BassGorilla Composition Masterclass E-Book

BassGorilla Composition Masterclass For Electronic Music Producers
This e-book is designed to provide a summary of the content included in the

videos.
The main purpose of this e-book is to provide you with exercises to reinforce
the concepts shown in this course.
The also e-book also acts as a reference guide for you to look up various
concepts covered in the course.
Contents
1. Knowing Your Genre

2. Workflow & Productivity
3. Creative Mindset
4. Composing Drums
5. Composing Percussion
6. Music Theory Basics
7. Music Theory Mid Level
8. Music Theory More Advanced
9. Composing Basslines
10. Composing Lead Melodies
11. Harmonies
12. Arpeggiation
13. Working With Vocalists, Acapellas & Vocal Samples
14. Composing For Strings
15. Layering & Sequencing
Composition Masterclass
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Section 1: Knowing Your Genre
Please see the video on the BassGorilla courses website.
Points made in this video:
• Many producers, musicians and composers dislike the term ‘genre’

• The reason is that it categorizes music and can restrict the creativity of
a music writer
• Understanding the core characteristics of a genre can help you to
make music that pushes that genre forward
• You have to first understand what these characteristics are, then find a
way to add something new to the genre
Exercises
1. Write down your main genre(s) OR subgenres that you produce.

2. Make a list of at least five features of that genre/subgenre that define it
and make it different to other similar genres (for example, tempo,
certain types of sounds used, etc.)
3. Now, make a list of artists who have done something different within
that genre – what gives their music a unique style? Examples include
their unique choice of drum and percussion sounds, their unique use of
samples, and so on.
4. For each of these genres that you have listed, make a third list of ideas
that you could experiment with to take that genre in a new direction. Try
to think completely out of the box. The stranger your ideas are, the
better. This is a brainstorming exercise. Don’t be afraid to write down
things that sound totally nuts here!
5. Analyze your ideas, and decide if any of them are plausible ideas that
you’ll want to experiment with.
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Section 2: Workflow & Productivity
2.1 Beating roadblocks to completing tracks
Please refer to the video 2.1 in section 2 on the courses website.
The points made here include:
• Push yourself to finish a song

• Believe in your own abilities
• Envision yourself finishing a track
• Analyze the structure of other peoples’ music
• Analyze the steps involved in completing a track – drum fills, layers,
transitions, etc.
• Take steps to reduce stress in your life (exercise, meditation, changing
your reactions to stressful situations, etc.)
• Make time for making music regularly. Make it a priority in your life.
• Split tasks up – sound design, building sound libraries of your own
sounds, composing, mixing and mastering.
Exercise:
1. Write down 3 points on what is stopping you from completing your

tracks.
2. Write down WHEN these problems arise.
3. Write down WHAT you can do to eliminate these problems.
2.2 Workflows for composing
Common problems relating to workflow:
You make a drop or a loop, and then you find it hard to come up with other
suitable sections such as your intro, your B section of your drop, etc.
Solution:
Here is a suggested workflow that should help you to form the various parts of
your track.
Step 1
If possible, try to decide on the feeling you want to express with your next
track. A large factor that will determine the feeling of your song with be the
rhythm of it.
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The rhythm will be heard not only in the drums and percussion, but it will also
be present in the melodies and basslines, and potentially even in the
harmonies (chord progressions).
Therefore, I think the drums and percussion are a good place to start with, so
that you set the parameters of the groove.
Step 2
Once you have laid down a rhythm section that expresses the vibe you want
to go for, the 2nd step you may want to move onto is the chord progression.
Why is this recommended?
The melodies that will be heard in the lead melodies and the basslines will be
implied by the harmonies that can be heard in the chord progression.
If you are writing electronic music, your chord progressions may be written
using pads, a super saw synth or other similar polyphonic synth, or real
instrument sounds, such as piano, rhodes, etc.
Step 3
Write a lead melody that works well with your chosen chord progression.
Step 4
Write a bassline that harmonizes well with your lead melody and / or your
chord progression.
You can swap steps 4 and 5 with each other, and write your bassline before
your lead melody. In many forms of dance music these days, the bassline IS
the lead melody (think about many examples of bass music).
Step 5
Mute a layer – a lead melody, or a bassline,or both, and write a new,

alternative bassline. These can be used in different sections of your track.
You may want to mute everything and start over, coming up with another
similar chord progression to the first one you wrote, and then write a new
bassline and lead melody that harmonizes well with those chords.
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We will look at how to craft effective lead melodies, basslines, harmonies and
chord progressions in later stages of this course.
In the Layering & Sequencing section, you will see a short video with Haywyre
that explains how you can easily come up with a different chord progression
that will work well with your first chord progression.
2.3 Useful default presets for plug-ins and audio effect racks
Default presets for plug-ins in your DAW
Some digital audio workstations (DAWs) allow you to save their native plug-
ins with predefined default settings that you decide.
This can save you a lot of time if you are always having to tweak settings to
the way you often have them. For example, in a parametric EQ, you will more
often than not be rolling off the low end on each channel in your DAW.
Therefore it will save you time to set up a low cut pole in your EQ plug-in.
In Ableton, you can do this by right clicking on the plug-in’s device title bar
and selecting ‘save as default preset’. This plug-in will now load with the
settings that you had when you saved it.
Groups of plug-ins
I can’t speak for every DAW out there, but some DAWs will let you save as
group of plug-ins in a certain way, which will save you a lot of time.
In Ableton, you can group devices together in an instrument rack, audio effect
rack or midi effect rack, then save them to use in future projects.
Example audio effect racks that you may want to use include
Channel strip (EQ, compression, reverb)
Frequency Splitter
High Frequencies Distortion
These three audio effect racks have been made available for Ableton Live
users in the download pack.
If you use a different DAW, check if it lets you save groups of plug-ins
together.
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2.4 Working with a default template
A great time saver is the pre-saved default template. Many DAWs have this
feature.
While it is great for your productivity, it can be limiting. For example, if you
have a certain synth pre-loaded for your bass track, you may find that you
don’t try out other synths to make your basses.
Therefore you will find that your default template will evolve gradually over
time.
Check if your DAW allows you to create one, and if so, build it.
You may want to include:
• A channel for each of your main tracks

