Using Negative Space in Songwriting

by Brian Casel | November 23, 2008 | One Comment

You’re midway through piecing together a new song and you hit a road block. The song needs… something. But what? Often times the best addition to a song is a subtraction.

What I mean by that is keep things simple and straightforward can often serve your song quite well. By stripping away the clutter you can focus your audience’s attention on the core concept of the song – this can be a riff, a rhythm, a lyric, a melody, or some combination of these. Whatever it is that’s meant to be front and center should remain clear and digestible.

Taking this idea a step further, you can actually use empty space as its own instrument. Try working with an interesting and obscure rhythm. Then slowly take away one note (or hit) at a time, leaving only the most essential backbone notes. The space that’s left in between these notes serves to add tension and anticipation for the primary components of the phrase – giving the overall sound more impact.

A few songs that come to mind which utilize this technique are:

If You Believe – Nino Moschella
Master Blaster (Jammin’) – Stevie Wonder
Right Where It Belongs – Nine Inch Nails

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