So you want to learn How to Make Dance Music. There are many different methods on how to produce your own music but the truth is there is no perfect method or secret blue print. If there is a secret blue print, well then I cant wait to find it but for now lets be realistic :) In my opinion and from what I have seen during my years in Music Production, you need to persistent and take advantage of any information that comes your way.
I cant tell you the time Ive lost making major adjustments to tracks only to be shown that there is an easier way to make these changes and in far less time. Ive also seen many times where people try to do to much to fast. When I look back to when I started making my own music I cant help but think that I could have saved a lot of time if I was on the right road to begin with. This is why I am now interested in trying to help people get on the right road for their Journey into Music Production. Here is what I believe will help you get started making your music and what I believe will help you get on the right road :
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There are many Genres of Dance Music which are all covered by the term EDM (Electronic Dance Music) and the first thing you should decide is which Genre you would like to produce. Ideally this would be your favourite genre which you have knowledge of as this will help make things a lot easier as we go along.
One of the most important steps and the main aspect we will cover today is the arrangement. As the typical track consists of various virtual instruments including drums, bass, synths, vocals etc, we need to decide when and where we would like to introduce all of these sounds which make up our track.
The most popular method for arranging a Dance/House Music track is the building method where we start at the foundation and build up.This Method adds each sound into our Step Sequencer grid in a Building Motion. Lets dig in :
Step 1 : The Beat/Kick Drum.
This first step here is the begin with the Beat/Kick Drum.drum-soundTo decide on which Kick Drum you would like I recommend listening to your favourite tracks and getting an idea of what kick drum will best suit the track you would like to make.There are so many different types of Kick Drums but do not worry if you cannot decide on one right now as we can always go back and change it when we have more of the track complete. At this stage any beat will suit while we “build” the track.
Step 2 : The Percussion.
Next we will add our Percussion sounds to go with percussionthe beat. Percussion sounds consist of snare drums, high hats, claps, treble,tom drums etc. To start your track with a simple 4-to-the-floor groove enter your percussion sounds in the off beat (the space between your kick drum in the step sequencer) and place your Clap sounds on the same line as every second kick drum (in the step sequencer). This is only one option and you should try various different patterns here until you decide which pattern you like the most. While you get started making your music this is a good time to play around with different sounds in the step sequencer but when you advance a little you can add percussion loops to your production for that professional sound.
Step 3 : The Bassline.
This is where our track starts to take shape as we add basslinea catchy bassline. The key to adding a bassline really depends on what type of track you are trying to create. If you are making a very melodic and vocal track you may want to add a bassline with several different notes to conincide with the different melodies and vocals but if you are trying to create for instance a techno track, a flat bassline on one note may suit as this would be more of a repetitive track. Anyway,lets stick with the Dance/House music genre for now. While you choose which bassline sound best suits your track from your sample library it is a good idea to add your bassline to the offbeat (the space between your kick drum in the step sequencer). This way you can hear all the sounds playing together and will make it easier to decide which sounds best fits with your beat and percussion. When you have decided which sound to use for your bassline you should always experiment with different patterns until you are happy with the result.
Step 4: The Synths and Lead Sounds.
When you have your Beats,Percussion and Bassline synthcomplete you now have the foundation of your track. The next step is where your track really gains an identity as you add your main leads and synth patterns. This is where your if you let your creativity flow, you do not neccesarily need the best program for making music to create memorable riffs and professional sounding melodies. So far we have mentioned the need to try different patterns and experiment with different sounds but this is really important when you come to this stage. If you are patient during this process and spend time layering multiple sounds together you will actually be surprised here at what you can achieve.
Step 5 : The Vocals.
The next step here is to add your vocals and effects.vocals As we are covering this method of arrangement building a Dance/House music track,typically the vocals are introduced later in the track but this is by no means standard practice. Remember,this is your music so you can introduce them at any stage you wish to suit your track/Genre. When you progress into music production you can write and record your own lyrics but when you begin producing you have several other easier options. Most of the software programs available to you will cater for this aspect via a vocoder plugin which you can type text and then play back in various voices to create vocals. Alternatively you can also download free vocal samples and experiment with these in your track.
While this is one option for you to arrange and make dance music as mentioned there are other genres and arrangement techniques depending on what track you wish to create.This technique is to help you get started making your tracks and is generally aimed to help people get on the right road.
Anyway Guys, I hope this information has shed some light on the subject and I wish you the best of luck on your journey into music production .
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