• A series of commonly used plug-ins pre-loaded on each of these
channels (EQ, compression, reverb, etc.)
• Buss channels for different effects (in Ableton, a ‘group track’ or a
‘return track’ is similar in function to a buss channel in other DAWs)
If you are an Ableton Live user, you should find a default template Live set in
your download pack. Please feel free to tweak this and change it to suit your
personal preferred workflow.
2.5 Productivity – Tasks & Distractions
Making music can be split into 3 main tasks:
• Sound design
• Composing
• Mixing
You may approach a new track by handling each of these three different tasks
as and when they arise. While this may feel more natural and intuitive, it may
be hindering your productivity.
You may get more done more quickly, AND to a very high quality, if you divide
these tasks up.
Imagine if you spend 2 days (or two entire sessions in your studio) purely
designing sounds for your next track. It definitely helps to decide what kind of
vibe or mood your next track will be.
Once you have a wide variety of sounds for your next track – both synth
patches and samples, you will now be able to focus 100% on composing.
You will be using one part of your brain to compose with and a different part of
your brain to design sounds and build sound libraries.
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By keeping your brain in one ‘gear’ during an entire studio session, you will be
able to exercise that part of your brain more, get more done and focus more
on that specific task.
What if you have a musical idea but haven’t designed the sounds?
If you have ideas for a composition first, but no sounds, try composing with
just saw waves to begin with, and do the sound design later.
Distractions
Time is precious. Give yourself a solid block of time to be in the studio. It may
be 3 hours or even 8 hours (even better!)
Phone off, disconnect your internet, tell your friends/family members not to
disturb you for the next 2 or 3 hours.
Exercise:
1. On paper, try to visually map out your typical current workflow for
making a track
2. Analyze this workflow, and identify the areas that could be better
streamlined. For example, you may not have a decent library of snare
sounds that you’ve made.
3. Make an action plan to build all the resources you need – kicks,
snares, synth patches, default templates, etc.
4. Make a plan of what you will change in your workflow next time you
make a new track.
You may find it hard to break the habit at first, but be persistent and after
some time, your new behavior will become your new habit.
2.5 Beating Roadblocks To Completing Tracks
What roadblocks are stopping you from completing your own tracks?
Are you in the habit of readily making a simple loop, saving it on your hard
drive and then never going back to it?
You must force yourself to finish tracks, even if you are a beginner.
Why?
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Because you will learn more more and gain much more experience by going
through the creative process from start to finish (as painful as it might be),
than by ONLY making short ‘sketches’.
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Section 3: Creative Mindset
Please refer to the video on creative mindset on the BassGorilla courses

website. The video consists of five different sections
Finding Inspiration
Events in your life, films, books, stories, etc. are all examples of sources for
inspiration.
My personal biggest source of inspiration for creating new music is the film
Baraka. I highly recommend you to check it out!
Exercise: Choose a scene from a film, and make the soundtrack for that
scene.
You can choose a scene with no music in it, or one with some music such as
orchestral sounds with no drums, and use that audio as the basis for your
composition.
Other music is a great source of inspiration.
Use reference tracks when you make a track. These tracks don’t have to be
within your genre. They could be wildly different, such as Japanese meditation
music.
Using your imagination or a strange dream that you had may evoke a certain
feeling in your mind, and the challenge will be for you to convey that exact
vibe through music.
Believe In Your Ability To Be Creative
Points made in the video:
• Your own creativity is important in defining who you are as a person

• Your creativity EXPRESSES who you are as a person
• Your creativity MUST BE EXPRESSED to honor who you are
• Your creativity has MEANING, both for you, and for the rest of the
world.
It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about your creativity, except you.
You have to start believing in your abilities to be creative.
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Adjusting Your Mindset To Allow Yourself To Be Creative
Points made in the video:
• Follow your own path

