Attack, decay, sustain, release
A theory of striking chords with stories
The story was set to go out at 5am this morning. There it sat at the news desk, in a digital embargo, waiting. Most of the city was sleeping still, as I was, as was the whole family. A few attentive souls stood guard back at work on the south bank, keeping watch as the sun rose. One last quick check and it was sent it on its way, around Australia, and the world at large.
Attack: In synthesiser land this is how fast we first come on. Straight up sound or a slow, gradual build up. We have an initial idea and we either want to push it hard right away or else let it brew for a while. Wait and see what may come, what might evolve.
Decay: We’re off and running and the story is coming along nicely. The intensity drops ever so slightly as we establish our rhythm. The deadline is still far away in the future.
Sustain: Keep that energy going. We can’t let up just let. With our foot to the floor we ride this note out. Too much pressure and we can get lost to eternity. Too little and we burn out before we’re ready. And then, just at that perfect moment, it hits us.
Release: The day, hour, minute, second arrives. The penny drops. The show is over and we say one last bon voyage. Fade out into the world at your own chosen speed. We shall be released!
The tales we tell seem to largely play upon these rules. Their final impact depends upon many variables, finely tuned. Our stories are often heavily orchestrated, with melodies and harmonies interwoven, layers upon layers. Fanciful designs hover over familiar narratives, dancing within an underlying code that defines how our music unfolds, from the page into the vibrational airwaves.
In the end it was wonderful to see our orchestration pay off this time. Today played out to almost flawless perfection, with our story soaring even atop a relatively heavy news day.
And now there’s little left to be done except prepare the next note in that grand old overture, being performed for all time. Once again, from the top!
