The 28 Steps to Electronic Dance Music Production

A detailed guide on the process of making electronic dance music, from start to finish.

Introduction

In this guide, we’ll go over the 28 steps of electronic dance music production. While there are many ways to produce EDM, this process provides a solid foundation that will help you create professional-sounding tracks.

1. Choose your DAW
2. Find some samples
3. Import your samples into your DAW
4. Make a drum beat
5. Create a bassline
6. Add chords
7. Create a lead melody
8. Add vocal samples
9. Arrange your track
10. Mix your track
11. Master your track

The Creative Process

There are a lot of steps that go into electronic dance music production, but it can be broken down into four main stages: composition, arrangement, mixing, and mastering. In this article, we’ll go over each of these stages in detail so that you can get a better understanding of the creative process.

Defining Your Sound

To kick start the creative process, it is important that you first define your sound. This means having a good understanding of the genre you want to produce, as well as what kind of mood or feeling you want your track to evoke. Once you have a good idea of your direction, it will be much easier to choose the right samples, presets and instruments to use. If you’re not sure where to start, try checking out some tracks in your chosen genre and see what elements stand out to you.

The Importance of Melodies

A melody is a succession of notes that are perceived as a “line”. In simpler terms, it is the part of the song that you would sing along to. In electronic dance music, the melody is often the most important element and can make or break a track.

A good melody should be:
– memorable
– catchy
– easy to sing along to
– emotional

While it is important to have a strong melody, it is also important to have variations in your melodic line. A good way to achieve this is by using different instruments for different sections of the melody. For example, you could use a synth pad for the verse and a lead synth for the chorus.

Another way to create variation is by changing the melodic line itself. This could be as simple as changing the note order or adding/removing notes. You could also change the rhythm of the melody or the way it is played (e.g. staccato vs legato).

In summary, melodies are extremely important in electronic dance music and should be given careful thought and attention. Be sure to create variations in your melodies to keep things interesting!

The Power of the Drop

When it comes to Electronic Dance Music, the “drop” is the most important part of the song. This is the section where all the build up and tension from the previous stages comes to a head and is released in one big cathartic moment. The drop is what makes people want to jump up and down and scream at the top of their lungs – it’s the ultimate payoff for all that hard work you’ve put in up until this point.

There are a few things you need to keep in mind when creating your drop. First, it needs to be catchy. This is your chance to really show off your melodies and hooks, so make sure they’re memorable. Second, it needs to be powerful. The drop is where all the energy of your song comes together, so don’t hold back – go for broke! Lastly, it needs to be well-crafted. This is not the time to half-ass anything – everything from your sound design to your transitions needs to be on point.

If you can nail these three things, then you’re well on your way to creating a drop that will have people losing their minds on dance floors all over the world.

Building Your Track

The creative process of building your track can be The fun and rewarding part of the journey, or it can be The frustrating and tedious part. It all depends on how you approach it.

If you go into the studio with a fixed idea of what the track is going to sound like, then you’re likely to find The process quite frustrating, because no matter how hard you try, The track just won’t sound right.

On The other hand, if you approach The process with an open mind, and allow yourself to be creative, then you’re likely to find The process much more enjoyable, and The end result will be a track that sounds much better.

So, how do you go about being creative when building your track? Here are 28 tips that will help you:

1. Start with a blank canvas. Don’t try to force the track to sound like something it’s not. You’ll only end up frustrated.

2. Find your inspiration. Whether it’s a piece of artwork, a photograph, or a song, find something that inspires you and use it as a starting point for your track.

3. Write down your ideas. As soon as you have an idea for the track, write it down. This will help you to remember it later on and also to keep track of your ideas so that you don’t forget any of them.

4. Listen to other tracks. A great way to get ideas for your own track is to listen to other tracks in the same genre as the one you’re working on. This will help to give you an idea of what’s already been done and what’s possible within the genre.

