Complete Electronic Music Production for EDM Music Producers

By the end of this lecture, you will be aware of the 2 distinct subdivisions in EDM. You will also know what 4/4 time is and why it's important to create EDM in this time signature.

We go through the Intro, Breakdown, Buildup, and Drop seconds of an EDM track.

We go into a bit more detail including different structure combinations, binary phrasing, antiphony, and energy.

We must set up a project for our track. This includes setting the BPM, adding track markers, and send tracks.

We'll take a look at reference tracks, and also how to adjust our DAW's settings so it runs smoother.

We'll have a look at swing time and how it's like a secret weapon for EDM producers. Creating any form of House music without swing will sound extremely robotic and plain. It's a very useful tool!

We have a look at the main elements that a drum pattern is comprised of. These are the elements that you'll need to use in order to form a full and fat drum pattern.

This lecture explains how to find suitable drum samples to build your pattern with. Looking for layers and sounds that relate to each other is very important for a good drum pattern.

Now we're aware of the sounds we should be looking for, we can go ahead and build a drum pattern.

Let's take a look at what panning is and what it can do for our drum pattern. We'll be using panning throughout the course, and we'll be taking a look at it again in the mixing section.

We can do more than panning to add interest to a drum pattern. Here, we'll use automation to create an interesting variation in volume. Again, we'll be using automation throughout the course.

We're not done yet!

This is a very subtle difference, but if you don't do it, your tracks can sound messy and unbalanced. We have to make sure each drum sample is tuned to the key of our track.

If you make Trap or Hip Hop music, PLEASE tune your 808 kick drum to the chords. i.e: if your chord pattern uses the notes C, G, F, C, then your 808 kick drum must be tuned to these chords when they play. Because 808's have a long and audible pitch, they're essentially like a bass instrument, and you wouldn't leave your bass out of tune, so why leave your drums out of tune!

We can also manipulate our drum samples for more interesting sounds. Things like reversing and time stretching will be covered here.

Here, we will look at how to construct a chord pattern on the piano roll. I also demonstrate an easy technique to build quick and effective chord patterns.

This lecture explores how to choose sounds for your chords. Again, we're looking for layers and sounds that fit together.

Let's have a look at each component that makes up a synthesiser. We won't be going into huge detail here as it's not a sound design course. I'm showing you the tools you can use to create sounds without understanding what the synthesiser is doing under the hood. It's a bit like driving a car without knowing how the engine works - It's still possible to get from A to B!

Here, we'll examine how to tweak your synthesiser presets. If you find a sound you like, but there's something you wish to change, we can use the tools we discovered in the previous lecture to tweak the final sound.

Let's go one step further and create our own sounds from scratch.

Examine the elements that an EDM bass is built upon.

Take a look at building a bass pattern using different styles and techniques. Also, we'll take a look at ornamentation.

Now we'll focus on choosing bass sounds and how you should go about doing so. Like everything else, we must make sure the sound fits the vibe of the track.

Here, we make some bass sounds of our own.

We'll examine how lead patterns are built and what main principles govern their uses in EDM.

We'll construct our own lead pattern now in different styles.

We must now choose suitable lead sounds that are distinct, but still fit the sound of the track.

Probably the most paradoxical part of EDM... Choosing a lead that stands out, but also doesn't. Hopefully, you'll get what I mean!

Let's create our own lead sound from scratch!

In this head to head battle, we compare pads against strings and how each are usually used in EDM.

Here, we'll choose our own pad instruments, and I'll also make you aware of a persistent headache that pad presets bring with them. However, never fear, I'll also show you how to correct that headache!

No 'Building {X}' section would be complete without a lecture about how to make the sounds in question. Now let's take a look at creating our own pad sounds from scratch.

Here we'll take a look at some string sounds that you can use for your tracks.

We'll just have a quick listen to some synthesised strings and see what they could sound like in an EDM track.

We'll discuss the differences between internal and external loops, so that we can differentiate them in the future.

Now we'll examine how to use external loops correctly in EDM. You shouldn't build your track entirely out of external loops, because then there's nothing original in the track!

Variation is important to break the monotony in the track. Let's look at how to add variation.

Quick examination of what EDM effects comprise of.

Now let's look at how we should be selecting our effects for use in a track.

We can also make our own effect sounds if we wish. Here we'll look at some very basic ways to do that.