Im so happy that we have people out there that are like you. No clickbait, no „youTuber-like“ cutted video, just a basic tutorial with so much information. I love every single Video of your Channel.
I'd love to see you break down born slippy. Those chords just get me every single time...an analysis from you on that particular tune would no doubt have some very useful insight!
I'd like to see a vid about Born Slippy too. I remember being shocked when I learned how simple it was. I think it's just a 4-3-1 in a major key (maybe with a 7th and an inversion in there), but the sound selection and the delay/echo makes it sound so powerful.
Finally! Chords are starting to make sense to me now. Great video. This teaching style of showing a well known chord progression broken down into bite-sized information is perfect. Thank you
This is absolute gold, love all the chord explanations, but especially love the "Le Voie Le Soleil" chord, big fan of most of the Patrick Prins stuff that originally came out on Movin Melodies, and the original "Subliminal Cuts" EP that was licensed from Volume Records in Belgium to Tribal Records in America, it also included the "Drumtrack Melody" which was a good ould "wreak the gaff"😉 choon! Top 12" containing 2 x massive bangers from back in the day. A super talented producer, he really knew how to make quality tracks, and so many of them. Would love to see more of this kind of stuff incorporating the choons from the "production masters" from the 90's, when dance music was pure. Thanks as always, you really know your stuff, and how to explain it in a way that's easy to understand . Love the channel. Btw : Also cant really talk about Patrick Prins without mentioning La Luna "The Ethics EP" to the beat of the Drum, BANG!.....To the beat of the Drum BANG, BANG! Its probably only those of us, of a certain vintage will know what I'm Banging 😵(do ya get it) on about..... Anyway, look these up guys, they wont disappoint. Peace!
What a useful and applicable lesson. I’m sure you have some formal teacher training. There are so many fancy terms for what amounts to moving notes around in chords and adding extra ones. Ride on time got remixed recently and released without this chord loop. what a crime - that’s the best thing about the song!
Very cool . Nice to see someone with some musical nous. That Ride On Time, along with Massive Attack and Primal Scream got me into dancey sounds back in 1990 or whatever. Great tut cuz.
Hmmmm, if I can think of any others I will, but believe it or not, the voicing, inversions, extensions, and alterations from this video, combined with the augmentations I show in the garage and crystal waters video, cover every chord technique you would need to make 99 9% of dance music!
Another cracking video. Once the penny drops for one of these songs its funny how easy it can be to spot the similar things in other tracks - sweet harmony, cafe del mar, pjanoo, xpansions...
You're the best guy in the digital music industry so far. Smart and funny at the same time. Love from INDIA 💚. Can you please make a video on Music like Anyma, monolink, artbat.
Great video mate. It doesn't matter how long I've been making music for, It still fascinates me how much simple inversions can completely change the vibe of a progression.
Certainly on the list. I could make 2 videos on that. It uses pedal harmony i already have a video coming on that, and also it uses some of my fave chord progression which was later used in saltwater.
A funny thing about the Ride on Time bassline not perfectly matching the piano chords is that bassline is essentially an interpolation of the squelchy two-chord SH-101 bassline from 'Theme From S'Express' that had been a number one hit a year earlier. The basslines in both tracks are remarkably low in the mix in both tracks, such that most people aren't aware of the connection, but they basically have the same subliminal groove.
yes basically the same rhythm and progression with a few more chromatic passing notes, S'express was a year or 2 later so it's the other way round S'express is the interpolation of Ride 👊
Great video. Would like to see how the gated organ for Ride on Time was created, and the slow down/stop effect at the end of each phrase on the Levels track.
Technically Ride On Time is in G Myxolidian. This is because all the chords used come from the key of C major but the G chord is played twice and for (almost) twice as long as the Am or the F and the C chord itself is not used so the G becomes the tonal center. G Myxolidian is the Myxolidian mode of C major being it's fifth degree. So the chord sequence is really vi-V-IV-V. A lot of classic rock is in Myxolidian mode and the vi-V-IV-V pattern is often used, examples being All Along the Watchtower and Don't Fear the Reaper.
I completely disagree, A is it's tonal centre, it's where the melody, chords and bass all return home, the brass and strings melody and main melody are all in A pentatonic, they never land on G. And the whole walk up the lyrics "time won't walk away" is a big resolve to Am. Why in earth would a track hold on chord II? G is the passing chord here, the complete opposite of the tonic. Just because it appears twice does not make it the tonal centre. Don't worry about explaining modes btw, I've been a musician for 30 years, professional for 15. (If you're trolling then you got me well done) Don't fear the reaper is questioned because of the guitar solo, and the melody is ambiguous.