5. Be patient. It takes time to create something great. Don’t expect to finish the track in one day – it’s unlikely that it will turn out as good as it could if you take your time with it. Allow yourself time to experiment and explore different ideas before settling on anything too quickly.. ## Be prepared to scrap ideas that aren’t working . Not every idea is going work , no matter how good it seem s at first . If something isn ‘t working , don ‘t be afraid throw out and start again . 6 . Keep an open mind . As we mentioned before , going into the studio with a fixed idea of what the track is going sound like can be quite detrimental effect on creativity . Keep an open mind , and allow yourself be surprised by what happens during The creative process . 7 . Work with someone else . Two heads are often better than one when it comes creativity . If possible , work with another person on your track ; they may have some great ideas that never would have occurred otherwise . 8 . Use a Creative Commons license . If you want others use your music in their own projects , consider releasing it under Creative Commons license . This will make much easier for them , and also help promote your music more widely 9 experimental 20% rule : 80 percent of what doing should feel familiar ; 20 percent should feel new unfamiliar territory 10 five second rule : whenever have new idea ; count five seconds from time come ; if still thinknew idea worth pursuing after five seconds ; go for broke minutes 11 advocate 12 learning : keep learning new things about music production try new techniques 13 hybridization musical concepts across genres combine genres together create something entirely new 14 feature : focus attention single element make sure everything else supports complements strengthens 15 set structure design scaffolding provide support 16 contrast introducetoclimax dynamics reverse order foreshadowing 17 layering melodies rhythms textures vocals percussion instruments 18 save major key energy cheerfulness affirmation triumph courage optimism19 minor key sadness drama mystery suspense tragedy darkness 20 ambiguity unclear unclear uncertain confusing 21 portamento glissando slide between notes change rate pitch movement continuous legato discrete staccato interval melisma 22 subdivisions note values generally four quarters semiquavers triplets quintuplets sixteenth notes smaller submissive notes subdivisions called tuplets 23 sustain duration note held extended 24 dynamics volume loudness crescendo ff decrescendo fp diminuendo ppp fortissimo louder pianissimo softest gradations 25 reverb reflection echotime 26 decay sustain release envelope27filter types low-pass high-pass band-pass 28 oscillator shapes sine square sawtooth triangle noise

Arrangement

Your arrangement is how you lay out your song. It’s the overall structure, and it determines the form your song will take. Will it be a verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/verse/chorus, or will it be a more free-flowing structure? How long will each section be? What happens in each section?

Your arrangement will be influenced by the vibe you’re going for, the length of the song, the number of instruments you’re using, and more. But regardless of all of those factors, there are some basic principles that apply to all good arrangements.

Mixing and Mastering

Now that you have a basic understanding of the individual tracks that make up a song, it’s time to start mixing them together. This step is important because it determines how all of the tracks will sound when they are played at the same time.

The goal of mixing is to create a balanced and pleasing sound. You want each track to be audible, but you also don’t want any one track to overpower the others. This can be a difficult balance to achieve, but there are some basic guidelines you can follow.

Once you have mixed all of the tracks together, it’s time to master them. Mastering is the process of taking all of the mixed tracks and preparing them for release. This usually involves applying some final EQ and compression to even out the sound and make it as loud as possible without causing distortion.

Mastering can be a complex process, but there are some simple things you can do to improve your masters. First, make sure you are using high-quality audio files. Second, use reference tracks to compare your mixes against professional releases. Third, get your masters professionally mastered if possible. This will ensure that your songs sound their best when they are released.

The Business Side of Things

Before you can get your music out there, you need to understand the business side of things. This includes everything from setting up your DAW to distributing your music. In this article, we’ll show you the 28 steps you need to take to get your music career off the ground.

Music Licensing

There are two types of licenses you need to be aware of when creating and selling your music: the master use license and the sync license.

The master use license is required any time you want to use someone else’s recording in your own work. This could be a sample of an old record, or an a cappella vocal that you want to build a track around.

