Ray Harmony's Blog, page 31

3 Hacks for EDM Bass Lines & Kick Drums

Michael from Germany asked us the following question on YouTube: “As I build more interesting bass lines for my EDM track, I run into the problem that some bass notes run parallel with the kick. Sure I can just duck them with a compressor or LFOtool, but I have a feeling that’s not the best option. Or, am I just producing in a genre that has boring bass lines?” Thank you Michael, and no, no genre deserves boring bass lines! This is actually a common problem in EDM that gets very little attention, so we’re excited to shed some light on it, starting with our one-sentence answer:

Using a combination of syncopation, phrasing, and octaves, you can write melodically and rhythmically captivating EDM bass lines, which do not interfere with the kick drum.

Before we get into our MIDI example, let’s first define those terms. Syncopation is accenting an off-beat, phrasing is where the music breathes, and an octave is the same note just a higher or lower pitched version. Also, please note that the problem of bass notes and kick drums being played together is only a problem in some EDM subgenres. This is due to their massive synthesized bass and kick sounds, which need their own individual space in the mix. Most other genres, especially the ones that use live instruments, approach bass and drums in an opposite way. The bassist and drummer are referred to as the rhythm section, and the ultimate rhythm section plays so tightly together that they become one, with many bass notes landing on kicks.

The godfather of groove, James Brown, knew the importance of “the one”, i.e. the first beat of a bar. He demanded that every bar has a bass note and kick played together on the one. The rhythm section could do whatever they wanted for the rest of each bar, but on the one, they had to lock in. This balance between locking in on the one and then using syncopation for the rest of the bar, is what gives funk its groove. So, if James Brown was an EDM producer, he would definitely play the kick and bass together on the one. And, as it’s impossible to argue with James Brown’s superior ability to make people dance, we should probably borrow his technique for Electronic Dance Music, too. This means you’ll need to use LFOtool on the one, so you can play both the bass and the kick together, but then you can put your LFOtool away for the rest of the bar.

For our MIDI example, we’ve just used the most common drum pattern, the four on the floor. However, the following bass hacks will work for any drum pattern you have. Also, we wrote the funky bass line of this example in the F♯ Blues scale, so the notes of our scale are: F♯, A, B, C, C♯, E. And the scale spelling is: 1 ♭3 4 ♭5 5 ♭7. To learn our hacks for writing bass lines in the Blues scale, please download our Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Here’s our starting bass line:

[image error]Figure 1: Our original EDM bass line (in F♯ Blues scale), which is currently interfering with the kick drum

Now let’s get started. Copy and paste your kick pattern into your bass track, then mute those kick notes. This will show you what beats you need to avoid in your bass line. There are three bass hacks you can use to avoid kicks, and they often work best when used together, so don’t be shy.

[image error]Figure 2: Kick drum pattern copied into bass track and muted (dark notes on C3 in above MIDI)

Hack 1: Syncopation

Move the beginnings of all your bass notes that are currently landing on kicks. You can start these notes earlier or later, whichever sounds best for each bass note. If you start a note earlier, though, you’ll obviously need to shorten the note before it. This creates a syncopated rhythm, which adds unpredictable excitement to your groove. Here’s what we did:

[image error]Figure 3: Notes that have been shortened and lengthened to avoid kicks (highlighted in above MIDI)

Hack 2: Phrasing

For all your bass notes that start before a kick drum but then continue sounding over it, you can shorten them to stop on the kick instead. You can also do this anywhere else you feel a musical breath would enliven your bass line. This hack creates phrases, which inject life into your bass line, as the melody is now breathing.

[image error]Figure 4: Notes that have been shortened to create phrasing (highlighted in above MIDI)

Hack 3: Octaves

Lastly, there will almost certainly be some notes that you don’t want to shorten in order to avoid kicks. For these notes, move them an octave or two higher, so they’re out of the frequency range of the kick. Feel free to move any other notes an octave higher too, to even out the amount of low and high notes, resulting in a more balanced bass line. Also, if any of these high notes are long, you can split them and move the extra one an octave down. This last hack creates a huge range to your bass line, which thrills your listeners with its wildness. And with that, we’re done. James Brown is happy, and we’ve got a kick-ass EDM bass line that does not interfere with the kick!

