Fundamental. Dance Music Production Training Fundamental 1,2,3 & 4

Fundamental 1: Drums and Drum Loops

Fundamental 1 is a tutorial dedicated to the fundamental production techniques that all producers should be fully versed in.
Drums are perhaps the most important element of all electronic dance music and therefore knowing how to professionally compose and engineer them is a vital technique for any producer. But there’s much more to programming drums than just stamping a few notes in.
This video tutorial discuss all of the techniques employed, from basic drum synthesis through to the importance of modulation, asymmetry, dissonance. syncopation, and metrical displacement.


Professional Loops
Over 3 hours of video tutorials focus on the crucial aspects behind the production, programming, building and engineering professional sounding drum rhythms. The DVD begins with step-by-step tutorials on synthesizing a number of different drums timbres, alongside editing, tuning and layering to produce the perfect timbres. If you thought it was as simple as choosing a few samples – think again.
The tutorials then move onto the different techniques involved in programming professional dance rhythms using a number of genres (House and Trance, Chill Out, Progressive House, Tech House and Techno) as examples, revealing the various techniques involved in keeping them sounding fresh. Techniques such as how and where to use dissonance and projection, alongside the use of effects and processors show how to create that professional sound that your entire track depends upon. And all in the same, complete, in-depth style you’ve come to expect from the Dance Music Productions professional series.
Tutorial Contents:
Introduction
An introduction to the DVD
Session 01: Programming Kicks: 50 minutes.
How to program professional dance kick timbres using drum synthesizers, alongside the techniques for tuning and layering kicks so they pull through the mix and don’t create the dreaded ‘ LF dissonance’.
Session 02: Programming Timbres: 20 minutes.
An introduction and walkthrough on how to program a variety of different drum timbres on a drum synthesizer.
Session 03: Modulation: 45 Minutes
How the professional dance producers maintain interest in repetitive drum rhythms and patterns, a technique that has become a vital production technique for any dance music genre.
Session 04: Ambiguos Displacement: 30 minutes
The ideas behind one of the most important principles in dance music and its rhythms. This session discusses how ambiguos displacement separates dance music from all other genres.
Session 05: Metrical Dissonance: 30 minutes
The uses of dissonance on the metrical layout of a rhythm, this session shows how all dance genres use this technique to throw your senses and keep you interested in the music.
Session 06: More Examples: 30 Minutes
This session culminates all the examples from the previous sessions into one drum loop, showing how it can be used to create the loops typical of all dance genres, and in particular their uses to create the complex rhythms found within Techno, Minimal and Tech House.
Session 07: Processing: 10 Minutes
How dance musicians use different types of processing on the drum loops to make them pound out rhythms, this includes the use of parallel compression.
Tutorial Runtime: 3hr 40minutes



Fundamental 2: Bass

Fundamental 2 continues our series of tutorials dedicated to the fundamental production techniques that all producers should be fully versed in.
Hot on the heels of the best selling Fundamental, Fundamental 2 continues to discuss groove – this time concentrating on bass. Over 3 hours of video tutorials focus on the theory and practice behind the programming, production and engineering of professional bass lines and rhythms for dance records.


Bass Lines & Groove
The DVD begins with an introductory course on some music theory, introducing the viewer to the theory behind scales and modes – a requirement for producing bass lines that work.
The sessions then move on to cover the principles behind composition, programming, editing, tuning and processing of bass in order to add the all important groove to dance records. This includes techniques used such as compression, trip sampling, frequency splitting, side-chaining, modulation, tuning, keying and synthesizing techniques for different bass timbres
Tutorial Contents:
Introduction
An introduction to the DVD
Session 01: Introduction to Scales: 12 minutes.
Using examples, this session shows how the many different musical scales are created and formed
Session 02: Music Modes: 10 minutes.
For this session, we examine how the different modal forms in music are created, from Major to Minor, Dorian to Mixolydian.
Session 03: Groove 1 Timing and Values: 17 Minutes.
Here, using examples, we examine how timing and note values play an important role in the creation of a typical dance music groove.
Session 04: Groove 2 Pitch: 20 minutes
In this session we examine the uses of pitch, the principle of strong and weak notes within a scale and how we can use these to change the feel of the bass line.
Session 05: Modes and Accidents: 20 Minutes
We examine how the use of different modes can affect the feel of the music, and how introducing an accidental can add to the excitement of a dance groove.
Session 06: Extraction: 15 Minutes
This session concentrates on how a bass groove can be extracted from a chord, or series of chords and progressions.
Session 07:Programming and Processing: 30 Minutes
A look at some of the synthesis techniques you can use to program bass timbres, alongside how the use of processors and effects can be used to further augment the dance groove.
Session 08: Bass Timbre Tips and Tricks: 50 Minutes
Various tips and tricks on producing bass timbres for dance music
Session 09: Further Processing: 20 Minutes
A final session giving more tips, tricks and advice on processing bass timbres in dance music.
Tutorial Runtime: 3hr 40minutes



Fundamental 3: Harmony

Fundamental 3 continues our series of tutorials dedicated to the fundamental production techniques that all producers should be fully versed in.
Fundamental 3 continues to discuss the theory and practice that form an integral part of any dance musicians production skills – this time the DVD concentrates on harmony – specifically the composition and construction of chords, structures, progressions, pads and strings.