• Be critical of your past work to seek areas for improvement
• Don’t be too much of a perfectionist – it can destroy your creative flow
• Your human value does not equate to your creative output
• Challenge yourself creatively – try making new and different genres
• Take on a playful child mindset (when appropriate) to build your
creative mindset
Going Your Own Way
Points made here:
• Control your music making environment – make it an environment that

harnesses and nurtures creativity
• Dedicate time every day to fostering your creativity
• Avoid trends – explore styles of music that you really love, don’t just
jump on bandwagons of the latest craze in electronic music
• Avoid pop culture (TV, radio)
• Spend more time with friends who you can have intelligent
conversations with and discuss ideas with
• Don’t be restricted to making just one genre of music
• Spend some time alone to focus on new ideas
• Spend someone to collaborate with
Creative exercises:
• Free writing
• Meditating
• Sketching a picture
• Listening to certain music that inspires you
Challenge Your Creativity
1. Limit the amount of tools that you use (synths, plug-ins, etc.)
For example, try making a track entirely out of drum and percussion sounds
that you synthesize yourself (as Mr Bill and Tom Cosm did for a track they
wrote together).
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2. Imagine a story based on a picture
3. Spend 20 minutes each day to focus on one thing, such as different ways
you could use a reverb plug-in for example. By repeatedly thinking about that
one thing, you’ll get new ideas
4. Combine different ideas together
5. Write a metaphor diary. Keep a diary where you write your day’s events,
but write everything in terms of metaphors.
6. Do word association exercises – write a word on paper, then write other

words that come to mind, and more words that come from those words, and
so on.
7. Write an event from the perspectives of different characters. These ideas

may help you to form the different sections of a piece of music that you’ll write.
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Section 4: Composing Drums
When writing your drum tracks, you can greatly benefit from watching a real
drummer and understanding how he or she plays the drums The drummer is
limited by the fact that he or she only has two arms and two legs, meaning
that there are only a certain number of individual drums that he can strike at
any one time.
Try watching some videos of a drummer on YouTube. You will be able to

study his playing and get ideas of how to write drums for electronic music.
Of course, with electronic music, we don’t have to follow the rules of the
physical world, and we can choose to deliberately create drum sections that
would not be possible for a real drummer to play. This is a stylistic choice of
course.
Please refer to section 4 of the videos on the BassGorilla courses website.
4.1 The right kick and snare for your genre
It is highly beneficial to use a reference track right from the very start of your
songwriting process.
One of the biggest benefits from this is that you can analyze the transients of
the main drum sounds (kicks and snares in particular), and then make your
own drums by A/Bing them to the drums of your reference tracks.
Why?
The reason why this works well, is that you will often be mixing all the other
elements of your track against your drums, so if you make nice fat drums that
stand up against a commercially available song in your genre, the rest of your
track should also stand up to other tracks when played by DJs for example.
Video 4.1 demonstrates this in detail, with me using Haywyre’s track

‘Fluctuate’ as a reference track.
Exercise: Choose a reference track in your genre, put the audio file of that
track in your DAW, and design your main drum sounds based on that
reference track. This means, try to make similar sounding drums to your
reference track.
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4.2 Kick Snare & Ride
The kick
With most electronic music, the kick is the backbone of your track. It needs to
be powerful enough and fit within the genre in which you are working.
The Snare
The snare is the other key ingredient to your rhythm section. The relationship
between the kick and the snare is similar to that of the north and the south
pole – there is a strong sense of polarity between these two elements.
This is the first example we see in writing music of the ‘call and response’
style of composing.
The kick is asking a question, or ‘calling’, and the snare is ‘responding’
The Ride Element
The main purpose of the ride element is to add motion and continuity into your
track. Often, the ride element will be a hi-hat, a ride cymbal or a cowbell for
example.
The ride element will often be heard hitting between the kick and the snare.
So if you have one bar of music in a 4/4 time signature (four beats in a bar),
you will have the kick on the 1 and possibly the 3 beat, the snare on the 2 and
the 4 beat, and then the ride element will be in eighth notes, and will be heard
between the kick and snare, giving continuity and motion to your rhythm track.
The ride element may be a closed hit sound, or an open hit sound, such as an
open hi hat.
4.3 Swing, shuffle and groove
Swing and swung rhythm one key ingredient to creating a funky feel in your
music.
The video will show you how to use ‘grooves’ in Ableton Live to create swing
in your tracks. Other DAWs have similar ‘swing’ functions. Be sure to
understand how it is done in your DAW!
Swing is based off the triplet time signature, splitting one bar of music into 12
equal lengths. We are then able to remove the 2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th triplet
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notes, and then shift the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th triplet notes slightly left or slightly
right to create different amounts of swing, which will create different qualities.
You find swing rhythms used in virtually every form of electronic music.
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Section 5: Composing Percussion
Please refer to the videos in section 5 on the courses website.
In addition to your primary drums (kick snare ride), we also have secondary
instruments that play an additional role to your rhythm track. These secondary
instruments are usually percussion.
What is percussion?
Any drum sound that has a non-electronic origin that is not an essential part of
a standard acoustic kit.
There are two main types:
1. Color-adding percussion (tambourines, shakers, cowbell, wood blocks,

etc).
These percussive sounds add more character and atmosphere to our rhythm
track. They often add an ethnic vibe to your rhythm section.
These sounds are typically played by other players than the drummer, so you
are not restricted by the fact that a conventional drum kit is played by one
human who only has two legs and two arms.
A color adding percussion sound can be used to replace one or more of the
main functional elements in our drum track (ride, kick, snare). A cowbell often
replaces the ride element in a drum track.
2. Functional percussion
These are drums that are not part of the conventional drum kit (congas,
bongos, etc.).
In their original countries, these drums are the primary drums instead of
today’s conventional drum kit heard in western music.
These sounds can be used to replace your kick, snare or ride, or your entire
drum kit.
They can also be used in the same way as color-adding percussion, on top of
your main drums.
Exercise:
1. Analyze your own percussion sample library. Is it top-notch? What’s