Brilliant explanation, however I still do have a hard time understanding all movements and certainly to use them myself. Gonna try to rebuild this as a practice,many thanks ❤
Funny story, I made that Levels recreate 10 years ago! I was showing the power of ableton to someone so I made that using only its inbuilt synths! When someone commented I should do levels I suddenly remembered, and had to dig out my box of old hard drives ! I'm actually surprised I got it as close back then myself 🤣
Hey B... I see how this video answered my question from yesterday in terms of creating suspensions from a different voicing of the second note! Also, thanks for teaching the "90's stagger"! I've been trying to add extensions at the initial stage of creating a chord progression, but have noticed things get too muddy when long notes are overlapping for so long. My observation is that you've been creating your extensions after you get the main rhythm in place. Is this the optimal approach? Finally, what should our logic be for creating extensions? I'm adding them to try to have more consistency in terms of the proximity of notes that are in the chords before and after the chord in question. Is that a good starting point (besides just listening for what sounds good)? Thanks again for another top tutorial! V
Hey Vince thank you. There's no rules, but the rhythm first approach is probably because it's dance music! Regarding chord choice that's an emotional decision. If there's a Melody or lyrics you're supporting, then pay attention to that and what lines up best with those feelings. For some genres, extensions simply sound too jazzy or complicated, and for others, it's the perfect mood. I can't really give you any rules on that, just have a play and stay in touch with your feelings, try not to fall into the trap of being clever for clever's sake.
@@Bthelick Got it, thank you! I was thinking extensions can help with voice leading because you have more placements to play with. I think voice leading is critical for me to learn more about because on the surface they look like small changes, but they could have significant impact to the overall progression and melody. "... just have a play and stay in touch with your feelings, try not to fall into the trap of being clever for clever's sake." - You hit the nail on the head! Thank you for the response! V
Hey mate. Awesome vids can I ask you always play midi notes in A how do you adjust the playback so it’s correct in C sharp? Is this in the vst or somewhere on abelton.
I’m currently recreating Avicii’s Levels, but I can’t seem to get the Bass quite right (probably because I lack the required skills and ear training atm 😅). As far as I can tell, it sounds like the Bass has some kind of movement towards the end of certain notes, although I’m not sure what causes the movement or how to go about achieving it. It could also be your Guitar layer that causes the movement I’m hearing, but I can’t really tell. Would you be able to share how you made your Bass? Yours sounds great👌
The notes are just the same as the chord root notes. So the movement your hearing is probably the 'dive' at the end of the phrase? If so, you can do that either with pitch bend or a tape stop effect. (Kilohearts make a good free one) If using pitch bend make sure the range of your synth is set quite big, preferably an octave or more. If none of this makes sense let me know I'll try make a quick vid.
@@Bthelick Thanks for replying so quickly, I really appreciate the help! 🫡 I have actually got the Kilohearts Tape Stop doing it’s thing (which is a great plug-in), and I’ve sidechained to, but there’s still something missing that’s not giving my version the same movement/bounce. I’ll try to explain what I mean slightly better, as I was probably a bit too vague; so please forgive my ignorance 😅. I’ve essentially got to the end of my remake, and when I’m A/B testing against Avicii’s Levels as my reference, I can hear this bassy sound that just isn’t present in my mix. Listening to 8 bars from the original 5:39 version of Levels at 1:23 - 1:28 (where the bass comes in), I can hear this deep, swelling “Wah” sound that seems to accent the bass when it’s playing on the even 16th notes (syncopated?), which I think is responsible for the movement I’m missing. Out of the 16th beats being played in this small section, I believe the “Wah” sound is present on 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 & 16. It could be that my ears are being fooled into thinking the bass is creating this “Wah” sound, but it could actually be caused by another part with some low-end information. I’m sure your superior surgical ears can isolate & identify the sound’s origin!👂 I hope that makes some kind of sense, as I’m sure my terminology isn’t the best! 😅
It might just be upper bass harmonics. If you have your bass's separated (like I show in my bass processing video) this could just be the upper bass on a sidechain. its definitely a fake side chain too as its too rhymical, everything is on 8ths. The kick is quite long , don't let that confuse you. Edm mixes back then (even by the great Dave Darlington) were certainly messier back then! Try using a 'buzzy' bass. saw wave filtered should do it. maybe through a distortion.
@@Bthelick Thanks once again for your advice, Ben! I’ve just watched your Bass Processing video (which was full of useful information) and downloaded the plugins you recommended; so hopefully I’ll go into making this Levels Bass with more of an understanding as to what I’m doing 👍. Fingers crossed I can get the Bass right so I can finally finish this project! 🤞
Thank you so much, I can finally properly understand my all time favorite piano riff (Ride on time). Can you please also explain the theory behind the chord with the notes A-C-G? Is it like a 7th A minor chord with omitted 5th?
@@NickyJmusic at that point the whole 2 beats is still really an F chord so that one departure I would class as an Fmaj add9. If that section hadn't already implied F then you would be right with Am7no5
The chords from "Everything But The Girl - Driving (Masters At Work Unreleased Vocal) (02:34)" are haunting me. Can you help a brother out? I'm guessing it's a Juno 106.
Yeah definitely extensions. It's a 6 5 1 in Bmin. It's diatonic so nothing out of the scale. Sounds like all 7ths, maybe the 1 chord is a 9th can't quite hear it on my phone , they are voiced so that a melody of 3 4 3 (of the scale) stays at the top. But hard to write in text I'll try make a short for you if I get time but you can start there hope that makes sense 👊
Sorry I don't understand what you mean by "decode"? Do you simply mean "work out"? And by "other minor" do you mean other minor types like natural minor Vs harmonic minor? Or different minor keys like A minor to C minor?
