@drosophiliac @debonairetoast @diymusicchat @InSearchOfMyRose
I'm not sure exactly what kind of music you make or what instrument(s) you play, so I'm just guessing and generalizing here.
I kind of think of this in 3 different layers/stages (which are not necessarily always separate or in a certain order): the composition; the performance; and the production/engineering. To use your example of making the last chorus feel different: you can build in some kind of difference to the last chorus in the composition phase, adding an additional layer or a melodic embellishment or something similar. You can write all the choruses the same but while recording do something different/extra to the performance of the final chorus. Or you can do something during mixing to change it up on the final chorus.
If what you're doing is a live band type project, often the best thing to do is just play the song a bunch and see what organically develops - if you're playing with decent musicians, you and your collaborators will start naturally doing things to your performances that add a little bit of difference and interest and excitement.
One fun trick, if you're doing something relatively busy and electronic, is: let's say you have a song with 3 choruses. Pick a part in the chorus and mute it for the first 2 choruses and unmute it for the last chorus. Something my bandmate and I do a lot is intentionally take a very maximalist approach to writing things, with the intention of eventually muting like half of it but reserving the ability to bring those muted parts in and out to create a little more excitement.
And with whatever you're doing, find ways to add movement. Even subtle movement does a lot to make a part sound more dynamic. Add a slow, not very dramatic lfo to a synth filter. Turn your reverb up a little extra during that last chorus, maybe only on certain phrases - be thoughtful with your automation. Double a part in one spot, but only one spot, to emphasize it. I often work with someone who's always saying, "turn that effect up! Why do you even have it on if you can't hear it? Turn it up or get rid of it!" and while I don't entirely agree with that as a blanket philosophy, the last chorus of a song is definitely the time to consider it.
The best way to create excitement is to create contrast. If everything sounds big, than nothing is big. If everything sounds loud, than nothing is loud. If you don't keep that in mind when you're trying to add excitement and special moments, you're going to be chasing your tail a lot. The mute button is your friend, dramatic EQs and filters are your friends - don't just think of them as ways to subtract, think of them as ways to create motion by using them dynamically . And if you haven't explored sidechained dynamic EQs, start looking at them - everyone knows the electronic music sound of a synth bass being ducked by a kick drum, but most people don't think about using a dynamic eq on a guitar track that's keyed off the vocal track to reduce the guitar's mids whenever the vocalist is singing. It creates movement, it creates space, it creates contrast, and it's way easier than automating that type of eq.
Hopefully that's somewhat helpful and not totally unclear...
ArtBear on Firefish
Jonny Fallout
mothcub
Bp103
feral
Ether Diver