missing?
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2. Go online, grab a bunch of free percussion samples. There are
thousands of free sample packs. I recommend musicradar.com and
freesound.org to start with…
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Section 6: Music Theory Basics
Please refer to section 6 in the courses website.
6.1 Note Names
Here are the note names on a piano. The C key is always located to the left of
two black notes.
The black keys are what we call ‘enharmonic’ because they have two possible
naming conventions They can be flats (b) or sharps (#)
You could also refer to the B note as a C flat. You could refer to the C note as
a B sharp. The same goes for E and F.
The distance between C and D is a whole step, also called a tone.
The distance between C and C# is a half step, also called a semi tone.
6.2 Major Scale
The major scale is a ‘happy’ sounding scale.
The easiest way to play the major scale is in the key of C, because the C
major scale is just all of the white notes on the piano (no black notes).
How to work out the major scale in any key
Let’s say you have a root note – the note that is the first degree in your scale.
We will call this root note ‘R’
We will call a whole step up from the C note a TONE, or T.
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We will call a half step up from the C note a SEMITONE, or S.
The major scale will always follow this pattern:
C D E F G A B C
R T T S T T T S
Root Whole Whole Half Whole Whole Whole Half
step Step Step Step Step Step Step
So if you are in the key of F# major, the notes will be:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
R T T S T T T S
F# G# A#/Bb B C# D# F F#
The F sharp note is often referred to as Bb (B flat) by musicians.
If you can remember this pattern: R T T S T T T S
You will find it easy to locate the notes in the major scale for any key you
choose to work in.
Exercise: practice playing in the major scale in all 12 keys. Do this for 30
minutes every day. Within a couple of weeks you will be able to play all of
these scales without too many problems, if you practice every day.
6.3 The Natural Minor Scale
There are three main minor scales:
• The natural minor scale, often called ‘the minor scale’ (most common)
• The melodic minor scale
• The harmonic minor scale
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No matter which key you are in, the minor scale will always follow this pattern:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
R T S T T S T T
C D D# F G G# A#/Bb C
If you can remember this pattern: R T S T T S T T
You will find it easy to locate the notes in the natural minor scale for any key
you choose to work in.
The easiest way to find the minor scale on a keyboard is in the key of A minor,
because you will use all of the white notes only (no black notes). A B C D E F
G.
Probably about 90% of electronic music is written using this scale, so it is

highly recommended that you practice playing this scale in each of the 12
keys on a midi keyboard.
Different keys have very different qualities to each other, so being able to play
find the notes in the minor scale in any key will help you to find new melodies
and chord progressions more easily.
Exercise:
Practice playing in the minor scale in all 12 keys. Do this for 30 minutes every
day. Within a couple of weeks you will be able to play all of these scales
without too many problems, if you practice every day.
6.4 Intervals
To understand chords, it helps to understand intervals.
An interval is the space between two notes. If you play two notes at a time,
the distance between them is an interval.
The interval between G and C in the C major scale is a 5th, because G is the
5th note in the scale.
The relationship between D and C in the C major scale is a 2nd, because D is

the 2nd note in the C major scale.
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Major and Minor Intervals
An interval can have a major relationship and it can also have a minor
relationship.
If we are in the C major scale, then D is our 2nd degree of our scale, but it is
also a major 2nd.
If we move from D one semitone down to C#, the interval between C and C#
is called a minor 2nd.
C to E has an interval of a 3rd, but it is also the Major third. If we go from C to

Eb/D#, this is the minor third, because it is a semitone down from the major
third.
The Perfect 4th and The Perfect 5th
Let’s say you have an interval of a 3rd from C to E. If you move the C note up
an octave, you have inverted the interval, and the new interval is the one that
goes from E up to C. This is a minor 6th.
The perfect interval is not major or minor. Think about the major and minor
scales. The 4th and the 5th degrees of both of these scales are in the same
position, whether you are in the major or the minor scale.
The positions of the 3rd, 6th and 7th degrees of the scale indicates whether it is
major or minor.
If you invert a perfect 4th, you get a perfect 5th. If you invert a perfect 5th, you
get a perfect 4th.
Example
If you look at C to F, this is a 4th. It is also called the perfect 4th.
The reason why is that if you invert the interval by moving the C up an
octave, then the relationship between F and the C note above it is a 5th.
From C to G is a perfect 5th. If you invert it, you go from G up to C an octave

above the original C position. This new interval is a perfect 4th.
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The Tritone Interval
The relationship between C and F# is called an interval called a ‘tritone’.

When you invert a tritone, you get a tritone.
6.5 Triad Chords
Triad chords are chord that are made up of 3 notes. They are very common in
music.
A triad chord is made is the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes in a scale.
There are four main types of triad chords.
• Major triads (written as ‘maj’ or ‘M’)