[image error]Figure 5: Notes that have been moved an octave higher* to avoid kick frequency (highlighted in above MIDI)
*The highlighted C♯ and C that are an octave lower, were cut and moved back down from the high C♯ and C

So that’s our answer! Thanks for watching, and if you’d like more EDM music theory hacks like this, please download our Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then “like” and subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you’d like us to answer here on Hack Music Theory Q&A, then please join our community at Patreon.com/RevolutionHarmony

Kate Harmony
Music Teacher
Victoria BC, Canada




 
 

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How to Program Realistic MIDI Chord Progressions

Today on 3-Minute Theory: How to make your programmed MIDI chord progressions sound like a real live human played them on a real live instrument.

The first thing we need to do is understand what makes something sound programmed, and what makes something sound realistic and live. The main difference is fluidity. Computers and robots do things mechanically; humans do things fluidly. We have a much more fluid result from an instrument when there’s a human playing it. So, I’m going to show you how to hack fluidity, and make your programmed MIDI chord progressions sound like a human played them.

Here’s our chord progression that we previously wrote using the white-note hack in D Dorian: Dm → Am → Em → Gmaj. By the way, if you didn’t watch the videos before this one in the series, please check ‘em out so you can learn the hacks we used to make this chord progression look and sound like this:

[image error]Figure 1: A well-composed chord progression in every way, but it could certainly sound more realistic than it does

When producers program MIDI chords they often draw them in with their mouse straight into their DAW’s piano roll, resulting in block chords, where all the notes of the chord are played together at the same time. This is exactly what makes their chord progressions sound programmed and robotic. We’re going to inject some fluidity now, with this arpeggio hack. Arpeggios are broken chords, so instead of playing all the notes of the chord at the same time, you play them one at a time. For example, you can hit the chord’s bottom note first, then the middle note, and then finish the arpeggio with the top note. You still get the same chord, just one note at a time, so it sounds melodic.

Arpeggios give us a melodic approach to harmony, which is awesome, but the one downside is that when you play a chord one note at a time, you lose the impact of a block chord where all the notes hit together. So what you want to do, is find a balance between block chords and arpeggios.

For this chord progression, I’m definitely hearing a strong start, so we’ll begin with a block chord but then we can break it up into an arpeggio afterwards. I’m going to split the Dm, so the first part of the chord can be the block, and the second part can be the arpeggio. For the arpeggio, we can start on the low note, then move to the middle note, and finish on the high note. As you’ll notice, that’s already given us a little motif: a block chord followed by an arpeggio, is something we can do again on the other chords.

[image error]Figure 2: Dm block chord followed by Dm arpeggio, creating a motif that we can reuse over the other chords

So, we can go ahead and split each chord up, as we know that they’ll all be starting with a block chord followed by an arpeggio.

[image error]Figure 3: Highlighted chords will remain as block chords, the notes afterwards will become arpeggios

Let’s get stuck into the Am chord now. After the block chord, we’ll start the arpeggio on the low note again, but this time we’re going straight up to the high note, because I want to start lifting the ear up towards that peak, the high C. To help the ear up there, I’m going to add a passing note, B (not in the chord), between the A and the C. To emphasize this movement, I’m going to pull back the chord under the passing note to create space for it. Then lastly, I’m going to glue the two E notes back together, to smooth the change from the block chord to the arpeggio.

[image error]Figure 4: Am block chord followed by Am arpeggio, with a passing note (i.e. B) leading up to the high C

Moving onto the Em now. This time we’ll start the arpeggio on the middle note, then we’ll go to the high note, then finish the arpeggio down on the low note.

[image error]Figure 5: Em block chord followed by Em arpeggio

Then for the Gmaj arpeggio, we’re going to use the same pattern and passing-note motif that we used for Am. So, we’re going to play the low note first, then we’re going straight up to the high note. Then, we can glue the next part together as the notes are all the same, which will smooth it out. Next, we pull the chord back again and add an exposed passing note, A (not in the chord), in that space, which leads up to the high B. Finally, we glue the two D notes together for extra flow, and we’re done! Have a listen at 3:42 in the video/podcast.

[image error]Figure 6: Gmaj block chord followed by Gmaj arpeggio, with a passing note (i.e. A) leading up to the high B

If you want to go deeper into writing more advanced chord progressions using the modes, please check out my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Until next time, happy songwriting!