@@BoopPOPO ah right sure, no need for a scale device unless you need to work out or convert to other scale types (Major, Dorian, Lydian etc) if you just need to change key, not scale (change from A to C# etc) you can simply transpose yes. 👊
Slightly different. Suspended is when the 3rd of the chord (middle note of the base triad) is moved to (suspended on) either the 4th or 2nd. Augmented is when a major chord has a raised 5th and diminished is a minor chord with a flattened 5th
Once I've got the basic chord progression done, for example, 1753 in Am. How do I know which chords to invert, which to voice differently when to add a sus2 or 4 etc. The theory makes sense, I'm struggling with application, How do I improve on this as well as creating interesting rhythms?
In the case of these riffs, It's all about that top melody. You don't HAVE to invert or suspend anything, neither Le Voie or Levels use inversions , and likewise neither Ride or Le Voie use suspensions. The chord types are just sometimes results of what results after making a top melody, they don't necessarily have to be implemented on purpose, just try making a melody on top using notes of the chord first and then try bridge jumps with passing notes. As for rhythm, I have two videos on piano house rhythm already check those. Your governing rules are can you sing it /remember it? And can you dance to it? If it was easy we'd all be writing classics! Keep at it, you'll nail one eventually 👊
@@Bthelick In one of your older vids you mentioned that you wanted to do a break-down of Ame - Rej. Did you ever do it? Can't find it. If not please consider doing it! I think we'd learnt a lot.
I didn't get round to the video yet. I have actually made a tribute track just for fun last year but haven't done a remake proper. It's on the list don't worry! 👊
@@Bthelick haha I don't really pay much attention to that, just whether I sounds good to my ears in a given key. I've probably done stuff in A minor thinking it's C major.
@@dalek604 well notes wise there is no difference, so it entirely comes down to what sounds good to your ears! So you are in fact paying attention to mood/vibe which is all that matters
In fact, there are more than just A Minor and C Major. You can also build G Mixolydian, D Dorian, F Lydian, E Phrygian, B Locrian. All on the same notes.
Oohhhhh my Lolita Holloway comment. Well it is what it is, it's part of the culture, we wouldn't have these genres without it. But I also think it's still possible to also credit and compensate the artists. Black box went about it in a very underhanded way. And unfortunately at the worse end of the spectrum we get situations like the most sampled man in history Gregory Coleman (Amen break) dying penniless and homeless. I think mash up culture is essential but respect has to be given both ways. That's as much a systemic problem as anything else.
@@Bthelick how would you even copyright drums? You could have the right to recording, but that won't always solely belong to the drummer. And if I recreated the amen break from scratch, there would be no legal right to it. As far as I understand it, you can own a melody and a recording, and that's it. And I'm sure there's times people get cheated(like the people led zeppelin cheated), but if a song becomes big and you can prove without a shadow of a doubt that it made use of your intellectual property, you'd be in a pretty good spot right? Like Sting with Lucid Dreams.
@@schizodillo1952 the copyright is 2 fold, the composition (publishing), and the recording. A drum break wouldn't be considered substantial enough to qualify for publishing copyright, although the full solo would. The original recording is copyrighted. (you would own your recording of any recreation yes). Its a systemic problem as much as anything else. The band leader held the copyright on the record but they were screwed by the label and never received anything. by the time they noticed (in the 90s when it was getting sampled) it was too late to sue, US law required you to take action within a certain timeframe of the copyright generation.
a lot of videos in youtube "why u dont finish ur tracks" and they r wrong. i bet they r. the real trouble is finish mastering. mixdown sounds quiet. ok. ppl take tutorials and fixing it next - it sounds crappy on TV speakers. O-fckin-K. more tutorials. fixing. aaaaaand its not the same track that rhey had before. mmm nah. its just a junk. i try another one. new project. ummm sounds ok. mixdown. qiet. fix crappy on TV fix sounds like shit. checking beatport top - ok sound in headphones in car on TV and its loud. damn. new project. repeat. dont u know how to get out from that circle by chance? =)
The problem is usually that "fix" stage. If you're having to make drastic changes at that stage then your sounds selection is the thing causing problems and it would be easier to just start again imo. And that's 2 is things, A) you simply don't have the ear training yet B) you don't reference anywhere near enough. I release without mastering, have done for many years because I'm experienced enough to get it right at the sound selection stage. Having said all that , until you get a good ear for it and a good monitoring situation (one accelerates the other) then that trial and error of mixing down and checking on various systems is normal really. You can still massively speed up by referencing more though Did you see my vid on "the 3 Rs"? th-cam.com/video/JdVP6RlTlnw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Em4kKWrtn4Qads-7 And my "how not to master your music"? th-cam.com/video/s2zQ8r1Tjao/w-d-xo.htmlsi=xGFc_XEPcHk5sBtv Trust me those will help
@Bthelick yep. u right barely referencing but also having mystical hardware troubles like u shown with LPF filter which makes sound louder and also makes limiter turn mix to crap so sometimes it feels like "new musicians want to create something which technically impossible to be created" and may be experienced ones know theese borders and their imagination preconfigured to "stereo system made of 2 paper speakers" abilities. so they create easier faster and better. don't think it's great btw. not sure yet. lots good ideas of composition might be lost cuz of "loudness war". like "yeah, it's great, but it's impossible to mixdown and to make smooth enough for radio stations and music shops cuz of todays sounddesign trends. also concert sound systems will have much more load on quieter level, so no, boy, stop it , go and create inside theese borders. =)
You don't have to adhere to any trends if you don't want to. That's just a branding problem to solve, which in truth is no different from any other genre / trend /art. Could could totally make music for audiophiles that is proudly anti loudness war it's just a case of how you find the audience and get your story /identity out there. Like I didn't know if anyone would be interested in the music theory side of edm when I started my channel, it's certainly not a trend and there were no presidents and no data, i just had to try something I'm passionate about and find a way to tell the story, and at anything non mainstream / low budget it can take years. It's the story / brand that's the most important bit , and the hardest to do . The music is almost easy by comparison!