• Minor triads (written as ‘min’ or ‘m’)
• Augmented triads (written as ‘aug’)
• Diminished triads (written as ‘dim’ or ‘°’, for example C°)
When you choose a scale to work with, when you play chords, all the notes in
each chord will fit into the scale. So the scale determines which notes are in a
chord.
Let’s say you are in the scale of F major.
The notes in this scale are:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
F G A A#/Bb C D E F
Major triad
The 1st, 3rd and 5th notes in this F major scale are F, A and C.
This is a major chord.
Why?
To make a major chord, you start with the first note, then you locate the 3rd,
which is a MAJOR third up from the 1st note, and then you go up a MINOR
third from the 3rd to the 5th.
The INTERVAL between F and A is a major third.
The INTERVAL between A and C is a minor third.
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1st ! major third up ! major 3rd ! minor third up ! 5th
Example
F!A!C
Minor triad
A minor triad chord is made by starting with a note, then moving a MINOR
third up from there to find the next note, and then moving a MAJOR third up
from that note to your final note.
1st ! minor third up ! minor 3rd ! major third up ! 5th
Example
F ! Ab ! C
(this is the same as F ! G# ! C)
Notice that the 5th is the same in both the major and minor triad chords.
Augmented Triad
This chord has an air of mystery about it.
To make this chord, you stack intervals of two major thirds on top of each
other, like this example:
F ! major third up ! A ! major third up ! C#
Diminished Triad
This is sometimes called the ‘danger’ chord.
This is kind of the opposite of an augmented chord, where instead of two

major thirds stacked on top of each other, we are stacking two minor thirds on
top of each other.
Example
F ! minor third up ! Ab/G# ! minor third up ! B
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Exercise: practice playing major and minor triad chords for each of the 12
notes in an octave on your midi keyboard.
If you don’t have a midi keyboard yet, I highly recommend you to get one. You
can get them for as little as $40 or $50.
6.6 Seventh Chords
In jazz and blues, seventh chords are very common, and they have infiltrated
their way into modern electronic music.
Imagine if you have a major triad chord, and you include the major 7th chord
on top of it, you have a major 7th chord.
This would be called F major, major 7
And it would be written F M M 7
It has a jazzy feel to it.
F major, minor 7th
Imagine if you have a major triad (for example F A C). If you stack a minor 7th
on top of this, you have the notes
F A C Eb/D#
This can be written as F maj 7 or more simply as F7.
It is also called the blues chord.
It works well to use this chord as the last chord in your chord progression to
take you back to your root chord – the chord formed from the 1st degree of
your scale.
F minor, minor 7th
Let’s say you have an F minor triad, consisting of the notes F, Ab and C.
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If you stack a minor 7th on top of this (Eb), you have the F minor, minor 7th
chord.
This is a very beautiful sounding chord.
The F minor, minor 7th chord is writer as:
Fmm7
Notice I am using small m letters here, as opposed to capital M letters.
Exercise: work out the F m m 7th chords in all of the 12 keys in an octave.
6.7 Ninth Chords
These chords are made by including the 9th degree of the scale. They sound
awesome and are used by a number of electronic music producers.
An example would be
C9 = C E G Bb D
G9 = G B D F A
This is a C major chord with a minor 7th and a major 9th.
We also have the major ninth, which is for example
C maj 9 = C E G B D
G maj 9 = G B D F# A
This is a C major triad with a major 7th and major 9th.
We also have the minor 9th chord, an example of which is
C m 9 = C Eb G Bb D
So we are using a minor triad chord, with a minor 7th and the ninth.
Notice that with all of these chords, the 9th is in the same position every time.
To experiment with new sounds, you can try sharping or flatting the 7th and 9th
notes in your chord. Each variation will have a very distinct characteristic and
feeling to it.
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You can also form the ‘James Bond’ chord using a ninth chord.
It would be a minor triad chord, with a sharp 7th and again the 9th.
This sounds mysterious and has that distinct James Bond feel to it.
An alternative voicing of the 9th chord
You can form a 9th chord by changing the voicing of the chord.
Let’s say you have a C9 chord.
The notes will be C E G Bb and D.
You can bring the root note (C) down an octave or two, so that it is playing in
the bass register.
Then bring the 9th down an octave to the 2nd degree of your scale,
Then don’t include the 7th degree.
So your main chord will consist of the 2nd, 3rd and 5th degrees of your scale,
with your root note playing the bass note.
To me this has a distinct 60’s or 70’s ‘flower power’ or love song feel to it. I
don’t know if you’ll agree with me, but perhaps you know what I mean when
you hear it.
Exercise:
What notes are in the following chords?
1. E9
2. Em9
3. E maj 9
4. A7
5. Cmm7
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6.8 Time Signatures & Note Lengths
In sheet music, this curvy line above is called a treble clef.
The top number 4 indicates the number of beats in a bar
The bottom number indicates the type of note that we are using. If it is a 4,
that means we are using a quarter length note.
There is also the triplet, which is 1/12 of a measure long. This is used to
create swung rhythm, which is they key ingredient to creating a ‘funky’ feel to
your music.
The triplet is also called the ‘shuffle’.
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6.9 Song Structure
Understanding song structures is a key aspect of composing music. If your

structure has too many changes, people will find it hard to follow along and
may stop paying attention to your track.
On the other hand, without enough distinct sections, your track will become
boring for people.
It is easiest to work in blocks of 4 bars, 8 bars, 16 bars or 32 bars, because

this is what people are accustomed to hearing, and they can follow along with
it easily. It is also easier for DJs to mix in their sets, with no surprises that may
upset them and cause them to never play your song in a club again!
Song structures vary greatly from genre to genre.
The best way to understand the right song structure for your chosen genre of
music is to analyze the structure of some of your favorite tracks.
Don’t think that you are stealing other peoples’ ideas – song structure is
something that is fairly basic in most cases, and people generally won’t have
any clue that you used another song to work out your own structure (unless
you copy their melodies as well).
Sections in your track to consider including are:
• Intro
• Build up
• Drop section A
• Drop section B
• Bridge
• Interlude
• Drop section A version 2
• Drop section B version 2
• Drop section C
• Outro
Exercise:
1. Take 3 different songs from your chosen genres of music.

