This is exactly the kind of uplifting sound that I’m aiming to produce. Appreciate how succinct yet thorough your explanation is regarding the chord progression and I can’t wait to incorporate it into my next session.
my approach to chords: 1. i want this to sound like something 2. i'm getting close to it sounding like something, just need to move some notes around 3. okay this time it's not easy, i want it to sound like something i hear in my head, but i'm not sure how 4. okay it sounds like something now i am actually a musical genius still your tutorials are as amazing as always, thank you
Always dropping amazing knowledge, but even more important (especially with the advancement of AI), you have fantastic taste in music!!! Always producing such great tracks!!!
Goose was bumping some reel good shit lad... haha anyway loved that! I too have been experimenting with this - many rabbit holes but ended up sounding fantastic
Hi mate, cheers for the tutorials, learning loads! Just wondering if you could do some sort of a breakdown/analysis of LF system's Afraid to Feel. I'd love to understand where that infections groove comes from. Cheers
Look up a song called "I can't stop" by Silk. They just sampled that and put new drums over it. All that groove is coming from the bass line though. If you want to hear the best listen to some Chic , one of the best bass players who ever lived, Bernie Edwards is where that type of groove comes from. I go into it a little in my piano house bass line video if you want to learn some of the principles
Mate take a break from music for a few weeks. Being in a wrut is the lack of direction and the lack of ideas. If I can hazard a guess you have just been going through the motions but never making anything you like? Take a break until you get an idea of what you want to do. That usually comes when you least expect it, just try a few weeks until an idea pops up but don't start until it does. Best of luck mate, I know what you going through because we have all been there.
@@Bthelick how different kind of genres like techno, melodic techno, edm trance, etc uses reverb n delay on different elements ? (drums n synths) tips n tricks so that we do it to reach that producers level.😁✌️
@AzRBeatz hmmmm I'll have to think about that. I've never really thought about those fx being used any differently in different genres. It's more of a mood thing , you either want it wet or you don't! 🤣. Over lots of time you do get a feel for which reverbs behave a little better on different sounds (like how good drum transients often give cheap reverbs problems) but with the quality of free reverb these days it's more of an aesthetic preference, it's not a make or break to 'professional sound' or anything like that. I'm not sure what I can say that I didn't already in my delay and reverb videos. I use the same reverbs in all genres, in the same way that I use the same synth, or eq in all genres.
I've seen another producer, Will from EDM tips, say that if it sounds weird, just move the top note up one. What effect does that have musically? I would say that your method is the more 'correct' way, but was just wondering.
Up one what? As in one in the scale? For this diminished chord 2 in a minor key that is the same result yes. This vid explains why that works. Moving the top note up one won't work for other weird chords in different scales though, like augmented etc. if the chord is sounding weird because it doesn't work with other elements then moving the top note wouldn't fix anything , in fact would make it much worse. Also based on what I've received from newcomers, they don't necessarily have the ears to hear 'weird' in the first place! so I prefer to show the theory alongside.
Bthelick, I have heard you say in your livestream videos that when you have a client in the studio you can put together a song in 3-5 hours. I was wondering how did you learn to dial in an emotional goal of a song. Meaning, to dial in a the emotional song you must have some association between key and mood beyond simple major is happy and minor is sad. I have a grasp of moderate music theory, but I cannot dial in the emotion the song I am after. For example, I hear certain songs use only major keys, but their songs still have a deep melancholic vibe to it. It doesn't sound like major at all. For example, see a song called "Carry Your Name" by an artist named Kasbo. That song is F major, but it doesn't sound like major at all. I checked to see if maybe it was in a different mode and not it is F major. So how did you learn to know what keys illicit the emotion you seek?
Good question, And yes part of it is definitely letting go of those key pre conceptions. They teach the happy/ sad thing at early high school but it's never been the case. Most of the saddest songs I know are in major! The key /scale is just one tiny piece to a great puzzle. Between the sound design, arrangement, engineering and production a scale can be molded in many directions. Major and minor relatives share all the same chords after all. The skill is in getting all of those things to line up. It's largely experience. There is a period of 'feeling it out ' where I will try different chords, rhythms, and different timbres of sounds whilst the producer reacts. That's the privilege of having a dedicated producer in the room. Having someone to bounce off , reacting emotionally , who is not involved in the engineering or musical numbers, speeds up the process massively. But the experience means I already have already seen lots of those reactions from years of doing this, so I am now aware of certain progressions and sounds already that DJs react to in certain ways. So I can Go to those first, and usually get it on the first couple of attempts. For example the move in this video, 1 to 3 , if the producer says it needs to be more uplifting, well is expecting the audience to be taking E's etc, I will probably reach for this progression.