@Bthelick u doing helpful content ngl. with a nice jokes n stuff. u good, man, u rly good. just one word in ur video like opened for me whole world i lived in all that time. word Phrygian . not sure what u mean about expectations of "non EDM content" - u do "music creation theory videos". i used to watch a very diferent sides of theory like orchestra multitracking or guitar mid-side recordings. all helps for someone work with sound i guess whatever sourse genre it is. in case of doing recordings for little bunch of audiophiles - sadly its not for me, i bet my life on working with that, and am not being a guy that already have everything and composing just for fun or some kind of selfexpression. i need result. and result is like beatport top or smthn. top sales. u know i mean =) i know u might say "do don dont.. dont do it maaahhhhn", but i have to. cuz ama Dj. ;) thank you for what u doing. best regards.
Im so happy that we have people out there that are like you. No clickbait, no „youTuber-like“ cutted video, just a basic tutorial with so much information. I love every single Video of your Channel.
that's what i wanted to say
It's incredible seeing how small changes add up to these timeless chords
There's something very therapeutic about watching masters at work. Whether thats a Carpenter, Glass blower, Blacksmith or B breaking down tracks. 💙
avicii forever ◢ ◤
Legend ❤️
He's getting his own video at some point obviously.
I must say, you tutorial videos are quite simply the best there is on TH-cam. Clear, concise explanations. Well done. So good.
I'd love to see you break down born slippy. Those chords just get me every single time...an analysis from you on that particular tune would no doubt have some very useful insight!
Tuuuuune. It's on the list don't worry!
@@Bthelick you da man
I'd like to see a vid about Born Slippy too. I remember being shocked when I learned how simple it was. I think it's just a 4-3-1 in a major key (maybe with a 7th and an inversion in there), but the sound selection and the delay/echo makes it sound so powerful.
🤯 this is the best explanation of chords I have seen. The ride on time example is unreal ❤️
I think I learned more about chords in those 20 minutes than in three years before. Thank you!
Finally! Chords are starting to make sense to me now. Great video. This teaching style of showing a well known chord progression broken down into bite-sized information is perfect. Thank you
The Avicii line with piano is so so sweet baby
This is absolute gold, love all the chord explanations, but especially love the "Le Voie Le Soleil" chord, big fan of most of the Patrick Prins stuff that originally came out on Movin Melodies, and the original "Subliminal Cuts" EP that was licensed from Volume Records in Belgium to Tribal Records in America, it also included the "Drumtrack Melody" which was a good ould "wreak the gaff"😉 choon! Top 12" containing 2 x massive bangers from back in the day. A super talented producer, he really knew how to make quality tracks, and so many of them. Would love to see more of this kind of stuff incorporating the choons from the "production masters" from the 90's, when dance music was pure. Thanks as always, you really know your stuff, and how to explain it in a way that's easy to understand . Love the channel.
Btw : Also cant really talk about Patrick Prins without mentioning La Luna "The Ethics EP" to the beat of the Drum, BANG!.....To the beat of the Drum BANG, BANG!
Its probably only those of us, of a certain vintage will know what I'm Banging 😵(do ya get it) on about..... Anyway, look these up guys, they wont disappoint.
Peace!
Its the style of explanation every time. You make it all sound so easy... respect...
I am learning English for exact this reason :) well done mate, well done
Your videos are so inspiring and don’t make me feel like an idiot.
Such a great video. Absolutely blown away by how these riffs came together.
i cant express enough how much this video has helped me understand chords, thank you
What a useful and applicable lesson. I’m sure you have some formal teacher training. There are so many fancy terms for what amounts to moving notes around in chords and adding extra ones. Ride on time got remixed recently and released without this chord loop. what a crime - that’s the best thing about the song!
Thanks. I don't have any formal training but I do pay attention to how people learn. 🙏
And yeah, what is ride on time without the piano? Shame.
amazing. one of the best edm production teachers out there!
After months of watching chord tutorials it's finally clicking in my brain LOL these tutorials are goated
I finally understood chords. Thank you!