2. Put the audio files into your DAW.
3. Split up the track into sections
4. Analyze what happens in each section and make notes
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5. Map out your song structure for your next song.
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Section 7: Music Theory Part 2 - Mid Level Knowledge
7.1 Chord Progressions
A chord progression is a series of chords that sounds like it makes sense

when you hear it.
Chord progressions usually fit into a scale.
Example: Let’s say you are using the C major scale.
The root note is C.
By looking at the notes in the C major scale, we have
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C D E F G A B C
By looking at the root chord, also called the TONIC, we can see that it will
consist of the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of our scale, so in this example those
notes will be C, E and G.
So the root chord is the C major triad chord. It is also called the TONIC, or the
‘home chord’
How about the 2nd triad chord in a C major scale?
It will consist of the 2nd, 4th and 6th degrees of our scale.
So it will consist of D, F and A.
What is the interval between D and F?
It is a minor third.
What is the interval between F and A?
It is a major third.
So if you remember our triad chords:
D ! minor third ! F ! major third ! A
So the 2nd chord in a C major scale is a D minor triad chord.
We can continue this exercise for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th degrees of the C
major scale.
If we do this, we will know whether each of these chords is major, minor,

diminished or augmented.
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We can now deduce this:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
C D E F G A B C
MAJOR Minor Minor MAJOR MAJOR Minor Diminished MAJOR
If you can memorize this pattern:
Maj-min-min-maj-maj-min-dim-maj
It will help you to work out which chords will fit into your chosen scale in any
key.
If we are working in the C major scale, then we call the C major triad chord
our ‘1-chord’.
We call the D minor triad chord our ‘2-chord’.
So you may hear people talk about a 1-6-4-5 chord progression, or a 2-5-1
chord progression.
They are referring to the numbers assigned to chords.
This is convenient because it lets you know a chord progression and then
transpose it to any key and scale of your choice.
We could have a 1-6-4-5 chord progression in the key of C major, or we could

have the same chord progression in the key of A minor, for example.
If we are working in a minor scale (which most of us will be most of the time),
we have this:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
Minor Dim MAJOR Minor Minor MAJOR MAJOR min
example A maj B C maj D min E min F maj G maj A
dim min
Again, if you can memorize this pattern:
Min-dim-maj-min-min-maj-maj
It will help you to work out whether each chord is major, minor or diminished in
your chord sequence.
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How to write a chord progression:
1. Choose your key

2. Choose your scale
3. Work out the notes in your scale
4. Work out the chords that fit into your scale
5. Improvise with these chords to find some nice chord progressions
The Dominant Chord
In any scale, the fifth chord within a scale is called the dominant chord.
It is good to use this chord to get home to the tonic chord, because it has a
leading tone.
What is the leading tone? It is the 7th degree of your scale.
It creates tension and has a strong pull towards the home chord, so if we play
the dominant chord and then the tonic chord, we have the feeling that the
chord progression has been resolved.
A common example of this is the 1-6-4-5 chord progression
If you consider the 5-chord in this sequence, it consists of the 5th, 7th and 9th
degrees of your scale, and that 7th degree has a strong pull towards the tonic
note – the first degree of the scale (which is also the 8th degree – one interval
away from the 7th).
7.2 Chord Inversions
By inverting chords we can create different ‘voicings’ of our chords.
Example:
The C major scale consists of C, E and G.
C is the lowest note in this chord. If we move this C note up an octave, we

now have the first inversion of the C major chord.
Next, if we move the E note up an octave, we now have the C major triad 2nd
inversion.
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We can also move the G note up an octave after this, and we will have the 3rd
inversion of this chord.
Remember, the lowest note in your inverted chord determines which inversion
of that chord you are playing.
Voice Leading
Inversions are particularly useful in a chord progression because they allow

use to move from one chord to the next with the smallest amount of
movement possible.
Why is this a good thing?
It is easier for a pianist to play, yes, but the main reason is that our minds
prefer to hear chord progressions that have smaller ranges of motion than
larger ranges of motion.
Moving from one chord to another chord has many new possibilities when we
start to incorporate inversions.
We are now using different voice leading – different ways of moving from one
chord to the next.
If you can move from one chord to another with the smallest amount of
changes possible, and even keep one or even two of the notes as the same
notes in both of these chords, the voice leading will be very smooth and more
pleasant to the listener.
When we keep One note or more the same as we move from one chord to the
next, this creates what is known as ‘oblique’ harmony. This is where the
harmony has one note or more that stay the same as the other notes in the
harmony change. This can get some very pleasing results and we should aim
to create it when that is the desired effect we want to create with our music.
Your music will flow better if you make use of inversions.
Do it. You will get great results!
Exercise:
1. Choose a key and a scale (for example, E minor)