Ray :)

 
 

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4 Hacks for Better Chord Progressions

Today on 3-Minute Theory: How to bring your chord progressions to life!

We’re still in D Dorian, and using the white-note hack, we previously wrote this chord progression: Dm → Am → Em → Gmaj. As you can see, we’ve also previously re-arranged some notes to make the chord changes nice and smooth (for more on these hacks, please watch/read How to Make a Chord Progression Flow Like a Pro). So, we’ve got our common notes in the same place within the chords as they change; everything is looking and sounding good. But, why does this chord progression still feel a bit lifeless? No problem, I’ve got four amazing hacks for you, which are going to bring all your chord progressions to life!

[image error]Figure 1: Well-written progression with rearranged notes to make chords flow, but still feels a bit lifeless

Hack 1: Change where the chords change

The first thing I want you to do, is put your MIDI grid into eighth notes (1/8). Now, play around with where the chords come in, because when chords change right on the beat exactly where you expect, it’s dull and boring. So, we’re going to move the Am to make it start earlier, and we’re going to do the same again in the second bar with the Gmaj. This results in the Dm being a bit shorter, the Am a bit longer, the Em a bit shorter, and the Gmaj a bit longer. Listen to how cool this already sounds, at 1:26 in the video/podcast.

[image error]Figure 2: The Am and Gmaj chords start earlier

Hack 2: Split some chords

Wherever you have a longer chord, like we do with Am, split it up, just chop that MIDI! This is the virtual equivalent of playing a real piano and hitting the same chord again. In this example, we’re gonna hit that Am three times: one long then two short. This gives us a rhythmic propulsion through those longer chords, which could otherwise be boring. We’ve got another long chord at the end, the Gmaj, so we’re gonna slice that one up too, giving us an extra hit on it. Listen to the huge difference this makes, at 2:07 in the video/podcast.

[image error]Figure 3: Longer chords (i.e. Am and Gmaj) split up to give rhythmic propulsion

Hack 3: Create movement where there is none

Now, wherever you have three or more hits on the same chord, rearrange the notes in the middle hit/hits. You can see our Am has three hits, so we can rearrange the notes of that middle hit. Let’s throw the bottom C up an octave. This hack will never affect the change into the chord, or the change out of the chord. All the common notes are still in the same place when the chords change, we’re just having a bit of fun within the longer chord itself. This creates movement where there is no movement, and that’s a really cool hack for injecting life into a longer chord. Listen to how that potentially boring longer chord (i.e. Am) has now been transformed into an awesome feature, at 3:02 in the video/podcast.

[image error]Figure 4: Rearranged notes of middle hit in longer chord (i.e. Am)

Hack 4: Add phrasing

The last hack is super quick and easy, we’re just going to add some phrasing. Phrasing is where the music breathes. The obvious place to add a phrase in this example is at the end, so I’m just going to pull in that Gmaj to leave a little space before we loop around to the beginning. The other great trick with phrasing is to put your MIDI grid into sixteenth notes (1/16), which gives you even more interesting options. I’m hearing those two short Am hits being even shorter and super punchy, so I’m going to shorten them both to sixteenth notes. This leaves a couple of rests (AKA musical breaths) in between them, and totally brings that little bit to life. And with that, we’re done, check out the final version at 3:37 in the video/podcast. It’s alive!

[image error]Figure 5: Short hits on Am are further shortened, and Gmaj is also shortened to create a rest before looping

If you want to go deeper into writing more advanced chord progressions using the modes, please check out my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Until next time, happy songwriting!

Ray :)

 
 

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How to Make a Chord Change Flow When There Is No Common Note

Today on 3-Minute Theory: How to make a chord change flow smoothly when you don’t have a common note.

We’re in D Dorian, and using the white-note hack we previously wrote this chord progression: Dm → Am → Em → Gmaj. Last time we learnt that a common note (i.e. the same note in two different chords) is what gives you a strong and flowing chord change. But, the common note needs to be in the same place within both those chords. So for example, from Dm to Am, we can see that the common note is A, now we just need it in the same place, so we grab the two notes above A in Am (i.e. C and E) and move them down an octave. Now we’ve got the common note, A, at the top of both of these chords, and this chord change will now sound nice and smooth!

