Hey Friend,

I started to talk about the concept of tension a couple days ago before I was so rudely interrupted by technical difficulties and that j.o.b. thing!

When you are playing the notes from a scale, the tonic note is the base of the scale. Like any base (think, a table base, a military base, a home base), the tonic represents the most stable, solid note in a scale.

Consider it a resting place. This is the most comfortable, easy location on the the sound spectrum. Like being at home.

As you begin to move up the scale, there is a certain resistance to leaving the tonic. This is what I mean by tension.

When you’re in a nice warm bed, the last thing you want to do is roll out into the cold air! Or when you leave the house for the day to go out and battle traffic going to work - it’s the last thing you want to do!

And all you can think about is getting back home to that welcoming, comforting base.

That’s the same thing that occurs with the scale.

As you move away from the tonic towards the perfect fifth, that resistance to moving off the tonic is felt. You can feel the gravitational pull of the tonic trying to bring you back to a resting state.

As you increase that distance, the notes feel the pull more. This is why some notes sound less harmonious with the tonic.

For example, the perfect fifth (seven semitones) is just about mid-point between the tonic and the perfect octave, and it sounds good when played in relation to the tonic or octave. There is minimal tension in the notes - they are comfortable with each other.

But play the tritone (one fret below the perfect fifth on the sixth fret) in relation to the tonic. Instant tension, or dissonance.

Any note lower in pitch to the perfect fifth is going to try and pull you back to the tonic. Once you get about the perfect fifth in the scale, it’s now the perfect octave that is pulling you towards it.

So the tonic and octave are like Earth. You can only jump so high before gravity pulls you back (unless you get some assistance with a rocket pack).

That’s what happens in the scale, you can only get so far from the tonic until it pulls you back.

Once you’re home, you can rest easy again. This is why songs typically start with a root chord and tend to end on that chord. When they don’t, you feel the tension - like there’s something left unfinished.

I know this is quick explanation, but the concept is pretty straight forward. And I know you can feel what I'm talking about in the notes... Any questions?

Have a great Sunday!

Peace~

Dave