Chords & Harmony
Over 3 hours of video tutorials focus on the theory and practice behind the composition, programming, production and engineering of harmony and pads/strings for dance records.
We begin with an in-depth discussion on the music theory for chords, introducing the viewer to the theory behind how both chords and structures are composed. The sessions then move on to cover the principles behind chord composition, structure, chord progressions, programming, synthesis, editing and processing of pads and strings in order to add harmony to dance records.
Tutorial Contents:
Introduction
An introduction to the DVD
Session 01: Building Chords: 11 Minutes
For this session, we examine the basic theory behind how different chords are constructed
Session 02: Major and Minor Chords: 20 minutes.
Here, we examine the differences between Major and Minor chords and how they are built from the root note
Session 03: Extended Chords: 11 Minutes.
Here, using more examples, we discuss how extended chords such as seventh and ninths are created from the standard triads.
Session 04: Basic Progressions: 22 minutes
In this session we examine the theory of joining different chords together, and how their harmonic and scale relationships produce chord progressions that harmonise.
Session 05: Advanced Progressions: 25 Minutes
Moving on from the previous session, we now examine how we can use the theory discussed so far to create more complex and advanced sounding progressions that hold a listeners interest.
Session 06: Minor Progressions: 30 Minutes
Having examined the creation of chords and progressions in a major key, we now move on to look at how a progression is formed in a minor key – a key more suitable for most forms of dance music.
Session 07:Creative Progressions: 26 Minutes
For this session, we tie all the theory covered so far together to look at how we can become more creative with chord progressions and harmony.
Session 08: Harmonic Rhythm: 15 Minutes
Chord progressions that do not utilise any harmonic rhythm won’t hold a record together so for this session, we examine what harmonic rhythm is and how we can employ it in progressions.
Session 09: Strings and Synthesis: 30 Minutes
A look at the basic theory of how we can synthesize string type timbres on a synthesizer
Session 10: Pads and Synthesis: 30 Minutes
A final session discussing the basic theory behind how we can synthesize pad timbres on a synthesizer
Note: for this tutorial, you should already have a basic understanding of musical scales, as discussed in Fundamental 2: Bass.
Tutorial Runtime: 3hr 48minutes




Fundamental 4: Melody

Fundamental 2 continues our series of tutorials dedicated to the fundamental production techniques that all producers should be fully versed in.
This time the course concentrates on composing and engineering melodies for dance records…


Composing Melodies
To many artists, melody is perhaps one of the most difficult parts to arrange and this DVD aims to demystify the process.
Beginning with an in-depth discussion on the music theory behind melodies, the course examines how they are conceived and composed, including a detailed look at the circle of fifths alongside techniques such as balance, counterbalance, contour, energy, drive, dynamics and motifs. The sessions then move on to examine some of the techniques you can use to create your own melodies alongside a look at synthesis and processing for leads in dance records
Tutorial Contents:
Introduction
An introduction to the DVD
Session 01: Circle of Fifths 1: 15 minutes
We give a basic introduction to the musicians “Circle of Fifths”.
Session 02: Identifying Notes: 10 minutes.
For this session we delve further into the Circle of Fifths and look at how it can be used to identify the key of music
Session 03: The Melodic Scale: 20 Minutes.
Here, we examine the reasons behind the melodic scale and how we can create it in any key or mode.
Session 04: Circle of Fifths 2: 20 minutes
In this session we return to the Circle of Fifths, and look at why its so important and its numerous musical uses, including for the creation of both chord progressions and melodies
Session 05: Melodic Energy: 25 Minutes
Melodic energy is the key to great melodies so we examine how to create energy with selection, positioning and pitching of notes
Session 06: Melodic Balance: 25 Minutes
This session concentrates on the importance of musical balance when writing and composing melodic lines
Session 07: Rhythm and Motif: 20 Minutes
In this session, we look at the theory and composition of Motif’s and how they form the beginning of any great melody.
Session 08: Practical Melodies: 60 Minutes
With the theory covered, we now put it into practice and show how it can all be combined to produce catchy and memorable melodies for dance records
Session 09: Dynamics: 15 Minutes
A look at the use and importance of dynamics within the construction of a melody.
Session 10: Counterpoint: 15 Minutes
This session introduces you to the theory and principles behind counterpoint in music
Session 11: Synthesis and Processing: 20 Minutes
In this final session, we take a look at some of the synthesis programming techniques for lead melodies and how both processing and effects are used in their creation.
Tutorial Runtime: 4hr 5minutes







Enjoy...