Composition and arrangements are alike in the sense that they are both drafting the plan for the music. One is writing the notes and chords, the other is filling in the sonic details. But the end product of that plan has to be integrated as a whole. It is not always the case that the arrangement is “just accompaniment” and the “real song” is in the composition. A lot of U2 songs, especially on “Achtung Baby” – arrangements are part of the plan. Songs like “Even Better than the Real Thing” or “The Fly” or “Mysterious Ways” simply do not work if you were to try and play them on the piano, or any arrangement without The Edge. A lot of what makes those songs special will be gone. Or take “Bittersweet Symphony” – if you take out all the complex arrangements, the song would not work at all. It’s just going to be one irritating melody repeating itself over and over again. Thus the composition is minimal, and it relies on the arrangements to achieve the effect. That song is only considered creative because there are more than 20 layers of sound effects on it.
Building up to a climax is a special art and I will describe a few cheap tricks but they are not all there is to the story. The best is to go through some of the examples, see what grabs you, and then learn from them. One trick, like greybackshadow mentioned, is to put in more layers. Another trick that I already mentioned is to change the drum figure to something more complicated, and change the arrangement everytime you repeat something. Examples of a drum propelling a buildup to a song, “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” by the Police, “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2. “Every Little Thing” – in the beginning the drums have a lot of fills, and sounds very tentative. By the climax, it is an outright march, more straightforward. Listen to how the drums change over the course of the song.
There were lots of people in the 90s doing the loud soft contrast thing, so much that it was relentlessly parodied, but it usually worked. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is essentially the same thing arranged differently every time, so listen to it carefully and see how it works. Post Rock is (in)famous for doing stuff like this all the time. “Ascension Day” by Talk Talk. Almost anything off Slint’s “Spiderland” album. Smashing Pumpkins also does the loud soft thing. One of the best examples of a build-up I’ve ever seen is “Common People” by Pulp. If you listen, lyrically there is a great build up too. The main theme is very simple, and that makes it easy to emphasise the buildup. And there’s a lot on his “Different Class” which achieves good build up. Aimee Mann also does it well: listen to “Coming Up Close” and “Voices carry”.
To add on to what I earlier said about guitar solos, it is instructive to study one of the best guitar solos ever written – “Sweet Child of Mine”. You notice that the guitar solo is a totally section of the song, the end of the “Axl Rose half” and the start of the “Slash half”. The solo doesn’t start out with a bang, but it builds up. Slash plays a theme, then it morphs into plenty of arpeggios, then a freakout and a stomp.
Another cheap trick is to sing the chorus 1 octave up. Like “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
Another cheap trick is to have the verse in irregular time signature, and revert to a straightforward 4/4 in the chorus: “Money” by Pink Floyd.
Another cheap trick is to have verse extremely sparse instrumentation, and then have the rhythm section come in during the chorus: “This is the One” by Stone Roses. Or “Oh My Lover” by PJ Harvey.
Be careful of putting in songs that rely on buildups. In an album of 10 songs, you maybe want to put in only 3 of those.
Rolling Stones and U2 – it’s hard to get their sound. Keith Richards is the main component of the Rolling Stones sound – it’s a little bit unusual for the rhythm guitarist to be more important than the lead guitarist, but that’s true in the Rolling Stones case. If you read stories about “Exile on Main Street” he took a lot of drugs to get himself in the right mood for the song and I certainly do not recommend that approach especially since it will probably get you hanged. Well Keith Richards is Keith Richards. His guitar playing is quite rich in sonic texture.
Similarly, the U2 sound, at least from the “Unforgettable Fire” onwards, was engineered by Brian Eno who I earlier mentioned is one of the greatest arrangers of all time. Good luck trying to learn all his secrets. And while we’re at that, good luck trying to find a guitar player who’s as talented and imaginative as The Edge. He is U2’s secret weapon, that’s why he’s called “the Edge”. You do have to reconstruct what sorts of pedals and effects The Edge uses. His style is very similar to Pete Townsend and I consider that “Pinball Wizard” gave birth to the U2 sound. I don’t know how to recreate what The Edge does, but there is a lot of reverb going on.
I can’t really offer you much advice but to listen out for the different parts of the song. Notice that for the Rolling Stones there is very rarely any buildup to their music. It doesn’t work that way. It’s just one groove, and it’s totally horizontal, the important thing is the groove.
But it is still possible for a “groove” type of song to have a build up. Like “Billie Jean” is 4 or 5 hooks. The buildup is simply each hook being introduced into the song, one at a time. Start one hook, make the listener accustomed to it, then add the next one. “Five Man Army” by Massive Attack also works this way.
I generally find that it is easier to explain musical concepts when I give concrete examples. Otherwise what I say will be too abstract. I may have given examples like “so and so song does this so and so trick”. But the important thing is in any song, there isn’t really any one thing to listen out for. Every sonic detail must be considered and critiqued, and you will be able to think about “this thing worked” or “this thing didn’t work”. Basically there is no substitute for listening to a lot of music, picking out examples of something that really appealed to you, and after that, reverse engineering it.
Sometimes the melody of the notes being played by the instrument also adds to the "building up" feel that you mentioned. Maybe you can try playing lesser notes in the front part of the song, like your verse, then when it reaches the chorus, add in more notes. That's one of the ways I approach a "build up". Other instruments also play a part, that's the awesome thing about arrangements! Sometimes you can't depend on one instrument to do the job.