of your songs?

[elxsound]

In addition to what's already written, its important to know why you are creating a piece of music.

Is it for you, is it for others, or should it be both?

Do you have an expectation of what the listener should experience after hearing your work or are you finishing things that were fun to make and now are looking to get feedback?

These are important questions, because if you were to focus on making an "energetic" track, then your workflow will most likely be vastly different than what you are doing now.

This is not a question of right vs wrong, but different people have different reasons for making music and listeners (musician vs non-musician) will have a different take for multiple valid reasons.

People often have the tendency to want to stumble into a great and unique sound and stay away from analyzing other people's music for fear of "copying" but replication is often the best learning tool because it trains your ear, develops skill for delivering a polished product and it helps you as the creator decide how to create a unique piece of work WITHOUT copying.

My advice to you would be to choose a number of songs that YOU find energetic, focus on recreating them so you can better understand what makes them energetic. In the end you'll be creating your own work with better understanding and possibly a better relatable experience for your listeners.

[MogwaiBoy]

"Energetic" might just be wallpaper dance music that moves your body but not your heart - "emotional" might be powerful, epic, goosebump-inducing awe.

If people say your music is emotional... that's absolutely great! Go with that. You're making a deep connection with your audience. Emotion is energy.

[AsPeeXXXVIII]

If people say your music is emotional... that's absolutely great! Go with that. You're making a deep connection with your audience. Emotion is energy.

This in a nutshell. That's why I personally strive to make music that hits people in the feels, rather than music that makes your body move.