However, if we go back in time to when we were writing this chord progression, and say we didn’t like the Em chord (our third chord in this progression), and we wanted to go directly to the last chord, Gmaj. This gives us an Am to Gmaj chord change, and as you can see, these chords do not share a common note. This issue happens all the time, and it occurs for a couple of reasons. First, we’re using triads, which are three-note chords (the most basic type of chord, and therefore the most popular chord in popular music due to its simplicity), and whenever you’re using triads and you move to the next triad up or down, you won’t have a common note. All the notes of the triad you’re on will go into the gaps in between the notes of the adjacent triad. So while adjacent triads will never give you a common note, there’s a really cool hack to not only solve this issue, but to turn it into an interesting feature and often a motif too, which you can then use elsewhere. Here’s the hack:

We need to literally hack up the middle note of either of these chords, in order to connect them. The first option is to hack up the chord we’re coming from, by shortening the end of its middle note, and then going to the middle note of the next chord early, before the chord change (e.g. in Am, we shorten C and go down to B early). Not only does this give you a common note, but it actually makes something awesome out of that otherwise abrupt chord change.

[image error]Figure 1: The middle note of Am (i.e. C) moves down to the middle note of Gmaj (i.e. B) before the chord change, creating a common note

The second option is to hack up the chord we’re going to, by starting its middle note later, and extending the middle note of the chord we’re coming from into the new chord, before resolving it to the usual middle note (e.g. in Gmaj, we shorten B and start on C instead, before resolving to B). And once again, we not only get a common note and a strong chord change, but a nice motif too.

[image error]Figure 2: The middle note of Am (i.e. C) extends into Gmaj, creating a common note, and then resolves to the usual middle note (i.e. B)

One caveat for this hack, though. Always tweak the adjacent triads in your chord progressions first, before you start moving around the notes of the other chords. This is because you want to tweak the middle notes of your adjacent triads, but it’s difficult to know what the middle notes are, after you’ve started moving all the notes around.

If you want to go deeper into writing chord progressions using the modes, please check out my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Until next time, happy songwriting!

Ray :)

 
 

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Become an Official Revolutionary Producer or Songwriter

Music education should be a human right. Anyone who wants to learn how music works, should have free access to education. That’s why we’re working around the clock to create the Hack Music Theory project, which consists of books, PDFs, two weekly YouTube lessons, blog posts and podcasts. We’re growing this into a full online college course!

But, to give you all this free teaching, we’re working over 120 hours a week between the two of us, as it takes way longer to create everything than we originally scheduled for. Planning, writing, filming, editing and proofing all this content is a full-time job for both of us, and then on top of that, we’re teaching one-to-one lessons after hours in order to pay the rent and eat. This is burning us out, and has landed us in an ethical dilemma, because apparently working for free isn’t a very sustainable business model, haha! Hey come on, do I look like a businessman?!

So, here’s our plan. There are two sides to music theory, the timeless and the trendy. The timeless is how the 12 notes of music work together, and learning this will empower you to make great songs. The trendy is all about what songwriting techniques are trending now, in the new releases from the top songwriters and producers. All our timeless theory hacks will always be free, that’s why we do this, but we’re now offering a rare opportunity to those of you who can afford a few bucks a month.

By becoming an official Revolutionary Producer or Songwriter, you gain exclusive access to our upcoming monthly Hack-A-Hit videos (not on YouTube) that reveal the hottest music theory trends, as well as our weekly videos (also not on YouTube) where we teach you the more advanced hacks we’re using in our own songs. All this could be yours if you call now. No wait, click now: Patreon.com/RevolutionHarmony

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Thank you sincerely for your time and support, we are beyond grateful to you!

Kate & Ray Harmony :)

 
 

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How to Make a Chord Progression Flow Like a Pro

Today on 3-Minute Theory: How to make your chord progressions flow like a pro!

What we’re really talking about here are chord changes. So, let’s have a look at the chord progression we made in the previous lesson, using the white-note hack in D Dorian, we’ve got: Dm → Am → Em → Gmaj. While these chords are all in the same key and work well together, and sound great too, the actual chord changes sound disjointed and abrupt. Kinda sounds like a cat jumping around on a piano. A very talented cat, granted, but a cat nonetheless.

