Dance Music

[nebe]

I have attempted to make some dance tracks lately. But I seem to be stuck in chord progressions. But when listening to certain dance music I have discovered that some dont really have any chord progressions at all.

They seem to progress through the song with alot of changing rhytms, drumbeats and samples.

Is there any tricks involved with this? How would I go about and plan this? I'm listening to alot of these tracks lately to kind of burn the style into my mind. But I'm sure there are a few of you who could probably give me good advice or pointers on this subject and it would be greatly appreciated if you could share some of this information with me.

[Lance]

What type of dance music? Polka or walzer...?

[Bonteburg]

I'd say typically dance music is more about texture change than structure change, ie you don't get verse/chorus/etc so much , but it's more like the coolest part of the song repeated over and over with instruments being added or taken away to keep it from getting boring.

Seeing this basic difference between the "normal" and "dance" genres goes a long way IMO.

Also most of it is extremely formulaic, kinda like the same joke told in every tune but with different protagonists in different settings (obviously you could say that of other genres, but it's not as striking).


Marco

[Atomikk Squirrel]

What style of dance are you trying to produce? It not allways easy to see or hear whats going on and not all styles of dance music use the chorus verse structure. Ambient/chillout follows a more pop structure as in chorus verse but it's more of a guideline not arealy a set of rules. Drum n bass has it's own structural feel and progression as does house and trance. It a mathmatical progression of textures and soundscapes that flow together to create groove. No groove no dance

[funkychickendance]

I'd say typically dance music is more about texture change than structure change, ie you don't get verse/chorus/etc so much , but it's more like the coolest part of the song repeated over and over with instruments being added or taken away to keep it from getting boring.

Seeing this basic difference between the "normal" and "dance" genres goes a long way IMO.

Also most of it is extremely formulaic, kinda like the same joke told in every tune but with different protagonists in different settings (obviously you could say that of other genres, but it's not as striking).


Marco

Y'know, that's the most perceptive analysis of 'what is dance music?' I've ever heard. And in the best dance music, the joke becomes an in-joke with sly nuances from other music, or from other dance music.

/fnx

[NAD]

Fact of the matter is, you can get away going through a whole track with A minor, but if you throw in some Dm7 and perhaps even an E7b13 or Bm7b5 it's just gonna take it to a whole other level.

[sevenoctaves]

Is there any tricks involved with this? How would I go about and plan this?

If your talking about general dance music like house, trance etc:

As others have pointed out, repetition is the norm and a good way to get started. Select a 2 bar chord progression or riff that you are fond of and lay it down as a repeating midi pattern. (that piano break in Madonna's "Vogue" is a good example of one, you'll hear it also in the chorus and in the 2nd half of the verses - my guess is that whoever composed or arranged it started with the riff) You might want to start with something a little harmonically simpler, though, maybe not depending on your own experience and skills.

Let it play while you listen and decide what kind of beat compliments it, bass line etc You might find the whole thing just starts taking shape quickly & organically -

hope that helps - K

[sevenoctaves]

now that I re-read your post i see you were asking more about making a blueprint for the track to keep it interesting and what are some tricks along that line.

Sometimes it's not a bad idea to have a good chunk of a tune already done so you have ideas and sounds already there to work with.

You might want to start with some old school ideas, like the generic intro: where elements get added one at a time. (i.e: melody or pad, then bass line, then an aux percussion track, then kick/full drums etc)


Another thought is to choose a sound, pad or melody line already there in your piece and switch the focus to it rather than where focus was before. Copy and repeat all your tracks but mute out the previous focal point and anything else detracting from your new emphasized part.

Now you can add different sounds, pads or countermelodies or even a modified/different beat; a breakdown or filter to the whole section or half of it.

One more thing you might try doing is taking a song you've already recorded, save it with a new title and try to turn it into a dance song. Just be emotionally prepared to use the knife on it.

These are just some ideas - I'm sure others have better ones...