hey ben ive been thinking of some ideas r your next livestream. I wanted to see if you could do a livestream that approaches a song from a beginner standpoint as in find a couple songsyou like and deconstructing how you go about finding inspiration and similar samples to match the reference while also keeping it your own song. you have done this before however I think im asking to approach it from a pure amateur stand point with minimal ear training (if that's even possible with your training lol) hope this makes sense anyways cheers (also making a song from one sample pack could be fun too)
Yes it's always tough trying to 'pretend' to be a beginner. Also I find it hard sticking to any plan live as I want to reward those that turn up live but answering their questions. I am planning a complete beginners course with Ableton but even then there are different customer Psychographics. Like those who are already djs who want to make music, and those that might play an instrument but know nothing about dance music , there's so many. Not easy!
Haha yeah I'm formulating thoughts every day, and I have a big document of notes. I did mention it briefly in the track feedback video . It's certainly already changing what I choose to teach. It's going to be a major part of the branding video for sure. Have you played with Udio yet?
@MrPalmcove yeah well I always said that would happen to the pop industry. It's been eating itself for decades now. Udio can make great pop. But only because pop became so formulaic that it makes for easily digestible training data. I saw a kid spend 2500 credits making a song on udio and they were extremely happy. For me, that's just an extrapolation of the same arguments we saw in the '80s when people said you can't use drum machines or computers for music. For many It won't matter how the music is made, like how a pop audience never cared If Britney sang live. Or if she used a real drummer on a record. And that's fine when your business model using music as a vehicle to sell perfume. I think we're going to go back to the process of art. Just like poets, people are never going to stop making. The question is will there be a living in it?
Hey fair enough. We certainly don't hear enough of them in music these days. It's that type of thing that could make your music stand out so don't be afraid to run with it. 👊
There's a lot of crossover in truth , . It's just stuff I notice from experience, I've not studied or cataloged any yet. but I should probably do a video eh
@@Bthelick What time on Sunday is the livestream? Also to help your channel consider placing the livestream time and day notice in each video description. I searched a few videos and your about section before asking. As you might have seen by the likes I watched a lot of your videos and I was still unaware the livestream occurred the last Sunday of each month. I assumed a livestream was a random special event. I now have something to look forward to on the last Sunday of each month.
Do you have any recommend websites to find free Vital presets? I did a google search and found one or tow good ones, but I only found about 40 or so presets worth downloading.
@themtrue7220 Hmmmm I wouldn't call trance "groovey" per se. But If you want this groove you just make sure the bass and drum percussion are on constant 16th notes I'm not sure what else there is to say. What are "time fx" please?
Beautiful. Not even super into that style of mewzik but this track sucked me in! Chords are sweet! Relief to see someone who actually knows about music for once, doesn't just use the slightly cheddary - let's face it - "chord" device in ableton that's some real trainer wheel sh!t right there,,, ...
Almost. "Relative" major is the term. Parallel is not relative. Parallel would be a swap to the same key but major, I e A minor to A major. (Multitonality like I showed in the Deadmau5 video)
@@Bthelickmight be a false friend between Polish and English music theory terms. I guess you use the term "relative" for relations like a-minor/C-major and I'd use our word "paralelny" for this exact thing. Good to know
Haha thanks. I apologised because I'm aware I'm a boring bastard and I ramble on quite a bit to the point now where I wonder if it's part of my brand and people might be disappointed all the fresidious details aren't present!
@@Bthelick lol ok. But nah. You I listen to, I find what you do good ,and it comes from someone who actually makes a living from what you do. Nice track by the way. You have that professional sound to your music. Nice .
FYI for those trying to play along, the song is actually in Cm. I'm using Am in the video for visual simplicity and it is being transposed live by +3.
A. The lick
B. The lick
C. The lick
D. All of the above
Bring back the OG Trance! Goosebumps
This is exactly the kind of uplifting sound that I’m aiming to produce. Appreciate how succinct yet thorough your explanation is regarding the chord progression and I can’t wait to incorporate it into my next session.
seriously man, you're one of the best tutorial makers
Those final chord voicings are beautiful! 😍 I can really feel that spark of inspiration after watching this 👌.
Love your videos. Please add more trance tutorials 🙏🙏🙏
This channel is pure gold. Thanks you sir.
