# Types of songs associated with specific emotions?



## Kiiryu (Aug 19, 2009)

Hello everyone, this is my first post here so bare with me, I've got a bit of an odd question.

I'm creating a story based around music, and I want some of the characters to be named after types of songs, like Bolero, Rondo, Aria, Sonata, etc. The problem is, I need each type of song to be associated with a certain emotion or theme for it to work in the story, but the only one I know of is the requiem, which represents death.

Are there any other types of songs that are associated with certain emotions, and if so what are they?


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Rondo - jollity, lightness
Waltz - melancholy
Polonaise - grandeur, majesty
Scherzo - joke
Nocturne - evening, melancholic mood
Caprice - disorder, alternation


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## kg4fxg (May 24, 2009)

*Leitmotivs*

Yes, yes, .....

The use of leitmotivs (themes) to suggest a character or idea is huge in opera. Actually the term was coined well after Wagner but are applied to his work and Weber. The ring cycle contains between 70-200 leitmotivs.

Examples could be anything. Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev or Carnaval des animaux by Camile Saint-Saens.


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## Kiiryu (Aug 19, 2009)

Well, Aramis was right on the mark as to what I was looking for, but I still need more.

Are there any lists out there that have this kind of information? I also want to learn the same things about different types of melodies, like Arias for instance.

Anyway, thanks for responding so far.


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## mueske (Jan 14, 2009)

Kiiryu said:


> Well, Aramis was right on the mark as to what I was looking for, but I still need more.
> 
> Are there any lists out there that have this kind of information? I also want to learn the same things about different types of melodies, like Arias for instance.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for responding so far.


You can't really pin an emotion on Aria. It's just a form of music, much like a symphony, it isn't bound to a specific mood or emotion.

Only thing I can think of now is Burlesque: "Burlesque is a humorous (theatrical) entertainment involving parody and sometimes grotesque exaggeration."

One can be found in Shostakovich's first violin concerto.


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## nickgray (Sep 28, 2008)

> Are there any other types of songs that are associated with certain emotions, and if so what are they?


Nah, I don't think you can associate forms with emotions. Scherzo in Mahler's sixth can be described as vicious, while Scherzo in Tchaikovsky's 4th is light and playful. Rondo is just ~ABACABA form, you can put any content in it. Same thing with Fugue or Sonata - it's just a form, or even a guide that composer can take into consideration while composing something.

Perhaps you should follow the kg4fxg's thought and try to make something out of leitmotifs.


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## Rasa (Apr 23, 2009)

Minuets always gives me ideas of very civilized upper class people dancing... hypocritical maybe?


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## mueske (Jan 14, 2009)

Rasa said:


> Minuets always gives me ideas of very civilized upper class people dancing... hypocritical maybe?


No, I have that same image... I think Mozart has something to do with that!


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## Kiiryu (Aug 19, 2009)

Ah, so there aren't many associated with themes or emotions. I guess I'll have to re-think things then.

Thanks for the info, you guys have helped a lot.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

nickgray said:


> Scherzo in Mahler's sixth can be described as vicious, while Scherzo in Tchaikovsky's 4th is light and playful


Most of the scherzos are playful. If this word would be used as a name it could have obvious musical context, in view of it's original meaning.



> Rondo is just ~ABACABA form, you can put any content in it.


You can, but the fact is most composers made their rondos light and entertaining pieces based on easy, catchy themes.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Kiiryu said:


> Ah, so there aren't many associated with themes or emotions. I guess I'll have to re-think things then.
> 
> Thanks for the info, you guys have helped a lot.


There may still be enough form names that ARE associated with emotions, maybe you can find enough to use. It's an intriguing idea.

Bouree' or Badinerie - joking and playful
Sarabande - graceful
Fanfare - Dignity (or Pompousness)
Lament - the name says it all.

What specific emotion are you looking for?


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## Zeniyama (Jul 20, 2009)

Whenever I hear a Barcarolle, I always think of the gentle movements of water, like a slow moving river carrying me calmly to wherever I may end up.


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## Kiiryu (Aug 19, 2009)

Weston said:


> There may still be enough form names that ARE associated with emotions, maybe you can find enough to use. It's an intriguing idea.
> 
> Bouree' or Badinerie - joking and playful
> Sarabande - graceful
> ...


Well, I need about 8 names that cover a wide variety of emotions or themes. However, I don't know whether they should be the names of types of melodies, songs, or something else. I'm starting to think it would be easier to go with themes instead of emotions though..

If that were the case I could use things like..

Requiem or Elegy (death)
Toccata (freedom?) 
Nocturne
Concerto (independence? Solitude?) 
Etude 
March (war)

Or maybe I could use names like Grave and Vivace, I don't know.


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## altiste (Jun 11, 2008)

*tango*

Tango is certainly a type of song associated with a certain emotion (nostalgia, melancholy etc.). Also milonga.


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2009)

altiste said:


> Tango is certainly a type of song associated with a certain emotion (nostalgia, melancholy etc.). Also milonga.


Well, I'll be short stacked, I always thought the Tango was seduction and kind of sexy


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## altiste (Jun 11, 2008)

Andante said:


> Well, I'll be short stacked, I always thought the Tango was seduction and kind of sexy


Well that's where it starts, but it's usually about things going awry....


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## altiste (Jun 11, 2008)

*Tango*

On thinking about it a bit more, tango probably wasn't a very good suggestion in response to the original topic, tango simply encompasses too much. Here's a little quote from a tango CD that fell into my hands a few day's ago; "Tango expresses what it is to be human, all the joys and all the sorrows".....


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## Guest (Aug 26, 2009)

OK, I'll go with that


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