Electronic producers often write at the same time as they design sounds. This chapter covers the compositional tools that make that faster and more creative - from chord voicings to MIDI effects. The Music Theory and Composition module covers theory in depth.
Chords for electronic music
- Minor keys dominate much dance music - natural minor and Dorian especially.
- Extended chords - minor sevenths and ninths - give the lush sound of deep house and garage.
- Stabs - short chords on the offbeat drive house and techno.
- Pads - sustained, slowly moving chords carry atmosphere.
- One-chord tracks - many techno and house tracks sit on one chord or one note for long stretches, with movement coming from sound design instead of harmony.
- Voicing - keep chords compact and in the mid-range so they do not clash with the bass. Voice-lead smoothly between chords.
Melodies and hooks
- Short motifs repeated and varied - the riff is often the hook in electronic music.
- Rhythm first - a strong, syncopated rhythm on one note can be a hook on its own.
- Call and response - a phrase and its answer, sometimes on two different sounds.
- Sound as melody - an unusual synth or vocal chop playing a simple line can be more memorable than a complex one.
Scale and chord tools
Most DAWs and many instruments offer scale-locking, chord generators and chord-memory modes. They help you stay in key and explore voicings quickly. Use them to experiment, then learn why the results work.
MIDI effects
MIDI effects change notes before they reach the instrument:
- Arpeggiators - turn held chords into patterns. Vary rate, direction, octave range and gate length. Pigments and Serum-based patches often include their own sequencers and arpeggiators.
- Chord - one note triggers a full chord.
- Scale - forces notes into a key.
- Note echo and repeat - MIDI delays and rolls.
- Random and probability - vary velocity, timing or whether a note plays at all, for evolving patterns.
- Sequencers - step sequencers inside synths create patterns you would never play by hand.
Effects as composition
Effects can write parts:
- A tempo-synced delay turns single notes into rhythmic patterns.
- A gated or sidechained pad becomes a rhythmic chord part.
- A filter sweep creates a build without new notes.
- Reverse reverb swells announce new sections.
Do this now
- Write an eight-bar progression of minor seventh and ninth chords and play it as offbeat stabs.
- Put an arpeggiator on a held chord and change rate, direction and octave range until it becomes a hook.
- Use a probability or random MIDI effect to make a hi-hat pattern that evolves over 16 bars.