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Minimal Trance – Drums
This video demonstrates how to make a minimal trance drum loop which could easily adapted for use in down-tempo genres. Process I start off by loading Live’s Impulse device and make a standard 4/4 kick drum pattern I then enter notes for the clap/snare sound but I use a kick drum sample rather than a […]
Beginning a track
These videos show the beginnings of a track that I started working on some time ago. I wanted to get the basics of the track made and not get distracted by the mixing process. By just concentrating on the basics and getting the foundations down then rest of the track can be constructed later and […]
Making a Melody using a Musical Sketch
It is often daunting when making a new track, lack of inspiration and creativity is common. It is often found that when concentrating too hard and working rigidly, ideas and inspiration do not flow as easily as when working freely and in a casual way. A good approach is to make a number of musical […]
Using Ableton Live’s Groove Templates with Audio Damage Tattoo
Audio Damage’s Tattoo is a great little drum synth and sequencer. If you would like to use your DAWs groove and swing templates (such as Ableton Live) then you may be wondering how this can be done, or if it is even possible. Fortunately, this is quite easy and Tattoo already has the functionality to […]
How to clean up and get your drum loops working better with your bass
This is a simple but very effective way of cleaning up your drum loops and at the same time getting them working better with your bass. All you need is a standard audio gate effect. In this example I have made a percussion loop by chopping up a few existing drum loops. It sounds okay […]
Using Off-Beat Syncopation to Create Trance and House Grooves
Off-beat syncopation is used in a wide variety of musical genres, you will have heard it a lot in house and trance tracks. By placing notes on the off-beat it creates a distinctive rhythm, this works well when using a 4/4 time signature. In this example I am using a single triad chord (A minor). […]
Free Music Theory Guide – The Guide Formerly Known As The Ravenspiral Guide
Whether you have just started out producing music or would like a refresher, this free PDF guide is an excellent source of knowledge. It started out back in 2002 by Simon Bennett and is still being updated today. The guide covers scales, intervals, chords, melody, structure, rhythm and more. And it’s free! Download it, load […]
Gated Vocals – using two channels together to make a harmony
In this previous article I show an example of how to make gated vocals using a synth as a trigger. A synth channel isn’t necessary, the synth could be switched for a standard gate. In this article I want to show that you don’t have to fill each bar with 16th and 32nd notes, it […]
How to make gated vocals using a synth as a trigger
There are many ways to make a gated vocal effect, in this article I’ll show you how to do it using a synth as a trigger, rather than using a separate muted trigger channel. I start by finding a suitable vocal sample. The sample I’ve used is from part of a free sample pack by […]
How to make a trance gate effect using Ableton Live
The trance gate effect has been around for many years and is popular in many genres of music. Some synths have a built in trance gate effect, but what if the particular synth that you are using doesn’t have such an effect? Well, it’s easy to make your own and get the same results. In […]