Ace, great to hear 👊
Great video! Thank you! 💪💪
Very cool . Nice to see someone with some musical nous. That Ride On Time, along with Massive Attack and Primal Scream got me into dancey sounds back in 1990 or whatever. Great tut cuz.
Loved this. Inspired me to go make some piano bangers
This should be a series. Awesome work
Hmmmm, if I can think of any others I will, but believe it or not, the voicing, inversions, extensions, and alterations from this video, combined with the augmentations I show in the garage and crystal waters video, cover every chord technique you would need to make 99 9% of dance music!
Brilliant content mate, cheers!
Great video, thanks for sharing!!!
the avicii progression is something else, every single chord/note is perfect the man was a genius. And I don't like big room/progressive!
Patiently waits for Bthelick to explain *De-Binauraliser*
Aaaaaahhh well spotted!
I was helping someone with headphone mixes.
It helps turn headphones into something near stereo as opposed to binaural.
I'm loving this piano roll mastery..
Another cracking video. Once the penny drops for one of these songs its funny how easy it can be to spot the similar things in other tracks - sweet harmony, cafe del mar, pjanoo, xpansions...
See the Sun..... What an absolute classic track.
You're the best guy in the digital music industry so far. Smart and funny at the same time. Love from INDIA 💚. Can you please make a video on Music like Anyma, monolink, artbat.
the way you brake it down is genius, honestley thank you so much for the knowledge
Great video mate. It doesn't matter how long I've been making music for, It still fascinates me how much simple inversions can completely change the vibe of a progression.
Awesome! I love the idea of starting simple and progressively introducing new concepts!
Thank you...
Electric Boogaloo! Thanks B, saving this Sunday!
Excellent video and very informative.
You have great delivery and articulation. Please keep making your wonderful videos.
Another brilliant tutorial. Love it when you break down the old skool anthems chords. Would love to see a breakdown of Energy 52's "Cafe Del Mar"
Certainly on the list. I could make 2 videos on that. It uses pedal harmony i already have a video coming on that, and also it uses some of my fave chord progression which was later used in saltwater.
Great Channel 🎉😊
Belle accent ! Thanks from France ✌️
Haha cheers 🙏
A funny thing about the Ride on Time bassline not perfectly matching the piano chords is that bassline is essentially an interpolation of the squelchy two-chord SH-101 bassline from 'Theme From S'Express' that had been a number one hit a year earlier. The basslines in both tracks are remarkably low in the mix in both tracks, such that most people aren't aware of the connection, but they basically have the same subliminal groove.
yes basically the same rhythm and progression with a few more chromatic passing notes, S'express was a year or 2 later so it's the other way round S'express is the interpolation of Ride 👊
@@Bthelick Theme from S'Express was April 88. Ride on Time was July 89.
For a minute when I saw that cover with Alex Rome on it. I thought thats who Bthelick was hahahah
okie dokie ! super!
Great video. Would like to see how the gated organ for Ride on Time was created, and the slow down/stop effect at the end of each phrase on the Levels track.
Did you see the stutter house video?
Wow, this was priceless! And a lot of good music theory put in simple terms. Thank you!🙌🙌
Epic
ty, awesome
Excellent tutorial!
Wow I learned so much. Very detailed and quality content!
Man so much gold in these videos 🙌🏼
Technically Ride On Time is in G Myxolidian. This is because all the chords used come from the key of C major but the G chord is played twice and for (almost) twice as long as the Am or the F and the C chord itself is not used so the G becomes the tonal center. G Myxolidian is the Myxolidian mode of C major being it's fifth degree. So the chord sequence is really vi-V-IV-V. A lot of classic rock is in Myxolidian mode and the vi-V-IV-V pattern is often used, examples being All Along the Watchtower and Don't Fear the Reaper.
I completely disagree, A is it's tonal centre, it's where the melody, chords and bass all return home, the brass and strings melody and main melody are all in A pentatonic, they never land on G. And the whole walk up the lyrics "time won't walk away" is a big resolve to Am. Why in earth would a track hold on chord II?
G is the passing chord here, the complete opposite of the tonic. Just because it appears twice does not make it the tonal centre.
Don't worry about explaining modes btw, I've been a musician for 30 years, professional for 15.
(If you're trolling then you got me well done)
Don't fear the reaper is questioned because of the guitar solo, and the melody is ambiguous.
Brilliant explanation, however I still do have a hard time understanding all movements and certainly to use them myself. Gonna try to rebuild this as a practice,many thanks ❤
That's the best way to learn 👊. recreate enough and you will start to notice patterns in what you like
@@Bthelick Thanks !!
hahaha laughing at that google part
Had me laughing too 😅😅😅😅
awesome 🤟
Loved this video 💪🏼
Wowowwww🎉
Good gain! Well played ;)
Sickkkkkk
Thumbs up 9s in, I know this is gonna be good :D
Avicii was way too accurate, never cease to impress. Keep it up
Funny story, I made that Levels recreate 10 years ago! I was showing the power of ableton to someone so I made that using only its inbuilt synths!