The sync license is required any time you want to use someone else’s composition in your own work. This could be an instrumental track that you want to rap over, or a piece of classical music that you want to use in a film score.

Music Royalties

In the music industry, a royalty is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the use of said asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as percentages of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or assets, but there are also flat-rate royalties.

A big part of a producer’s job is distributing and registering their tracks with the relevant Performing Rights Organizations (PROs). PROs collect money on behalf of their members (usually songwriters, composers, and music publishers) when their music is used publicly. In the US, these organizations are ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. In Europe, they are GEMA (Germany), STIM (Sweden), SACEM (France), SIAE (Italy), and2000004100410041004100 PRS for Music (UK). When you join a PRO as a member, you’re agreeing to let them collect royalties on your behalf whenever your music is used in public.

There are two main ways that Producers make money: through performance royalties and mechanical royalties. Performance royalties are collected whenever music is performed publicly, whether it’s on the radio, TV, in a restaurant or bar, or even if it’s just played as background music in a store. In order for PROs to collect these performance royalties on behalf of their members, they need to track when and where music is being played publicly. To do this they rely on something called cue sheets.

A cue sheet is simply a document that lists all of the songs used in a project (TV show, film, etc.), along with all of the important details about each song like the writer(s), publisher(s), and performers. Whenever music is used in Film/TV/Commercials etc., the Production Company must submit a cue sheet to the relevant PRO so that they can pay out performance royalties accordingly.

As you can imagine, it can be pretty hard for PROs to keep track of all the different ways that music is being used out there in the world. That’s why many Producers choose to register their tracks with agencies like Musicbed and Getty Images. These agencies act asmiddlemen between Producers and those who need MUSIC Licenses for Film & TV sync placements

Music Distribution

Distributing your music is easily one of the most important, and commonly misunderstood, aspects of the modern music industry. With physical copies of music rapidly becoming a thing of the past, you need to be able to get your tunes into the hands (or rather, ears) of as many potential fans as possible. This is where distribution comes in.

In its most basic form, distribution is nothing more than making your music available for purchase or streaming on as many platforms as possible. This can be anything from Spotify and iTunes to Bandcamp and Soundcloud. The more platforms you’re on, the more likely people are to come across your music. But it’s not just about being on as many platforms as possible, it’s also about making sure your music is easy to find once people are there.

This is where things can get a bit tricky. Each platform has its own algorithms and rules for how they rank and promote artists, and it can be difficult to keep up with all of them. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to make sure your music is getting heard by as many people as possible.

1. Make sure your metadata is accurate and up-to-date.

Your metadata is the information that appears alongside your tracks when they’re being played on streaming platforms or purchased online. This includes things like your artist name, song title, album name, release date, etc. It’s important to make sure all of this information is correct and up-to-date, as incorrect or missing metadata can make it difficult for people to find your music.

2. Use keywords wisely.

Keywords are the words and phrases that people use when they’re searching for music online. When choosing keywords for your tracks, think about what terms people would use if they were trying to find music like yours. Including relevant keywords in your track titles and descriptions will help ensure that your tracks come up when people are searching for them.

3. Stay active on social media.

Social media is a great way to connect with potential fans and promote your music. Make sure you’re active on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and that you’re regularly sharing links to your latest releases. You should also consider creating a mailing list so you can directly reach out to fans whenever you have new music coming out.

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Conclusion

step 28: Get Feedback
Now that your track is finished, it’s time to get some feedback. Show it to your friends, other producers, DJs, and anyone else whose opinion you trust. See what they think about the structure, the sound, and the overall feel of the track. Getting feedback early on will help you avoid making rookie mistakes that can be hard to fix later on.

And that’s it! You’ve now completed all 28 steps to creating a killer dance track. Just remember to have fun with it and to always be experimenting. There are no rules in music, so go out there and make some noise!