Musical Sting
A short, sharp musical hit. Punctuates moments. Used in news graphics, trailers, comedy buttons.
- COINED
- 1950s
- TAXONOMY
- AUDIO
- RELATED
- 4
- TEMPLATES
- 0
A sting is a short, sharp musical hit. One to three seconds. Punctuation. The dun-dun in Law and Order. The bass-drum hit when the trailer reveals the title. The descending arpeggio when the news anchor moves to the next segment.
Stings are the audio equivalent of an exclamation point. They tell the audience: this moment matters. They are also wildly overused. Trailer culture has dulled the audience's ear; modern action trailers run 30-40 stings in two minutes.
Used sparingly, a sting is one of the cheapest ways to add production value. One well-placed orchestral hit at a key reveal does more than ten extra B-roll cuts. Used constantly, stings disappear into noise - and the audience tunes them out within seconds.
Trailers. News transitions. Comedy buttons. Any moment that needs sonic punctuation.
In a melodic score where stings would clash with the music. In understated documentary work.
Terms next to this one.
Original music written for the project. Custom, owned, can underscore beat-by-beat.
Licensing a pre-existing song for a scene. Cheaper than score, instantly evocative - but legally heavy.
Match the cut to a sharp audio hit. Trailers live on this.
Built from multiple layers. The lightsaber, the TARDIS, the Inception bwaaam.