When someone commented I should do levels I suddenly remembered, and had to dig out my box of old hard drives ! I'm actually surprised I got it as close back then myself 🤣
@@Bthelickthat's really impressive, learnt a lot from you, thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Thanks a ton !!! Pleaseeee could you kindly make a tutorial of Martin Garix and Avicii chords and melody ? ❤❤
👊 interesting. Do you hear them as similar? Or do you mean 2 separate videos?
@@Bthelick I feel that Martin’s tracks come closer to the feel of Avicci . So a tutorial of either would do please 😀😀
@@Bthelickplease ignore me 😂 i had absolutely no idea Avicii was covered here, realised it way later. Sorry !! 😂
Hey B... I see how this video answered my question from yesterday in terms of creating suspensions from a different voicing of the second note! Also, thanks for teaching the "90's stagger"!
I've been trying to add extensions at the initial stage of creating a chord progression, but have noticed things get too muddy when long notes are overlapping for so long. My observation is that you've been creating your extensions after you get the main rhythm in place. Is this the optimal approach?
Finally, what should our logic be for creating extensions? I'm adding them to try to have more consistency in terms of the proximity of notes that are in the chords before and after the chord in question. Is that a good starting point (besides just listening for what sounds good)?
Thanks again for another top tutorial!
V
Hey Vince thank you.
There's no rules, but the rhythm first approach is probably because it's dance music!
Regarding chord choice that's an emotional decision. If there's a Melody or lyrics you're supporting, then pay attention to that and what lines up best with those feelings.
For some genres, extensions simply sound too jazzy or complicated, and for others, it's the perfect mood.
I can't really give you any rules on that, just have a play and stay in touch with your feelings, try not to fall into the trap of being clever for clever's sake.
@@Bthelick Got it, thank you! I was thinking extensions can help with voice leading because you have more placements to play with. I think voice leading is critical for me to learn more about because on the surface they look like small changes, but they could have significant impact to the overall progression and melody.
"... just have a play and stay in touch with your feelings, try not to fall into the trap of being clever for clever's sake." - You hit the nail on the head!
Thank you for the response!
V
@@vince8664 no problem. I go into voice leading in the garage chord trick video if you haven't seen that one yet.
Hey mate. Awesome vids can I ask you always play midi notes in A how do you adjust the playback so it’s correct in C sharp? Is this in the vst or somewhere on abelton.
Np👊 just use the pitch (in midi effects) to re-output the midi notes where you need them. (in this case A to C# is +4 )
I’m currently recreating Avicii’s Levels, but I can’t seem to get the Bass quite right (probably because I lack the required skills and ear training atm 😅).
As far as I can tell, it sounds like the Bass has some kind of movement towards the end of certain notes, although I’m not sure what causes the movement or how to go about achieving it. It could also be your Guitar layer that causes the movement I’m hearing, but I can’t really tell.
Would you be able to share how you made your Bass? Yours sounds great👌
The notes are just the same as the chord root notes. So the movement your hearing is probably the 'dive' at the end of the phrase?
If so, you can do that either with pitch bend or a tape stop effect. (Kilohearts make a good free one)
If using pitch bend make sure the range of your synth is set quite big, preferably an octave or more.
If none of this makes sense let me know I'll try make a quick vid.
@@Bthelick Thanks for replying so quickly, I really appreciate the help! 🫡
I have actually got the Kilohearts Tape Stop doing it’s thing (which is a great plug-in), and I’ve sidechained to, but there’s still something missing that’s not giving my version the same movement/bounce.
I’ll try to explain what I mean slightly better, as I was probably a bit too vague; so please forgive my ignorance 😅.
I’ve essentially got to the end of my remake, and when I’m A/B testing against Avicii’s Levels as my reference, I can hear this bassy sound that just isn’t present in my mix. Listening to 8 bars from the original 5:39 version of Levels at 1:23 - 1:28 (where the bass comes in), I can hear this deep, swelling “Wah” sound that seems to accent the bass when it’s playing on the even 16th notes (syncopated?), which I think is responsible for the movement I’m missing. Out of the 16th beats being played in this small section, I believe the “Wah” sound is present on 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 & 16.
It could be that my ears are being fooled into thinking the bass is creating this “Wah” sound, but it could actually be caused by another part with some low-end information. I’m sure your superior surgical ears can isolate & identify the sound’s origin!👂
I hope that makes some kind of sense, as I’m sure my terminology isn’t the best! 😅
It might just be upper bass harmonics. If you have your bass's separated (like I show in my bass processing video) this could just be the upper bass on a sidechain. its definitely a fake side chain too as its too rhymical, everything is on 8ths.
The kick is quite long , don't let that confuse you. Edm mixes back then (even by the great Dave Darlington) were certainly messier back then! Try using a 'buzzy' bass. saw wave filtered should do it. maybe through a distortion.
@@Bthelick Thanks once again for your advice, Ben!
I’ve just watched your Bass Processing video (which was full of useful information) and downloaded the plugins you recommended; so hopefully I’ll go into making this Levels Bass with more of an understanding as to what I’m doing 👍.