[image error]Figure 1: Original chord progression in D Dorian: Dm → Am → Em → Gmaj

Instead, we want our chords to flow really smoothly into each other, we want them to melt into each other as the chord progression unfolds. The way we achieve this is by finding common notes between chords, and using those as a common thread to tie those chords together.

Let me show you what I mean. In our first chord (Dm) to our second chord (Am), we can see that both those chords have an A in them, that’s a common note! Now, you’re probably wondering why that chord change still sounds abrupt, even though they have a common note. The reason is that the common note is in a different place within those chords, and we need the common note to be in the same place within the chords as they change.

You can see that the common note, A, is at the top of the Dm and at the bottom of the Am. So it’s actually a quick and easy fix, we just grab the notes above that A in the Am chord, and move them down an octave. And voilà, we now have the common note (i.e. A) at the top in both of those chords. Listen to how smooth that chord change now sounds after this one small tweak. Amazing!

[image error]Figure 2: Re-arranged notes of Am, with the common note, A (highlighted), at the top of both Dm and Am

Now, let’s fix the rest of ‘em too. We can also see there’s a common note, E, in both Am and Em. But, it’s in the middle of the Am chord, and at the bottom of the Em chord. Quick fix again, just grab that top note (i.e. B) in Em and move it down an octave, and now the E is in the middle of both Am and Em. Then into the last chord, we can see that common note, G, in Em and Gmaj. But, it’s currently at the top of Em, and at the bottom of Gmaj, so quick fix yet again, we just grab the notes above that G (i.e. B & D) in the Gmaj chord and move them down an octave, and now we’ve got the common note, G, at the top of both Em and Gmaj.

Lastly, please don’t forget that chord progressions loop, which means your last chord needs to always work smoothly back around to your first chord. As you can see, we have the common note D in both Gmaj and Dm, but once again in different places (middle of Gmaj, and bottom of Dm). So here’s a really cool hack for the turnaround in a chord progression, which will also give you some momentum as it heads back around to the first chord. Cut our last chord in half, cos we’re gonna play two different versions of that chord. In the second half of that Gmaj, let’s move the bottom note (i.e. B) up an octave, which leaves that D at the bottom, and exactly where it is in the first chord, Dm. That last chord is still all Gmaj, just two different versions of it, as we re-arranged the notes over the second half. Now, all the chords in our progression have their common notes in the same place as they move into each other, and this is gonna sound incredible cos it’s gonna flow like a pro! Have a listen at 3:16 in the video/podcast.

[image error]Figure 3: Final chord progression with all common notes in the same place between chords

Next time I’ll teach you how to do this hack when there’s no common note between two chords, so stay tuned for that. Also, if you want to go deeper into writing chord progressions using the modes, please check out my Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Until next time, happy songwriting!

Ray :) 

 
 

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How to Write a Chord Progression Using Chords Not in the Key

Knut from the electronic music hub of Tromsø in Norway, emailed us with this question: “I’ve spent some time analyzing an old track from The Prodigy called ‘Out of Space’. The first part of this track mainly consists of a chord progression and a synth riff. I’ve determined the chords used to be Fmaj/A → Dmaj/A → Emaj/B → Dm → Emaj. I think that the song is written in F major (Ionian). Now onto my question: The Dmaj and Emaj chords are outside of the scale, while the rest of the chords conform to it. I’m wondering if you have any tips for how you would approach breaking the ‘rules’ in this way?” Thank you Knut, this is an advanced and awesome question, and you’ve already made some wise observations, so we’re excited to connect these dots for you, starting with our one-sentence answer:

Your chord progression can safely venture out of its scale by adding a non-diatonic chord, which is a chord that contains one or more notes from outside that scale, as long as that non-diatonic chord still contains at least one note from that scale.

First, let’s just solidify the terms “diatonic” and “non-diatonic”. Simply put, diatonic refers to notes that are in the scale, and non-diatonic refers to notes that are not in the scale. So, all the notes of a diatonic chord are in the scale, but one or more notes of a non-diatonic chord are out of the scale. By the way, non-diatonic notes are also referred to as chromatic notes, because the chromatic scale contains all 12 notes.

