The brief for this assignment was to write for the brass section to create suspension and tension. We were to use clusters, extended harmonies, soft dynamics, and swells to “put us on the edge of our seats”.

I chose this scene from “Chimera Strain” because it was the perfect length for the assignment and it had a very clear beats and sections with the amount of tension swelling and fading. I also liked that the highest tension point was at the very end.

At the time I was also exploring poly-tonalities and mediant relationships. So the melodic and harmonic material came from this simple material: A Major & C Major, C Minor and E MInor, E Major and C#(Db) Major. This also led to tighter relationships like C Major and C# Major.

Looking back, I could have improved the last section and the build in tension by spacing out the poly-chord hits in the brass and making them all forte, but overall this was a very successful cue.

You are hearing the mockup version until I have the opportunity to mix the audio.