2. Find the chords in this scale
3. Find a nice 4 bar chord progression, made of 2, 3 or 4 chords
4. Use inversions to make the smoothest possible voice leading
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7.3 Roman Numerals Used For Chords
In Latin, their symbols for numbers were represented by letters.
The letter I represents the number 1.
The letter V represents the number 5.
We can have up to 3 of the same letter in a row to count,
So:
I means 1
II means 2
III means 3
If we have a letter representing a smaller number in front of a letter

representing a larger number, that means we subtract the smaller number
from the bigger one to know which number is being represented, as is the
case with the number 4.
The number 4 in Latin is written as IV.
VI denotes the number 6
VII denotes the number 7
And this is all the Latin you need to know for music.
How is this relevant to chord progressions?
When you are working within a scale, each triad chord within that scale will be
either major, minor, diminished or augmented.
We use Roman numerals to write chords, and we use capital letter to

represent major chords and lower case letters to represent minor chords.
So, for example, in the major scale, you might see Roman numerals denoting
chords in the following way:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1
MAJOR Minor Minor MAJOR MAJOR Minor Diminished MAJOR
I Ii Iii IV V Vi vii ° I
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7.4 Approach To writing A Chord Progression
Here is one possible approach to writing a chord progression
Earlier in this course I briefly outlined how to come up with a chord

progression, but here is a more in-depth way to write a chord progression that
you’ll be happy with, and this approach contains some quality control
measures to ensure the chord progression is the best one possible you can
come up with.
So here goes:
1. Choose a root note/key

2. Choose a scale
3. Play the root chord – the tonic.
4. Choose your next chord – 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 NOTE: we tend to avoid the
diminished chord in electronic music, because it doesn’t sound good
usually in this style of music.
5. As yourself if it sounds good. If it does, move to step 6. If not, move
back to step 4.
6. Can it sound better? If yes, try to make it better, by using inversions,
different chords, etc.
7. Move onto your third chord and repeat the process from step 4.
Note: with this approach, your chord progressions will always start with the 1-
chord. You may want to start with a different chord in your scale if you’re
feeling more adventurous.
7.5 HookTheory.com
I want to tell you about this website called HookTheory.com
They created innovative tools to analyze songs and chord progressions.
They analyzed over 1300 songs and show their findings is a very intuitive,
visual format that anyone can understand and interact with.
Point 1.
Even though the 1300 songs are in different keys, every song has been
brought into the same key for comparing. You can then choose what key you
want to work in.
Many musicians use the number system.
For example, take a look at this chord progression:
C major - A minor - D minor - G7
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It’s the same as
Bb major, G minor, C minor, F7
from a numerical perspective
They are both 1 6 2 5 progressions.
C major is the ‘1-chord’ in the first example, and Bb major is the ‘1-chord’ in
the 2nd example.
Their analysis tool shows what percentage of the 1300 songs started on C
major (the ‘1-chord’, which is the same as the key you’re in) and went to
various chords.
G major was the next most popular chord at 29%
Lots and lots of pop songs go
C major - G major - A minor - F major
1-6-5-4
F major is the next most popular chord from C at 20%. Makes sense - F is the
other neighbour to C on the circle of fifths.
If you look at any circle of fifths chart, you’ll see C at 12 o’clock, F at 11

o’clock and G on the other side at 1 o’clock. When keys are neighbours on the
circle of fifths chart, they have strong connections to each other.
A minor, - the relative minor of C, came in at 9% - another popular movement.
The cool thing is, you can keep going - from the G, you can see what’s most
likely to happen after that. Then it will actually show YouTube clips of songs
that follow those patterns!
How can you relate this to every key?
Easy
Change the C to 1, the G to 5, the A to 6, the F to 4.
Translation:
Out of the 1300 pop songs analyzed, 29% started on the 1 and went to the 5-
major chord.
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If you include the other 9% that went down to the 7 bass but kept a 5 chord in
the right hand, that raises the 5 chord’s status to 38%.
20% of songs started on the 1 and went to the 4-major chord
9% of songs started on the 1 and went to the 6-minor chord.
Check out the site!
Section 8: Music Theory Part 3 – More Advanced Knowledge
8.1 Alternative Scales
90% of the time, you’ll probably be using the natural minor scale, and
sometimes the major scale.
But if you are looking to create a different mood or vibe with your music, you
may want to experiment with these scales for some of your tracks:
Blues Scale
Pentatonic Scale
Chromatic Scale
Melodic Minor Scale
Harmonic Minor Scale
Arabic Scale
Egyptian Scale
Dorian Scale
Phyrigian Scale
Lydian Scale
Mixolydian Scale
There are hundreds of different scales out there – you can find lots of them
online and try them out. I have just suggest some key ones that you might
want to try out.
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On the next page is a table which breaks down some alternative scales so
that you can work them out on your keyboard:
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8.3 Progressive & Regressive Chord Motions
The relationship between the V and the I chord is one of the most powerful
relationships in Western music.
The reason is that the middle note in the 5-chord triad and the root note of the
tonic chord (the 1-chord).
There is a strong pull from the 5 chord to the 1 chord as a result.
Progressive Motion
Moving from the 5 chord to the 1 chord is an example of the V-I relationship.
Moving from the 5 chord to the 1 chord, you are moving up by a perfect 4th,
which is exactly the same as moving down by a perfect 5th.
This sounds progressive because is creates a sense of moving forward in the

