what makes the trance style?

Lodger

Lodger

Certified Funk Master
hey, all,

I was just trying to compose a piece that uses threads of a genre that im not too familiar with writing for: trance. In a previous thread (i believe on this messageboard),someone asked a question pertaining to writing trance and someone responded that technically everythingance, ie melody etc, operates off of the same production strategies. what are these strategies, tempo, etc.?

Dj Lodger
~I am a Dj - I am what I play~
http://www.mp3.com/pcv9 <---hoy en día!
 
Lodger. Trance is melodic music. It usually has a 4/4 beat. The BPM is around 130-160. Mainstream trance has a simple bass line. Trance is definately melodious.
infact, trance consists of various styles, hard trance, ambient trance, trance, goa/psychedelic trance.
You inquiry is somewhat general and i am not sure what should i talk about?

One good way to start is that you try to listen to other trance songs. Listen carefully. Take note of the structure of the song. try to imagine how the author must have done those parts? this should be enlightening enough.
btw, i compose goa/psytrance.

hope this was of some help to you..
 
By the way, as Ade mentionned before int he forum, ALL dance music is 4/4. When people say "oh this is 4/4" they mean that it sounds more "regular" than the other musics. But really everything is 4/4

TAC tac tac tac TAC tac tac tac TAC tac tac tac TAC tac tac tac

Unless you mean the waltz vinyl your parents listen to:

TAC tac tac TAC tac tac TAC tac tac TAC tac tac (this is NOT 4/4, but doesnt happen in DJ music)


Even jungle can be 4/4... Only difference is that the samples used are played in some special order (syncope). BUT you can always count the first TAC tac tac tac thing.

a bit off topic, but I wanted to make sure this was clear.

YES, trance has a very regular rhythm structure. ALSO, it has melodies of synthesizers, and a little bit of "new age" music to it sometimes (for the themes). But this also depends on which country you are talking about. Dif. trances for dif. countries. Trance used to be "core" in 1992-1993 when less "genres" were known.
 
trance is nice =)

Hello

good topic this. I want to produce deep/hard -trance.. But I don't know how to make any nice melodie-lines. The equipment I use is:

Rebirth
Logic Audio (Gold)
a Clavia Nord Rack 2
(+ some misc. stuff)

And, if you have some nice bass-lines -ideas.. please give them to me=)

Take care
 
Basically the easiest way to make melodies is to use either a software synth or an actual synth workstation and play the notes through the keyboard into a sequencer (to save the melodies you are making). The synth will generate the tones you hear in the melody via the keyboard.

You could also use a pattern sequencer instead of a keyboard or make melodies using various other methods but most electronica you hear just uses synths to make the melodies (among other parts of the songs like basslines, etc.). The best thing to do is just get your keyboard hooked up to a synth and start playing with the dials till you understand what each of them does and you can create your own "formulas" to get the sounds you are looking for.

Also, if you listen to alot of electronica out there most of the basslines are rather simple, basically going from a low sound to a note higher pitch halfway through the loop.

Hope this helps...

/.v

[Edited by Vetch on 01-29-2001 at 11:54 AM]
 
to make trance you need a synth or pc sequencer with an appregiator. Almost every trance song you have ever heard has layered appregiators, on top of the melody. A pc appregiator is not as stable one already built into a synth. Once you get the hang of an appregiator, you will want one that you can program. Now, this is if you want to make the NORM for trance. You DONT need one, its just the standard. Break out on your own and create something new.
By the way an appregiator is a device in the keyboard that will play the note you are holding in a continious pattern that is pre programmed. Or you can program a pattern.