That singer have beautiful voice there and thanks for the sharing
please do more trance tips!
I’ll hit like before the ad is finished because I already know it’s a good video 💪🏼😎
Great work man. 4:22 - bro, you're killing it here! 🔥
Im getting serious ian van dahl / binary finary vibes. Moving the 3rd up top really does make it sound emotional in a way i cant describe
Short videos are usefull too. This one is very interesting. Thank you !
Awesome Track and Teacher :)
That final re-voicing is an absolute ah-ha moment! Hello classic Trance Fantastic Tutorial as always!
Great stuff! Very useful
Hey Gyubeats is in the house! love your videos mate 👊
@@Bthelick Ah thanks mate! :D
This certainly help me create brighter and uplifting songs. Mine tend to be a bit darker.
This is the best channel for music producers, all videos are so useful and at the same time very easy to apply. Thanks for a greatest content.
Yet again, I can't thank you enough! I've wanted to learn a lot of this stuff and your approach really nails down higher level stuff for us noobs.
my approach to chords:
1. i want this to sound like something
2. i'm getting close to it sounding like something, just need to move some notes around
3. okay this time it's not easy, i want it to sound like something i hear in my head, but i'm not sure how
4. okay it sounds like something now i am actually a musical genius
still your tutorials are as amazing as always, thank you
Get some relative pitch training in and you can get from stage 1 to 4 in seconds! 👊
great video as always! Really like the open voicing on the final arrangement. Defs gonna be trying this out
wow! so beautiful!
Agreed. You should defiantly finish this track. You have something big in that song.
Great little tip and epic new track
Short video or long video, it's always appreciated. Good stuff!
Heck yesss, more trance pls
Short and sweet! Absolute class as always
I knew this, but very good explained. Your channel is my favourite out there when it comes to music production. Keep on
Always dropping amazing knowledge, but even more important (especially with the advancement of AI), you have fantastic taste in music!!! Always producing such great tracks!!!
Fantastic! Great tips
Goose was bumping some reel good shit lad... haha anyway loved that! I too have been experimenting with this - many rabbit holes but ended up sounding fantastic
Didn’t realise you did trance stuff looking forward to seeing some videos
More trance please!! ❤️
Love it😄
Thank you for this. Would love to see a video analysis about the Adam K & Soha style of dance music. Their music is timeless
Oh definitely.
I already covered need to feel loved in one of my previous acts!
on.soundcloud.com/rYAdY
@@Bthelick love the stripped back approach with live instruments
I sense a few videos on/in the style of the new old school trance sound like Ben hemsley been knocking out and very welcome it would be
Love it, perfect length video imo!
Hi mate, cheers for the tutorials, learning loads!
Just wondering if you could do some sort of a breakdown/analysis of LF system's Afraid to Feel. I'd love to understand where that infections groove comes from.
Cheers
Look up a song called "I can't stop" by Silk.
They just sampled that and put new drums over it.
All that groove is coming from the bass line though.
If you want to hear the best listen to some Chic , one of the best bass players who ever lived, Bernie Edwards is where that type of groove comes from.
I go into it a little in my piano house bass line video if you want to learn some of the principles
This is gorgeous ❤
Gold.
Id love a full breakdown of this track, sounts mint
I have a problem and a question 😅 How to tell when there's enough bass ? Loudness wise, compared to the rest of the mix.. LOVE YOUR CHANNEL BTW !
Reference! See my video on the 3 Rs
Have you released this one mate? Really liking it, would love to give the full thing a listen
I thought I had but just spent ages looking to find I haven't! Better put it in the queue!
@@Bthelick gis’ a shout when it’s up ❤️🤝
sounds lush
im in a creative rut right now and dont know how to pick myself back up. any suggestions? would love to hear your thoughts on this in a video too!
Did you see my video on the amygdala? (The Medical reason you can't finish tracks)
@@Bthelick i dont believe i did see it! but i will be taking a look now!
Mate take a break from music for a few weeks.
Being in a wrut is the lack of direction and the lack of ideas. If I can hazard a guess you have just been going through the motions but never making anything you like?
Take a break until you get an idea of what you want to do. That usually comes when you least expect it, just try a few weeks until an idea pops up but don't start until it does.
Best of luck mate, I know what you going through because we have all been there.
Hey @bthelick absolutely outstanding explanation, Need some help with reverb n delay
Thanks!
What do you need to know? I have videos on both.
