There is a point of climax during the 1^st movement of Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony that consists of the whole orchestra blasting out one chord repeatedly. It is a hair – raising experience that makes you sit back in your seat, especially if you hear it live and your sitting in the front row of the audience. After this outburst of intense feeling, everything that comes after seems to be cast in a different light, heard through its musical after – glow. Themes heard before are appreciated in different ways and encourage new reactions. Everything seems a little more defined or backlit, but at the same time more reflective, as if the themes and ideas have subtly evolved or changed in some way. 

If the ear splitting chords had come earlier during the movement then they would have seemed out of place – they needed to be worked towards. If they had been placed later then the movement would not have had an effective and timely emotional core or climax and what came after would not have become more significant as a result of it.

This is a very famous example of defining the pivotal point within music. In fact this one climactic moment within the 1st movement of the symphony casts its emotional after – glow across the entire work and it is, to my mind, why the heroic and moving second movement funeral march is so emotionally charged. If the repeated chords of the 1st movement encapsulate the height of heroic struggle, then the funeral march is the ultimate lament for that struggle’s eventual passing and tragic failure.

The principle at work here is about defining balance and identifying the tipping point. Imagine a person walking along the length of a see – saw. Until they reach its middle the see – saw is firmly planted downwards towards them and they have to walk up it, but once they reach the middle the weight is evenly distributed and the See - Saw levels out. The slightest movement, however, and the See – Saw will tip again, perhaps back to its original position or, if the person carries on walking, it will tip in the opposite direction and the person will find themselves walking down rather than up the plank, which feels very different.

Beethoven’s 3^rd Symphony (The Eroica), because of its grand architectural scale, is a very good example of defining balance and pivotal points in music. The audience at its first performance found its size and ear splitting climaxes truly overwhelming, but its hugeness has purpose. It enables the see – sawing between one section and another to be extremely dramatic and the climactic moments of temporary balance, where the audience is held in expectant stasis while the music teeters between one state and the next, to be intensely exciting and emotional, like riding on the crest of a perfect surf wave.

Thinking structurally about a problem can help us see its architecture, how it is put together and where the imbalances and tensions are. It can then help us build balanced and stable solutions that are positioned in exactly the right place for maximum and long lasting effectiveness.  

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