The emotional journey can also be mapped on music pieces. Their structure and how they trigger emotions in the audience follow the same rules as the ones detailed in the Emotional Journey model.
Chvrches
The mother we share by CHVRCHES also fits this model quite well, notice how the main beats, the change in “drive” matches the big pivots of the song.
| STEP | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| SETUP Who, What, Where. What we know from before that has led us here, now. | |
| WANT What do we want? Why are we here, now? | |
| DRIVE You are moving forward because you want to… | |
| ENGAGE Moving forward in the world, going after what we want. | 1st verse.”Never took your side, never crossed your life” |
| OBSTACLE What is between us and what we want | |
| END OF ACT I REVEAL | |
| DRIVE You are moving forward because you want to… | |
| PLAN We execute on what we decided to do, pushing through obstacles | 1st chorus”I’m in misery where you can see as old as your omens” With a crescendo in intensity at the next verse compare to the first one: “In the dying light, I’m the only one here” |
| MID POINT Twist, turn. Stakes raised | |
| CHALLENGE Biggest challenge so far. | 2nd chorus out of 3.”Come in misery, where you can seem as old as your omens” |
| SUCCESS Short moment of success and encouragement, brief tension relief. | |
| BREAK REVEAL | |
| DRIVE You are moving forward because you want to… | |
| BREAK Setback, criticism, crisis, defeat… things are bad | Bridge in the song, more quiet, more calm with a slow crescendo.”Into the night, for once, we’re the only ones left” |
| POST BREAK REVEAL | |
| DRIVE You know what to do! You are moving forward because you want to… | |
| ASSAULT Confrontation on the way towards the final obstacle | 3rd chorus.”Come in misery, where you can seem as old as your omens” |
| THEMATIC REVEAL Thematic revelation | |
| CLASH Final battle against the last obstacle | Keep intensity high without lyrics. |
| RESOLUTION We reached our goal, or we didn’t | |
| DRIVE You are moving forward because you want to… | |
| NEW STATE New status quo. We won, we lost, things are different now. |
Led Zeppelin – Stairway to Heaven
Old classics follow the same pattern. One of the best songs ever written, Stairway to Heaven, with its apparent unusual structure for the time, still matches perfectly the Emotional Journey model.
Notice how the main beats, the change in “Drive” matches the big pivots of the song.
Chopin
And here again with a piece from Chopin, Ballade En Sol Mineur #1 Opus 23, performed by Luis Fernando Pérez