@@Bthelick how different kind of genres like techno, melodic techno, edm trance, etc uses reverb n delay on different elements ? (drums n synths) tips n tricks so that we do it to reach that producers level.😁✌️
@AzRBeatz hmmmm I'll have to think about that. I've never really thought about those fx being used any differently in different genres. It's more of a mood thing , you either want it wet or you don't! 🤣.
Over lots of time you do get a feel for which reverbs behave a little better on different sounds (like how good drum transients often give cheap reverbs problems) but with the quality of free reverb these days it's more of an aesthetic preference, it's not a make or break to 'professional sound' or anything like that.
I'm not sure what I can say that I didn't already in my delay and reverb videos. I use the same reverbs in all genres, in the same way that I use the same synth, or eq in all genres.
Pssst.... Meduza incorporates that in house tracks ;)
As always brill video mate 🎉
Maybe it’s the coffee ☕️ , maybes it’s bthelick 🧮 , but I’m lifted 😂🤙🏽😎🖤🕺
Superb 👌🏼
Wicked trick
I've seen another producer, Will from EDM tips, say that if it sounds weird, just move the top note up one. What effect does that have musically? I would say that your method is the more 'correct' way, but was just wondering.
Up one what? As in one in the scale?
For this diminished chord 2 in a minor key that is the same result yes. This vid explains why that works.
Moving the top note up one won't work for other weird chords in different scales though, like augmented etc.
if the chord is sounding weird because it doesn't work with other elements then moving the top note wouldn't fix anything , in fact would make it much worse.
Also based on what I've received from newcomers, they don't necessarily have the ears to hear 'weird' in the first place! so I prefer to show the theory alongside.
@@Bthelick Thanks, was just too tired (or lazy) to work it out for myself. Will never explained exactly why it worked, but you do, brilliantly.
Btheman does it again
hixxy - i see the light!
Thank you 🤘
Bthelick, I have heard you say in your livestream videos that when you have a client in the studio you can put together a song in 3-5 hours. I was wondering how did you learn to dial in an emotional goal of a song. Meaning, to dial in a the emotional song you must have some association between key and mood beyond simple major is happy and minor is sad. I have a grasp of moderate music theory, but I cannot dial in the emotion the song I am after. For example, I hear certain songs use only major keys, but their songs still have a deep melancholic vibe to it. It doesn't sound like major at all. For example, see a song called "Carry Your Name" by an artist named Kasbo. That song is F major, but it doesn't sound like major at all. I checked to see if maybe it was in a different mode and not it is F major. So how did you learn to know what keys illicit the emotion you seek?
Good question,
And yes part of it is definitely letting go of those key pre conceptions. They teach the happy/ sad thing at early high school but it's never been the case. Most of the saddest songs I know are in major!
The key /scale is just one tiny piece to a great puzzle.
Between the sound design, arrangement, engineering and production a scale can be molded in many directions.
Major and minor relatives share all the same chords after all.
The skill is in getting all of those things to line up.
It's largely experience. There is a period of 'feeling it out ' where I will try different chords, rhythms, and different timbres of sounds whilst the producer reacts.
That's the privilege of having a dedicated producer in the room. Having someone to bounce off , reacting emotionally , who is not involved in the engineering or musical numbers, speeds up the process massively.
But the experience means I already have already seen lots of those reactions from years of doing this, so I am now aware of certain progressions and sounds already that DJs react to in certain ways. So I can Go to those first, and usually get it on the first couple of attempts.
For example the move in this video, 1 to 3 , if the producer says it needs to be more uplifting, well is expecting the audience to be taking E's etc, I will probably reach for this progression.
always love the vids! where do you find vocals like the one in the video?
Thankyou , I get them from Splice.
So good thank you
Great stuff!
hey ben ive been thinking of some ideas r your next livestream. I wanted to see if you could do a livestream that approaches a song from a beginner standpoint as in find a couple songsyou like and deconstructing how you go about finding inspiration and similar samples to match the reference while also keeping it your own song. you have done this before however I think im asking to approach it from a pure amateur stand point with minimal ear training (if that's even possible with your training lol) hope this makes sense anyways cheers (also making a song from one sample pack could be fun too)
Yes it's always tough trying to 'pretend' to be a beginner.
Also I find it hard sticking to any plan live as I want to reward those that turn up live but answering their questions.
I am planning a complete beginners course with Ableton but even then there are different customer Psychographics. Like those who are already djs who want to make music, and those that might play an instrument but know nothing about dance music , there's so many. Not easy!
Banger
Great Tute - as always. Sorry for off topic comment. When will you be responding with your thoughts on "the AI assault" ???
