Complete Electronic Music Theory & Production – EDM

Understand what the course is all about, and how it's structured.

By the end of this lecture, you will be aware of the 2 distinct subdivisions in EDM. You will also know what 4/4 time is and why it's important to create EDM in this time signature.

We go through the Intro, Breakdown, Buildup, and Drop seconds of an EDM track.

We go into a bit more detail including different structure combinations, binary phrasing, antiphony, and energy.

We must set up a project for our track. This includes setting the BPM, adding track markers, and send tracks.

We'll take a look at reference tracks, and also how to adjust our DAW's settings so it runs smoother.

We have a look at the main elements that a drum pattern is comprised of. These are the elements that you'll need to use in order to form a full and fat drum pattern.

We'll have a look at swing time and how it's like a secret weapon for EDM producers. Creating any form of House music without swing will sound extremely robotic and plain. It's a very useful tool!

This lecture explains how to find suitable drum samples to build your pattern with. Looking for layers and sounds that relate to each other is very important for a good drum pattern.

Now we're aware of the sounds we should be looking for, we can go ahead and build a drum pattern.

Let's take a look at what panning is and what it can do for our drum pattern. We'll be using panning throughout the course, and we'll be taking a look at it again in the mixing section.

We can do more than panning to add interest to a drum pattern. Here, we'll use automation to create an interesting variation in volume. Again, we'll be using automation throughout the course.

We're not done yet!

This is a very subtle difference, but if you don't do it, your tracks can sound messy and unbalanced. We have to make sure each drum sample is tuned to the key of our track.

If you make Trap or Hip Hop music, PLEASE tune your 808 kick drum to the chords. i.e: if your chord pattern uses the notes C, G, F, C, then your 808 kick drum must be tuned to these chords when they play. Because 808's have a long and audible pitch, they're essentially like a bass instrument, and you wouldn't leave your bass out of tune, so why leave your drums out of tune!

We can also manipulate our drum samples for more interesting sounds. Things like reversing and time stretching will be covered here.

Here, we will look at how to construct a chord pattern on the piano roll. I also demonstrate an easy technique to build quick and effective chord patterns.

This lecture explores how to choose sounds for your chords. Again, we're looking for layers and sounds that fit together.

Let's have a look at each component that makes up a synthesiser. We won't be going into huge detail here as it's not a sound design course. I'm showing you the tools you can use to create sounds without understanding what the synthesiser is doing under the hood. It's a bit like driving a car without knowing how the engine works - It's still possible to get from A to B!

Here, we'll examine how to tweak your synthesiser presets. If you find a sound you like, but there's something you wish to change, we can use the tools we discovered in the previous lecture to tweak the final sound.

Let's go one step further and create our own sounds from scratch.

Examine the elements that an EDM bass is built upon.

Take a look at building a bass pattern using different styles and techniques. Also, we'll take a look at ornamentation.

Now we'll focus on choosing bass sounds and how you should go about doing so. Like everything else, we must make sure the sound fits the vibe of the track.

We'll examine how lead patterns are built and what main principles govern their uses in EDM.

We'll construct our own lead pattern now in different styles.

We must now choose suitable lead sounds that are distinct, but still fit the sound of the track.

Probably the most paradoxical part of EDM... Choosing a lead that stands out, but also doesn't. Hopefully, you'll get what I mean!

Let's create our own lead sound from scratch!

In this head to head battle, we compare pads against strings and how each are usually used in EDM.

Here, we'll choose our own pad instruments, and I'll also make you aware of a persistent headache that pad presets bring with them. However, never fear, I'll also show you how to correct that headache!

No 'Building {X}' section would be complete without a lecture about how to make the sounds in question. Now let's take a look at creating our own pad sounds from scratch.

Here we'll take a look at some string sounds that you can use for your tracks.

We'll just have a quick listen to some synthesised strings and see what they could sound like in an EDM track.

We'll discuss the differences between internal and external loops, so that we can differentiate them in the future.

Now we'll examine how to use external loops correctly in EDM. You shouldn't build your track entirely out of external loops, because then there's nothing original in the track!

Variation is important to break the monotony in the track. Let's look at how to add variation.

Quick examination of what EDM effects comprise of.

Now let's look at how we should be selecting our effects for use in a track.

We can also make our own effect sounds if we wish. Here we'll look at some very basic ways to do that.

Quick demonstration of some vocals types we can use.

Here, we'll look at our first vocal type, which is vocal phrases.

Our next vocal type are vocal hooks. How do we use them in a track?

Back to loops again! This time, we're concerned with the vocal side of things.  These are very useful in genres like Tech House.

These are great for making a unique sound without having a full acapella in your track! Let's see how to make them.

Be careful with these... You don't want to get sued. For the most part, they're okay to use, as long as your track doesn't get very famous. If your track does explode (and let's face it, that's what we all want), you need to make sure that you're legally entitled to use a particular vocal sample in your track. Seek written permission, otherwise, head to the public domain for films/speeches/TV Shows.

This is just an example of what we'll be looking at over the next few lectures.

A,E, I, O, U... and the rest. Here, we'll look at formant shifting and how it works.

One of my personal favourites. Turn your vocals into chords, or make them sound like a robot!

For a clean, modern sound, use vocal doubling.

Seems like we're always layering things... Vocals are no different. Use vocals with different effects to build up a full, fat vocal sound.

Just one lecture in this section, but these are useful for the progression of a track. Let's take a look at how to use points of note.

An example of what transitions are, and why they're an essential aspect of all productions.

Feeling lazy? Use this simple transition to break the monotony.

This lecture will fill you in on drum fills.... ba-dum, tss!

Definitely overused, but only because they're effective. These work particularly well right before a drop section. Let's look at how to use them!

We can also use melodies to bring us from one section to another. These are called upbeats, or in musical terms, an anacrusis.

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For a while back in 2012, every single track made use of a 'Pryda snare' - Eric Prydz was the first to use it. It's essentially like a short sound to slap you in the face before a new section. In this lecture, we'll take a look at some of these snares (Drop/reverb snares), and we'll also have a look at using some other big hit transitions.

You can use these for clever little easter eggs if you wish, or you can use them to simply transition. Let's have a look at how we can do that.

For the most professional sound, use a combination of all these transitions. This lecture briefly explores a combination transition.

A quick demonstration of how filler and extra works.

Let's use some external loops to fill up empty space, and also create additional interest for the listener.

Utilise this pedal note technique in order to create drop tone and drop blasters.

Now we'll use some synth sounds to fill up empty space, and play additional lines above the track.

Effects are great. Let's use them as filler and extra.

This could technically be seen as a long transition, but I put it in here as an extra that you can do before a drop. Let's use reverb to build tension by making the track sound further away.

A quick lecture to highlight what the section is about.

This is very important to prevent a track becoming messy or confused. Only one element should be at the forefront of the track at any one time. So if your vocal is playing at the same time as a lead element, turn the lead down so that it's not fighting for space.

How does the energy of your track progress over time? It needs to feel smooth and stable.

In case you're stuck for ideas, these few tips should allow you to jumpstart the creative process.

Obviously, everyone has their own methods. But if you're truly stuck, start with the breakdown. This lecture explains why.

Just one lecture again in this section. We'll prepare the project for mixdown.

An explanation as to what mixing is, and why we must use it for our EDM tracks.