Dance Music - A Step by Step Compositional Guide

D

dranfu

New member
I'm not sure how many of you are into Trance or Dance music but it really doesnt matter. This is a clear concise aproach to organizing your song and learning about the basic structure of most electronic music.

I hear a lot of people on this list complain about not being able to finish a song, or not knowing what to write next and they are stuck with just one part. The problem is that you have not defined a form for your song yet so how could you possibly know what to write next when you dont know if you're trying to build it up break it down, introduce a new theme or make a variation of a previous one. You're relying purely on inspiration to guide your structure. I think it's better and more realistic to let the structure guide your inspiration( at least in cases where you dont know where to go) that way you can actualy get something done.

I HOPE SOMEONE FINDS THIS USEFULL


If you are interested, send me an email at http://pro_elite2000@yahoo.com and I will send you the guide. I promise you this is not an ad for a book or anything. I'm not charging anything. It's just that they wont let me post the guide in the forum because it is 3965 charecters to long:rolleyes

Peace!:cheers:
 
this may work for dance music but does everyone really just wanna make "dust in the wind" dance music? should we really encourage people to follow formulas for creation? i know im very guilty of following formulas not because i want to but because it was the easy way out.

im currently trying to break formulas in my music creation process and indeed it takes a lot of confidence and balls to do it. in the end i think if you can write a song without setting a formula from the start and let the cards fall where they may you may ultimately be a better composer for it.
 
personally I don't think that this sort of thing limits you at all. If you're learning any subject the way it is generallytaught is to analyse 'good' examples to understand the mechanisms at work. It is then up to you to divert, subvert , interpret these lessons. They don't have to be a set of chains that limit your creativity, just help create a framework for it.

At the end of the day people are generally creating 'songs' rather than free form musical expression. So from a starting point people's creativity exists within a framework. Understanding that framework is surely a good thing?

James
 
Formula for your mind

Again, this guide is not meant for anyone beyond a novice stage and certainly is not meant to encourage one form or style of music- you'd get very bored of writting different songs in the same structure very quickly.. In all music however form is extremely important for creating an artistic presentation of your ideas. No matter what music you make ( myself I make IDM/Electro) it is very beneficial for begginers to understand the rudimentary ideas of form. Once this is understood then OF COURSE the idea is to branch out into new teritory. I just thought it might help some people who are having trouble finishing or even creating songs.



Peace:cheers:
 
elaboration

One more thing I would like to point out. Using or defining a basic structure in your song does not in any way dictate what type of drum part you will write. What sort of Bass line you play or in what key. What sort of sounds or melodies you will use. If it will be a Dance/D&B/Electro/IDM/Trance?Chill out or whatever type of tune. All form does is

1. help you get out of writers block quicker than buying a new synthesizer could. and

2 define the motion of your song. Intro-build up-build up- break down-1st main theme introduced-build up theme-build up theme-build up theme-build up theme-break down-new theme introduced- build up new theme- break down new theme- build up build up- re introduce first theme-build up-new variations -the end.

Nothing to do with style or content. The guide is simply a more detailed elaboration of this. Also yes it deals with the instruments and roles of those instruments of dance music but can be applied to classical or jazz as well. Jazz by the way has some of the most beautiful and complex forms anywhere:monkey:
 
You could split up the guide and post it in a series of posts
Part 1, 2, 3, etc....

That way some of us who are interested but don't want to end up on a mailing list can still benefit from your knowledge.

Cheers
 
im currently trying to break formulas in my music creation process and indeed it takes a lot of confidence and balls to do it. in the end i think if you can write a song without setting a formula from the start and let the cards fall where they may you may ultimately be a better composer for it
Click to expand...

i doubt anyone really can come up with a "new" form. if they think it's new, they're probably just ignorant of musical history and theory. or the song sucks.
learn all the music theory you can. form and structure is there for very good reasons.
why reinvent the wheel?
 
no list at all

Mingus, beleive me, I have no mailing list at all. Im not trying to sell or sign you up for anything. As hard as it may seem to beleive I just constructed the guide for fun. But sure I will construct the guide in a series of replies.
 
I'd like to read this to, you can simply break it up into several sections and post the first one as a new topic and each additional one as a reply.
 
or you could email Mano1 (the owner of this site) and send him the article and ask if he'd like to put it on the site. He'd probably say yes.
 
ollyP wrote this simple yet very effective chart ..observe:



First 4 Phrases (Phrase = 16 Beats) = Rhythm section - Don't forget to place a cymbal at the start of each phrase.....
Next 8 Phrases = Build Up. Here, place the bassline, and any FX which you might want to use, and also, slowly build up the main riff, by using the volume controls (The V Key) in Acid. Again, Don't forget those cymbals!
Next 8 Phrases = Breakdown. Here, you cut all the drums/rhythm out, and concentrate on the main riff line. Again, think of Zombie Nation - All the percussion cuts out, and the big riff comes booming in - This is what you want to do here. At the start of the 8th phrase, concentrate on placing a lot of cymbals at the start of each bar, in order to give a "building up" sensation
Next 8 Phrases = Main body of the tune. This is where you combine EVERYTHING together - the riff, FX, bassline, drums, everything. This is the main bit of your tune where the crowds will go mad :D
Next 8 Phrases = Build Down. This is basically a repeat of the 2nd section - take out the riff, but leave everything else in, and gradually stop each FX/Synth/added percussion line
Final 4 Phrases = End Repeat of the first section - Leave the kick drum on its own, for 4 phrases of 16 beats. This will allow any DJ playing the tune, to successfully mix out.
 
Nice!!!

I've also read a futuremusic article (DIY Euphoria) that says that the kick drum should be compressed the first time it's recorded AND along with the whole "trap" kit to give it that real punchy sound.

So basically if you add compression on the final mix of your song, inevitably the kick drum would have been compressed three times....

I found that interesting.

The same article talked about how to make your own synth lines, pads, etc. I haven't been able to find the article online.

cheers
 
yes compression is the key to sounding like anybody made it or sounding like a big stuio made it i myseld set my bassdrum Compression like so:
Hard Knee, attack halfway, release little more than halfway, threshold 8.1:1.0 and I bring up the output slightly it gives the kick its power without overpowering the other instruments.
 
Do you compress the snare or the hats individually or do you compress the kit as a whole later?

I tried compressing the snare individually and I'm not liking the results to much...I've heard some trance/house tunes that have a snare that sounds clappy (without sounding like a clap, if I'm making any sense). I thought compression might help bring the initial attack out (make it more "smacky") but really it just seems to flatten the harmonics....

Compressing the kick drum and then compressing the whole kit seems to work okay, though.

Thoughts?

Cheers
 
didn't forget

Hi, if you've been waiting for me to post the guide O haven't forgot. I dont get a chance to be online that often though, so it takes a while. I am going to write the administrator and see what he thinks about posting the guide in his articles section...

As for knowing how to use compression. the best thing you could do for yourself is learn how to really use a compressor. Learn how to recognize common settings/triccks by ear and therefore be able to know if you're going for a heavy compressed snare sound or a lightly/no compressed sound.

I remember the first time I heard a song on tv and recognized that the effect on the drums was all early reflections/pre delay. It was enlightening! - check this out -

http://www.artistpro.com/
this site give's you in depth/accurate knowledge on everything you need to know to make great recordings. They are free courses that you take at your own pace.

:cheers:
 
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