Okay let’s get to the chord progression in your question now. We haven’t had time to listen to the song and double check your analysis, so we’ll just work with the information you’ve given us. Besides, using the exact chords in this example isn’t important, as the lesson here is about non-diatonic chords, which you can then apply to any chord progression. So, you said the chord progression is in the key of F major (AKA Ionian), which means the diatonic chords we can use are as follows: Fmaj, Gm, Am, B♭maj, Cmaj, Dm, Edim. Now, here’s the chord progression you gave us. We’ve just added the root note of each chord below as reference (these root notes are muted, and dark in the midi screenshot below), but these are not part of the chords.

[image error]

Figure 1: Chord progression in F major (Ionian) from Knut's question

In this chord progression, Fmaj is the I, AKA the root triad, so that’s a diatonic chord. Dmaj is the VI, but it’s major instead of minor, so that’s a non-diatonic chord. It creates tension as the 3rd note in Dmaj is F♯, a non-diatonic note that clashes with our memory of F from the first chord, which is also the root note of the key. Emaj is the VII, but it’s major instead of diminished, so that’s also a non-diatonic chord. Whereas Dmaj only contained one non-diatonic note, Emaj contains two: G♯ instead of G, and B instead of B♭. So all in all, this chord progression makes use of three non-diatonic notes, which definitely blurs the lines of a secure home. It makes the chord progression sound a bit wild, which is thrilling when it’s done well.

So, is this example done well? The short answer is: yes, and no. The best way to add non-diatonic chords to a chord progression is by using a common note from the diatonic chord into the non-diatonic chord, which smoothes an otherwise abrupt change. That’s what happens in the Fmaj → Dmaj, where the common note is A. Remember to always re-arrange the notes so your common note is in the same place within both chords, which is exactly what happened here to get the Fmaj/A → Dmaj/A, where A is the bass note in both chords. Unfortunately though, this is the only chord change in this progression that actually flows well, and you can hear how the rest of it doesn’t sound nearly as smooth as the first two chords. Remember, when you don’t have a common note, you can make one using a sus chord. For more on this, please watch our Chords video from song 1.

To conclude, we’ll simplify this into two different types of non-diatonic chords. The first type is built from a root note that’s in the scale, but one or more of the other notes in the chord are not in the scale. These non-diatonic chords tend to be sneakier to uncover, as at first glance they look like they’re in the key. An example of this type would be the Dmaj in this chord progression, as its root note D is in the scale, but its 3rd note, F♯, is not.

The second type is built from a non-diatonic root note, and these chords are more obvious to see and hear, as they immediately stick out from the scale. In F Ionian, a non-diatonic chord of this type would be A♭maj, which is instantly recognisable as a non-diatonic chord because its root note A♭ should be an A. Even with an obvious non-diatonic chord like this, we can still make it fit smoothly into a chord progression using a common note, like C between Fmaj and A♭maj.

[image error]

Figure 2: Chord change from Fmaj to A♭maj/E♭ with a common note (C) to smooth the transition into a non-diatonic chord

Finally, here’s a little chord progression we made, inspired by this example, but where each chord shares a common note with the next chord. The chords are: Fmaj/A → Dmaj/A → Esus2/B resolving to Em/B → Csus2 resolving to Cmaj then Cmaj/G. The root notes are muted below each chord for reference. This chord progression is definitely in the key of F major, even though half the chords are non-diatonic, i.e. the Dmaj, Esus2 and Em. As always, we added a little synth, bass and drums for fun. You can listen at 8:01 in the video/podcast. Hope you enjoy!

[image error]

Figure 3: Our chord progression in F major (Ionian), with the chords Fmaj/A → Dmaj/A → Esus2/B resolving to Em/B → Csus2 resolving to Cmaj then Cmaj/G

So that’s our answer! Thanks for reading/watching, and if you’d like more advanced hacks like this, please download our Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF, the link is below. Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then please “like” and subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you’d like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please comment below or connect with us.

Kate :)

How to Write Great Songs: Vocal Melody (Song 1)

As with most things in life, writing a great vocal melody is all about balance: Balancing harmonic and non-harmonic notes, balancing small and large melodic intervals, balancing short and long note values, and so on. It’s also about great motifs (i.e. short musical ideas); allowing them to “randomly” happen (often by fixing perfect 4ths & 5ths), and then recognising them when they do appear, so you can use them again. A great motif will make your melody memorable, but only if you don’t overuse it. This is my rule of “too much chocolate!” (AKA too much of a good thing). Even if you have the most delicious and expensive organic vegan chocolate, if you have too much, you’re gonna get sick of it. Just enough chocolate in your melodies will keep your listeners coming back for more! Please check out the Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF for my full Melody Checklist, which also gives you the “why” and “how” for each element of writing a great melody.

