Do I have to learn all of music theory to produce good trance tracks?

dizkojockey

New member
I've been learning to produce for about a year now and although I've learned a lot in that time I've never really delved deep into music theory. I do want to be able to produce good melodic tracks like this:



Do I need to learn all of music theory or just a portion of it? And if so, what should I be learning? Basically what music theory skills do I need to obtain to be able to write good chord progressions and melodies?

Thanks if anyone could point me in the right direction of what I need to learn and where I need to start!
 
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Theory is always a good point to learn, as it will help you take that melody out of your head and put it into your DAW.

For Trance production, even for the most melodic ones like the GOA and the Uplifitng trance, it's more about creating the "trance feeling" than the melody itself. So you need to nail down some of the FX applied to the various sounds you may use, like reverb, delay, distortion, etc.

Also remember that since it's a genre where the kick is the main drive of the song, it must be in tune with the rest of the song as well, or at least be a perfect fifth of the key.
 
tempo -> speed -> gradually speeding up/slowing down
durations -> sounds/silences -> rhythm
pitch -> scales/chords
scales -> chords/melodies
chords -> melodies
melodies -> chords
pitch + rhythm -> melodies
dynamics -> loud/soft -> gradually louder/softer
articulations -> accents, shorter/longer, glissandos,

above all else learn to play at least one melodic/harmonic instrument - piano, guitar, etc

use the search here at fp on any of these terms and bandcoach

ask specific questions when you want to know more about something
 
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Im assuming you've HEARD a good trance track before and have tried making one, meaning you already know you need as much music theory as possible to make it. You're only asking this question because you dont wanna learn music theory and you're looking for justification. Right? haha

Id definitely say you need as much theory and musical training as possible to make good melodic trance. If anyone disagrees we probably disagree with what good trance is then.
 
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To KODID: I know exactly what constitutes the good type of trance music as I spent years DJ'ing, which is where the passion comes from. A couple of my all time faves for example are Onova - Platitude and Sundiver - Feel (Nitrous Oxide remix). As fpr the theory side, yes you are partly right. Theory is a big subject and I don't want to be spending a lot of time learning things I don't really need. But I agree with you that knowing as much as possible would make you a better musician. I think much of it comes to the fact that I'm sometimes stuck for ideas and feel that if I knew enough to put together decent chord progressions then that would be a big plus.
 
Absolutely not, you can be limited by the music theory you learn, if it sounds good it sounds good.
 
You can never learn all of music theory anyway, there's always more to learn. Don't try and be comprehensive because you'll end up being overwhelmed. However, the basics go a long way.
 
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tempo -> speed -> gradually speeding up/slowing down
durations -> sounds/silences -> rhythm
pitch -> scales/chords
scales -> chords/melodies
chords -> melodies
melodies -> chords
pitch + rhythm -> melodies
dynamics -> loud/soft -> gradually louder/softer
articulations -> accents, shorter/longer, glissandos,

above all else learn to play at least one melodic/harmonic instrument - piano, guitar, etc

use the search here at fp on any of these terms and bandcoach

ask specific questions when you want to know more about something

Chords ---> Two or more notes put together

:) :) :)
 
sorry - wrong

a chord consists of 3 or more notes - 2 notes make a diad which can be part of at least 6 triads and up to 16 different 7th chords
 
I have spent a couple of years on and off messing with ableton and a midi keyboard but only six months ago really decided to learn how to play the piano.

I cannot emphasize enough how much my production has came on as a result of this. Believe me once you begin it isn't that hard and you will see it as an enjoyable experience rather than a task.

I started off with "right, I have to put in 30 minutes scales practice before I can enjoy myself and start twiddling". Now I can happily spend two hours on chord progressions and not actually "make" any music.

Just start with understanding what a key is (and therefore which notes you are "allowed" to use in your melody) and major and minor triads. From there everything will come naturally.

Good Luck!
 
Learn how to make construct major/minor triads, and major/minor 7th chords. Learn about chord inversions. Learn some basic progressions (2-5-1, 1-4-5). Don't bother w/ music theory for melody. Pick up an instrument, find the key and start playing.
 
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