Originally Posted by: pikengren
you said "entire phrases built on strict tension "
is there any examples of this in the tricks section for me to experiment with?

I'm not sure. You probably hear it alot but just don't notice it. The 3rd movement of Bruckner's Symp. #9 is probably the most extreme use of what I was talking about. There's a large section where the melody is filled with chromatic lines and the harmony incorpates alot of augmented sixth chords. Another example is in Bartok's Quartet No. 4 where the harmony plays a rhythm with one chord for 8 measures that contains the notes A, B, and C#. All clustered together. Or some modern bands, like Radiohead. The singer has a kanck for singing the 7th over a chord. Dave Matthews does alot with ninth's, usually in the sax. I guess if you want to experiment, you have to accept that this practice is an effect in itself. Music is sound, not science. So if your looking for a particular sound, and one option is as explained. Experiment with sound, this is just another tool you can use.