Haha yeah I'm formulating thoughts every day, and I have a big document of notes. I did mention it briefly in the track feedback video . It's certainly already changing what I choose to teach. It's going to be a major part of the branding video for sure.
Have you played with Udio yet?
@@Bthelick Udio - simultaneously amazed and depressed.
@MrPalmcove yeah well I always said that would happen to the pop industry.
It's been eating itself for decades now.
Udio can make great pop. But only because pop became so formulaic that it makes for easily digestible training data.
I saw a kid spend 2500 credits making a song on udio and they were extremely happy.
For me, that's just an extrapolation of the same arguments we saw in the '80s when people said you can't use drum machines or computers for music.
For many It won't matter how the music is made, like how a pop audience never cared If Britney sang live. Or if she used a real drummer on a record. And that's fine when your business model using music as a vehicle to sell perfume.
I think we're going to go back to the process of art. Just like poets, people are never going to stop making. The question is will there be a living in it?
nice
At which time is the lifestream on sunday? Which country? I suppose UK?
UK yes. 6pm GMT
That chord progression sounds like breeze & styles - future shining
Yes, and a hundred other trance tracks haha. very similar. Ironically the track that sparked my inspiration here was from the game Ace Combat 7 haha
Is the final verzh of this track on your site, Bthe...?
Not yet , it's in the release queue.
You can call me B, or Ben 👊
see for some reason i prefer how the diminished chord brings a unique feeling into it
Hey fair enough. We certainly don't hear enough of them in music these days.
It's that type of thing that could make your music stand out so don't be afraid to run with it. 👊
Apparently its not about length its about girth, or so the say.
How are you getting the chord numbers to display, like at :30? Thanks In advance
I do it manually in the video editor.
Would be nice if it was built into Ableton wouldn't it!
U legend.
What are some other common EDM/dance genre chord progressions? You stated that 6-1-3-6 is a classic Trance.
There's a lot of crossover in truth , . It's just stuff I notice from experience, I've not studied or cataloged any yet.
but I should probably do a video eh
@@Bthelick What time on Sunday is the livestream? Also to help your channel consider placing the livestream time and day notice in each video description. I searched a few videos and your about section before asking. As you might have seen by the likes I watched a lot of your videos and I was still unaware the livestream occurred the last Sunday of each month. I assumed a livestream was a random special event. I now have something to look forward to on the last Sunday of each month.
Do you have any recommend websites to find free Vital presets? I did a google search and found one or tow good ones, but I only found about 40 or so presets worth downloading.
I enjoy the short videos once a while to be fair
Yeah I do go on a bit usually don't I 🤣🤣
Will this song be in any tutorial?
What else would you like to learn from it?
@@Bthelick groove and time fx would be perfect
@themtrue7220
Hmmmm I wouldn't call trance "groovey" per se.
But If you want this groove you just make sure the bass and drum percussion are on constant 16th notes I'm not sure what else there is to say.
What are "time fx" please?
@@Bthelick Reverb and delay. specifically in these sounds the reverb is very big, when I try reverbs like that they end up messing up the mix
sweet
Bro, sometimes I feel like II V's are the "Loss" Meme of music theory.
Dj Sammy 🫶🏻
Beautiful. Not even super into that style of mewzik but this track sucked me in! Chords are sweet! Relief to see someone who actually knows about music for once, doesn't just use the slightly cheddary - let's face it - "chord" device in ableton that's some real trainer wheel sh!t right there,,, ...
Snag
So it's just a passing dominant chord to the parallel major tonic xd
Almost. "Relative" major is the term. Parallel is not relative. Parallel would be a swap to the same key but major, I e A minor to A major. (Multitonality like I showed in the Deadmau5 video)
@@Bthelickmight be a false friend between Polish and English music theory terms. I guess you use the term "relative" for relations like a-minor/C-major and I'd use our word "paralelny" for this exact thing. Good to know
@@mattbukovski92 ah yes probably language difference. 🙏
Why apologize I tired of guys stringing stuff out to keep people watching. Which I don't so it useless. Lol I'll have to remember this.
Haha thanks. I apologised because I'm aware I'm a boring bastard and I ramble on quite a bit to the point now where I wonder if it's part of my brand and people might be disappointed all the fresidious details aren't present!
@@Bthelick lol ok. But nah. You I listen to, I find what you do good ,and it comes from someone who actually makes a living from what you do. Nice track by the way. You have that professional sound to your music. Nice .
I absolutely hate trance music, but watching someone create it is so damn satisfying