Fingers crossed I can get the Bass right so I can finally finish this project! 🤞
Thank you so much, I can finally properly understand my all time favorite piano riff (Ride on time). Can you please also explain the theory behind the chord with the notes A-C-G? Is it like a 7th A minor chord with omitted 5th?
Do you mean the bit where the melody moves upwards?
Yes, the second one in the second bar@@Bthelick
@@NickyJmusic at that point the whole 2 beats is still really an F chord so that one departure I would class as an Fmaj add9.
If that section hadn't already implied F then you would be right with Am7no5
Understand, missing F note got me to assume a different chord. @@Bthelick
wow
how did you make the organ gate sound? its awesome
how I re-made the Ride On Time organ
Hey, please next analyse Gypsy Woman chord progression!
Already did! th-cam.com/video/P7Elax7tBV0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=z8c3IWoRyI8D_O08
thanks for all the quality content!@@Bthelick
🙏🏼🙏🏼
The chords from "Everything But The Girl - Driving (Masters At Work Unreleased Vocal) (02:34)" are haunting me. Can you help a brother out? I'm guessing it's a Juno 106.
The sound or the chord names?
@@Bthelick The chord names. I'm guessing they are extended with a jazzy vibe, since Louie Vega has a Jazz background.
Yeah definitely extensions. It's a 6 5 1 in Bmin. It's diatonic so nothing out of the scale. Sounds like all 7ths, maybe the 1 chord is a 9th can't quite hear it on my phone , they are voiced so that a melody of 3 4 3 (of the scale) stays at the top.
But hard to write in text I'll try make a short for you if I get time but you can start there hope that makes sense 👊
Quick Q ben - how do you go about decoding a minor to whatever other minor - a scale device? Or simple transpose?
Sorry I don't understand what you mean by "decode"?
Do you simply mean "work out"?
And by "other minor" do you mean other minor types like natural minor Vs harmonic minor? Or different minor keys like A minor to C minor?
@@Bthelick sorry man I mean programming in a minor but playing back C sharp minor etc
@@BoopPOPO ah right sure, no need for a scale device unless you need to work out or convert to other scale types (Major, Dorian, Lydian etc) if you just need to change key, not scale (change from A to C# etc) you can simply transpose yes. 👊
@@Bthelickthank you!
Can’t for the life of me find which Vid you have recommended ear training apps. Could you point me in right direction please? ❤
These?
Ear Training:
tonedeaftest.com/
muted.io/relative-pitch/
www.tonegym.co/
Those are the musical ones.
There's soundgym too for engineering
👍🏼❤️
Yuhuuu......
Is suspended another way of saying augmented or diminished, or are they something else again?
Slightly different.
Suspended is when the 3rd of the chord (middle note of the base triad) is moved to (suspended on) either the 4th or 2nd.
Augmented is when a major chord has a raised 5th and diminished is a minor chord with a flattened 5th
@@Bthelick ahh OK, I thought they were the same thing! Excellent channel BTW, gained a sub 👍🏻
@@presidentskroob522 thankyou! Welcome.👊
hey big could you explain how you play notes when selecting with mouse and convenient
It's the little headphone icon at the top left of the midi window just under the "fold" function
theank man
@@Bthelick
Once I've got the basic chord progression done, for example, 1753 in Am. How do I know which chords to invert, which to voice differently when to add a sus2 or 4 etc. The theory makes sense, I'm struggling with application, How do I improve on this as well as creating interesting rhythms?
In the case of these riffs, It's all about that top melody. You don't HAVE to invert or suspend anything, neither Le Voie or Levels use inversions , and likewise neither Ride or Le Voie use suspensions.
The chord types are just sometimes results of what results after making a top melody, they don't necessarily have to be implemented on purpose, just try making a melody on top using notes of the chord first and then try bridge jumps with passing notes.
As for rhythm, I have two videos on piano house rhythm already check those.
Your governing rules are can you sing it /remember it? And can you dance to it?
If it was easy we'd all be writing classics!
Keep at it, you'll nail one eventually 👊
@@Bthelick In one of your older vids you mentioned that you wanted to do a break-down of Ame - Rej. Did you ever do it? Can't find it. If not please consider doing it! I think we'd learnt a lot.
I didn't get round to the video yet. I have actually made a tribute track just for fun last year but haven't done a remake proper. It's on the list don't worry! 👊
🙌@@Bthelick
What's the difference between A minor and C major?
The mood /vibe! Which is down to the starting point. (I.e. wherever sounds like 'home')
@@Bthelick haha I don't really pay much attention to that, just whether I sounds good to my ears in a given key. I've probably done stuff in A minor thinking it's C major.
@@dalek604 well notes wise there is no difference, so it entirely comes down to what sounds good to your ears!
So you are in fact paying attention to mood/vibe which is all that matters
In fact, there are more than just A Minor and C Major. You can also build G Mixolydian, D Dorian, F Lydian, E Phrygian, B Locrian. All on the same notes.
So chords can be melodies then.
Yes. Well I would say they can _contain_ melodies. I usually think of melodies as single lines. When you "harmonize" a melody you get a chord.
You have no love for bootlegging, hey.