Below is the exact chord progression (including inversions and sus chords) that we’re writing a vocal melody over. It’s in the key of E Dorian:

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Spelling

Chords

I

Em

V

Bm/D

♭III

Gmaj/D

IV

Asus2/E → Amaj/E → Amaj

♭VII

Dsus2/A → Dmaj/A →Dmaj/F♯ → Dsus2/E

And here is our vocal melody:
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Chord progression

(root note of each chord is muted and dark in MIDI above)

Vocal melody (first half), with spelling

(spelling is heard and written in relation to each chord's root note)

Em

F♯ (2) → G (♭3) → F♯ (2) → D (♭7) holds over to next chord...

Bm

…becoming a D (♭3) → C♯ (2) → D (♭3) → F♯ (5)

Gmaj

A (2)

Amaj

C♯ (3) → D (4) → C♯ (3) → A (1) → F♯ (6) → G (♭7) briefly holds over to next chord...

Dmaj

…becoming a G (4) → F♯ (3)

Chord Progression loops...

Vocal melody (second half, i.e. the variation)

Em

F♯ (2) → G (♭3) → F♯ (2) → F♯ (2) holds over to next chord...

Bm

…becoming a F♯ (5) → D (♭3) → C♯ (2) → A (♭7)

Gmaj

A (2)

Amaj

C♯ (3) → D (4) → B (2) → A (1) → F♯ (6) → G (♭7) briefly holds over to next chord...

Dmaj

…becoming a G (4) → A (5)

Lastly, always keep my Melody Checklist on hand when writing melodies, as you literally can’t go wrong with that next to you. My Melody Checklist is in the Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Until next time, thanks for reading and happy songwriting!

Ray :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

6 Hacks for Better Bass Lines

Jennifer from Vancouver emailed us with this question: “I’m new to producing, and I’m trying to learn more about bass and how it works, cuz the way I’m doing it now is sounding really boring. You know when you hear a bass line and it just makes you move, how do they do that? I want to be able to do that!” Thank you Jennifer, this is a super fun topic! So, we’ve made a MIDI example that demonstrates our top six hacks for turning boring bass lines into party starters, but first, here’s our one-sentence answer:

Boring bass is a symptom of six musical deficiencies: strong melodic intervals, motifs, syncopation, non-root notes, octaves, and rests – add these, and you’ll have super spicy bass lines!

Okay, so we’ve intentionally made a boring chord progression here with boring drums, so it’s totally up to the bass to bring all the excitement. We’re in A minor, so that’s all the white notes starting from A, and the chords are: Am → Fmaj/A → Am → Cmaj/G → Gmaj → Gsus4. Let’s have a listen. The spelling of this chord progression is: I → ♭VI → I → ♭III → ♭VII, and the notes below the chords are their root notes. Also, we’ve inverted some chords and added a sus chord to make everything flow. For more on this hack, please watch our chords video from song 1.

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As always, we start writing our melody by copying the chords over into the bass track, then muting/deleting everything other than the root notes of each chord. This gives us a boring bass line, which is our starting point. Now, let’s spice things up!

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HACK 1: Fix Perfect 4ths & 5ths

Perfect 4th intervals (which are five semitones) and perfect 5th intervals (which are seven semitones) are the most boring intervals by far, scientifically speaking, as the notes vibrate too similarly to each other. So, adding a note in between all perfect 4th and perfect 5th intervals to break them up, will instantly make your bass line stronger. From A down to F is four semitones, so that’s strong, and then obviously from F back up to A is also strong as it’s four semitones again. From A up to C is three semitones, which is strong, but from C down to G is five semitones, a perfect 4th, so that’s weak and boring and we need to fix it. We do this by adding a note in between, to break up that perfect interval. Let’s add an E, which is that happy 3rd note in the Cmaj chord. Now the new intervals we’ve created by doing that are C up to E, which is four semitones and strong, and E down to G, which is nine semitones and strong. Also, always remember to check the last note back around to the first note, so here that’s G up to A, which is two semitones and strong. No more weak perfect 4ths and 5ths. Yay! Now let’s listen to those updates.