Good luck
 
hey there lodger,
trance is a form of dance music that came from germany in the early 90's. it is a form of music that derived from house and techno. early trance was very genre specific. where d&b, and breaks relied heavily on their rhythms, early trance relied on its uplifting melodies; and its simple 4-on-the-floor beats were used to create a dance/dj friendly repetetive beat that... well, put people in a trance.

as trance started evolving, new sub-genres of the style started to come about such as: tribal, dark, dream, goa/psy, progressive, hard, trance/breaks, etc. however, these sub-genres of trance seem to have a few things in common: a simple house/techno rhythm, a repetetive/grooving bassline, the presence of acid derived 303's, progression (where simple intros evolve until layers upon layers of melodies and or rhythms are added on top of eachother) and a ton of ethereal effects (echos, reverbs and the like).

trance today is breaking (or at least bending all of the rules of early trance), because the nature of this genre is always moving, always evolving. however, there seems to be three dominant schools of REAL trance categories that most tracks fall in to, they are the: dark/experimental school led by sasha & digweed, the uplifting/hard dutch school led by tiesto and corsten, the (darker than dutch, but lighter than sasha, groundbreaker) school of club led by PVD and oakenfold, and the goa/psy school that was championed by astral projection.

in my opinion, there are no rules in electronica, but there are rules in trance. there's nothing wrong with breaking these rules, but then you stray further and further away from what trance really is. just like if you stray further away from the methods of jazz, the product is still music, but no longer true jazz.

hope this helped, and sorry this post was so long...
peace,
hypnotik
http://www.mp3.com/hypnotik
 
I agree.. Very good answer there from hypnotik2000 =)

For melodie-lines: is Reverb or Delay best? (in trance music) what do you think..
 
hey robban,
in my opinion, melodies sound great with delays and reverbs both. just remember that your delay should be before the reverb in your chain of effects. reverb should almost always be the last effect (as a rule of thumb).
some basslines sound great with delay, and percussions really trip you out with a good echo. however, i tend to stay away from the verb on my basses and kick drums as it flabs things out.
...just my humble opinion,

hypnotik
 
I love trance

Trance is ok (not the mainstream but the unsigned artists like my buddy in school; DJ Trefall).You can find his songs at http://www.traxinspace.com
I also likes some mainstreem artists like Dj Tiësto.
As you know, I think trance is ok, but i often search for some good samples. Could anyone get me the adress(es) for some trance-sample sites? Please?
I use:
- Cakewalk (don`t remember the rest)
- Acid Express
- Hip Hip eJay 2 (got it for christmas). It`s not good, but it`s got a ok drum-matrix. Don`t buy it. I got it fro free.
- And I use a lot of small free stuff from the internet.
PS: Most of the trance-artists sucks!
They are making baby-trance!


[Edited by hitman on 02-08-2001 at 11:10 AM]
 
the trance style is based on 2 simple formulas:

a) boring beat (boom boom boom boom, where's the rhythm dudes!?!?!?)
b) cheesy melodies (accomplished by using cheap cheesy synthlines)


that's all. enjoy your way of producing....
 
hey mindblunt, that was a bit childish, don't you think? im sure you're going " everybody is entitled to their opinion" but damn, what's your fave techno music? Personally , my progressive trance collection outdoes my breaks and db collection.

Peace and all that sweet stuff

Michelle
aka down
 
I agree as most everyone already knows mindblunt's love for jungle music (i hear ya on that one ;) ) That doesn't mean I don't love other styles too though as most my collection is hard trance and goa.

The opinion that all trance is is boom boom boom is almost the same opinion that most people that don't listen to electronic music have about it. All it is is boom tis boom tis over and over again. Now I'm not saying they are wrong in thinking this... They just arent listening to the music right. :)

/.v
 
trance is nice!

Ok.. as we say in sweden: The tast is like a behind: it concists of 2 parts. A part of the people think trance is nice and some other doesn't like it. It is ok, you are all nice people on this planet!!

I think it is important that trance has a soul, a melodie that you will love and a bass you can fly together with. A lot of "trance"* today does not have these ingredients (parts) : /

*I will not say any groups/artits here because the fan of these groups will be sorry if I do.

Take care, cya..
 
South Beach it one day go to Space when it open back up if u ever around check it out stay up til 12am. or just come to ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2011....YEAAA
 
reverb and delay are two very different effects. Delay is an echo of the initial sound, and reverb is a reverberation produced by springs, plates, tanks, or software algorithm. In my electronic compositions, I often enjoy sending an instrument to a delay and a verb via two different sends, then sending the delay's output (100% wet) to a different verb. Dimensions.
 
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