What makes you think that? because I only referenced the originals?
@@Bthelick the legal aspect of it.
Oohhhhh my Lolita Holloway comment. Well it is what it is, it's part of the culture, we wouldn't have these genres without it. But I also think it's still possible to also credit and compensate the artists. Black box went about it in a very underhanded way.
And unfortunately at the worse end of the spectrum we get situations like the most sampled man in history Gregory Coleman (Amen break) dying penniless and homeless.
I think mash up culture is essential but respect has to be given both ways.
That's as much a systemic problem as anything else.
@@Bthelick how would you even copyright drums? You could have the right to recording, but that won't always solely belong to the drummer. And if I recreated the amen break from scratch, there would be no legal right to it. As far as I understand it, you can own a melody and a recording, and that's it. And I'm sure there's times people get cheated(like the people led zeppelin cheated), but if a song becomes big and you can prove without a shadow of a doubt that it made use of your intellectual property, you'd be in a pretty good spot right? Like Sting with Lucid Dreams.
@@schizodillo1952 the copyright is 2 fold, the composition (publishing), and the recording. A drum break wouldn't be considered substantial enough to qualify for publishing copyright, although the full solo would. The original recording is copyrighted. (you would own your recording of any recreation yes).
Its a systemic problem as much as anything else.
The band leader held the copyright on the record but they were screwed by the label and never received anything. by the time they noticed (in the 90s when it was getting sampled) it was too late to sue, US law required you to take action within a certain timeframe of the copyright generation.
Nice to have a pro doing pro things;) thanks for sharing your explorations into music 🖤🍭🦾
a lot of videos in youtube "why u dont finish ur tracks" and they r wrong. i bet they r.
the real trouble is finish mastering.
mixdown sounds quiet. ok. ppl take tutorials and fixing it
next - it sounds crappy on TV speakers. O-fckin-K. more tutorials. fixing.
aaaaaand its not the same track that rhey had before.
mmm nah. its just a junk. i try another one.
new project. ummm sounds ok.
mixdown.
qiet.
fix
crappy on TV
fix
sounds like shit.
checking beatport top - ok sound in headphones in car on TV and its loud. damn.
new project.
repeat.
dont u know how to get out from that circle by chance? =)
The problem is usually that "fix" stage. If you're having to make drastic changes at that stage then your sounds selection is the thing causing problems and it would be easier to just start again imo.
And that's 2 is things,
A) you simply don't have the ear training yet
B) you don't reference anywhere near enough.
I release without mastering, have done for many years because I'm experienced enough to get it right at the sound selection stage.
Having said all that , until you get a good ear for it and a good monitoring situation (one accelerates the other) then that trial and error of mixing down and checking on various systems is normal really.
You can still massively speed up by referencing more though
Did you see my vid on "the 3 Rs"?
th-cam.com/video/JdVP6RlTlnw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Em4kKWrtn4Qads-7
And my "how not to master your music"?
th-cam.com/video/s2zQ8r1Tjao/w-d-xo.htmlsi=xGFc_XEPcHk5sBtv
Trust me those will help
@Bthelick
yep. u right
barely referencing
but also having mystical hardware troubles like u shown with LPF filter which makes sound louder and also makes limiter turn mix to crap
so sometimes it feels like "new musicians want to create something which technically impossible to be created"
and may be experienced ones know theese borders and their imagination preconfigured to "stereo system made of 2 paper speakers" abilities.
so they create easier faster and better.
don't think it's great btw.
not sure yet.
lots good ideas of composition might be lost cuz of "loudness war".
like "yeah, it's great, but it's impossible to mixdown and to make smooth enough for radio stations and music shops cuz of todays sounddesign trends.
also concert sound systems will have much more load on quieter level, so no, boy, stop it , go and create inside theese borders. =)
You don't have to adhere to any trends if you don't want to. That's just a branding problem to solve, which in truth is no different from any other genre / trend /art.
Could could totally make music for audiophiles that is proudly anti loudness war it's just a case of how you find the audience and get your story /identity out there.
Like I didn't know if anyone would be interested in the music theory side of edm when I started my channel, it's certainly not a trend and there were no presidents and no data, i just had to try something I'm passionate about and find a way to tell the story, and at anything non mainstream / low budget it can take years.
It's the story / brand that's the most important bit , and the hardest to do .
The music is almost easy by comparison!
@Bthelick u doing helpful content ngl. with a nice jokes n stuff. u good, man, u rly good. just one word in ur video like opened for me whole world i lived in all that time. word Phrygian .
not sure what u mean about expectations of "non EDM content" - u do "music creation theory videos". i used to watch a very diferent sides of theory like orchestra multitracking or guitar mid-side recordings. all helps for someone work with sound i guess whatever sourse genre it is.
in case of doing recordings for little bunch of audiophiles - sadly its not for me, i bet my life on working with that, and am not being a guy that already have everything and composing just for fun or some kind of selfexpression. i need result. and result is like beatport top or smthn. top sales. u know i mean =)
i know u might say "do don dont.. dont do it maaahhhhn", but i have to. cuz ama Dj. ;)
thank you for what u doing.
best regards.