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HACK 2: Make Motifs

A motif is a short musical idea, and using them will make your melodies memorable. Breaking up perfect 4ths and 5ths will often give you a great first motif. Where we broke up that perfect 4th between the C and G, we got an interesting motif: the bass goes up on the off-beat, then falls to a lower note on the beat. We can use that motif again over the Gmaj. The bass can go up to E again on the off-beat, which is a 6 over Gmaj, then it can fall to C on the beat as the chord changes to Gsus4. The C that we’re landing on here, is the 4 in that Gsus4 chord. We can then use this motif one more time at the very end, by going up to an A on the off-beat, which is a 2 over the Gsus4 chord, and that high A will then fall to the low A that kicks off our bass line. Let’s listen to those updates.

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HACK 3: Add Syncopation

Syncopation is accenting the off-beat, and these accented off-beats are what give bass lines their groove. Without syncopation, bass lines sound stiff and boring, but with syncopation they sound exciting and alive. By breaking up that perfect 4th, we ended up with a motif that was syncopated, so we’ve actually already got some syncopation, but we want more! So, let’s add some syncopation to the A, and then use that exact same syncopation on the C. This not only adds life to our melody, it also creates another motif. Yay! Remember, accenting off-beat eighth notes is pretty safe, whereas accenting off-beat sixteenth notes is thrilling. Let’s listen to those updates.

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HACK 4: Uproot Some Roots

For the most part, our bass line is still mainly consisting of the root note from each chord, which is boring. While root notes are the most solid foundation for every chord, bass lines that spend too much time on root notes are predictable, and therefore boring. By uprooting some roots and moving them to other notes in the scale, we temporarily destabilize the foundation, which is dangerous but exhilarating. A great place to add a non-root note would be over the Fmaj, as there’s not much else going on there, so let’s add that happy major 3rd note again, A, then go back down to the root, F. Remember to be careful when moving notes that you don’t end up with a perfect 4th or perfect 5th. Now, if we do the same thing over the following A, we have another motif. Yay! So over the A, let’s add that 3rd as well, C, but this time it’s a sad minor 3rd. Let’s listen to those updates.

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HACK 5: Add Octaves

This octave hack is exclusively awesome for bass lines and synth lines, but not for vocals and most other melodies. By moving some notes up an octave, we create a sense of movement without actually moving. By the way, the reason this hack isn’t good for vocals and most other melodies, is that an octave is actually also a perfect interval, so it sounds boring when used in melodies that are in the spotlight, like vocals. Not to mention that an octave is really difficult to sing as it’s a huge interval, but that’s not a problem for bass. Okay, the obvious place to add octaves in our bass line are these syncopated root notes over the Am and Cmaj chords, so let’s move them both up an octave. Then, one last sneaky little octave at the end of the Fmaj will make that section flow more, and we’re ready to move on. Let’s listen to those updates.

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HACK 6: Add Rests

Rests are little moments of silence, which obviously stop the continuity of sound. As a result, they need to be used sparingly, but one well-placed rest can elevate a bass line to new heights. Rests create phrases, which you can think of as the sections that a vocalist would sing with one breath. And that’s why rests can truly bring melodies to life. So, one little sixteenth rest at the end of the second Am chord, will not only give a little breather, but it will also emphasize the chord coming afterwards, which is that happy Cmaj. And with that one little rest, we’re done! Let’s have a listen to our final bass line, which is now six times spicier than the original version. Lastly, we doubled this melody on a bass synth to give it some bite, then added the piano chords back in. Here’s the full version. Enjoy!

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So that’s my answer! Thanks for reading, and if you’d like to learn more about how to write great bass lines, please download our Hack Music Theory for Songwriting & Producing PDF. Do you feel a little bit smarter now than you did a few minutes ago? Then please like and subscribe so we can do it all again next week! And if you have a question you’d like us to answer here on Q&A Tuesday, please comment below or connect with us.

Kate :)

PS. Have you downloaded our free music theory book yet?

How to Make Your Vocal Melody Stand Out in an Auto-Tune World