track.
Regressive chord motion
A regressive motion is when you go from the 1 chord to the 5 chord.
You are moving up a perfect 5th, which is the same as moving down by a
perfect 4th.
It sounds like you are moving backwards from your ultimate harmonic goal.
Using inversions can create smoother voice leadings while also making use of
the V-I relationship in your chord progressions.
Other chord motions that sound good (to me personally):
C ! Ab
This is an example of moving down by a major third.
It sounds awesome in my opinion. Try it out!
Another great example is going from C ! Bb
This is an example of moving down by a major 2nd. It sounds epic.
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And another great example is when you move up by a minor third.
For example, from C! Eb
This sounds very nice to my ear. Check it out for yourself!
8.4 The Picardy Third Ending
This is a chord progression technique to give a unique character to the ending

of your chord progressions.
A cadence is a sequence of chords that is used at the end of a chord

progression that makes it sound like your chord progression is resolving
home.
How does the Picardy third ending work?
Basically, on the last chord in your progression, you ‘borrow’ a chord from a
major scale. It creates a nice interesting twist at the end of your chord
progression.
It is also one technique to make a minor scale chord progression sound

slightly ‘happier’ than it usually does. The minor scale is known to sound dark
and depressing.
Deadmau5 uses this techniques in his track ‘Ghosts ‘N’ Stuff’
The chords he uses in this chord progression are:
Bbm Ab Gb Eb
Exercise:
1. Make a chord progression in the natural minor scale

2. Try swapping out the last chord with one from the major scale and see
if it sounds good.
Not all of them will sound good, so you need to keep trying until you find one
that sounds pleasing to your ears!
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8.5 Suspended Chords
Suspended chords are one way of creating tension in your chord progression.
NOTE: when you create tension, you may want to ensure that you provide
your listeners with a feeling of release, or resolution shortly thereafter, so as
not to annoy them too much (unless that is your goal!).
Example:
Let’s say you are working in the C major scale
Your notes are C D E F G A B C.
With suspended chords, we don’t need to consider the 6th or 7th degrees of
the scale to work out each chord. We will only be making chords based on the
first 5 degrees of the scale.
So let’s say you have a C major triad chord. The notes in this chord are C, E
and G.
So how do you make a suspended chord?
There are two main types of suspended chords:
1. Sus 2 chords
2. Sus 4 chords
To make a C sus 2 chord, we replace the note that is the 3rd degree of our
chord with the 2nd degree of our scale.
So our notes in the C sus 2 chord will be C, D and G in stead of C E and G
To make a sus 4 chord, you replace the note that is the 3rd degree of the scale
with the note that is the 4th degree of the scale.
So instead of C, E and G, we have C, F and G.
As mentioned, these chords cause a feeling of tension because they are not
the usual triad chords that we all know and love so well.
When you play a sus 2 or a sus 4 chord, you can resolve and cause a feeling
of resolution by moving from either of these chords to a regular triad chord
within your scale.
So for example, you may place a C sus 4 chord, and then a C sus 2 chord,
and then resolve it by moving to a C major chord.
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You may then move down to an A sus 4 chord, than you might move to an A
sus 2 chord, and resolve again by moving to an A minor chord.
This stlye of chord progression can be heard in some styles of house music
(especially progressive house), and it can be used in any style of electronic
music. Just be careful that you don’t over use this technique!
8.6 Modes
Modes are also called modal scales, and are displacements of a modal scale.
They offer different characteristics of the major scale.
They are also called the church modes because they became popular around
700 years ago in churches, but they have their origins in ancient greek music.
Let’s take a look at the C major scale. It touches on all of the white notes.
The Dorian Mode
The first example of a mode is the Dorian mode.
It uses the same notes as a C major scale, but it starts on the D note. So we
are using D E FE G A B C D
The Dorian mode is quite popular for writing basslines.
The Phyrigian Mode
This is using all of the white notes from E to E on a keyboard.
This would be called ‘E Phyrigian’. We don’t have to be in the restriction of an

E scale though – we can transpose the scale to different keys, so you could
play an A Phyrigian scale, once you work out whether each interval between
each degree of this scale is a tone of a semitone.
The Lydian Mode
This mode moves from F to F, using all of the white notes (no black notes) if
we are in a C major restriction.
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The Mixolydian Mode
This mode moves from G to G, using all of the white notes (no black notes) if
The Aeolian Mode
This mode moves from A to A, using all of the white notes (no black notes) if
The Locrian Mode
This mode moves from B to B, using all of the white notes (no black notes) if
The Ionian Mode
This mode moves from C to C, using all of the white notes (no black notes) if
we are in a C major restriction. So this is just the regular C major scale that
we are all so familiar with.
8.8 The Leading Tone
In this E-Book, I have mentioned briefly the Leading Tone (LT).
Let’s take a look at it a little more.
We will look at the I-V-I chord progression.
An example of this chord progression in the C major scale is
C major ! G major ! C major
This is an extremely basic chord progression that consists of only two chords.
As mentioned earlier, when you move from a 5th degree chord to a 1st degree
chord, you feel like you have gone home.
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If we don’t play that 1 chord after hearing the 5 chord, we start to feel
distressed because the 5 chord creates tension. This is because of the 7th
degree of the scale.
In a major scale, this 7th degree of the scale is only one semitone below the
root note, which makes it feel like it really wants to resolve home.
Playing a straight-forward C major triad, then a G major triad, then a C major

triad has some big jumps in it, which we don’t like to hear.
We can therefore use inversions to make it sound more pleasant to our ears.
We can play the C major chord and move the C note up an octave, so that we
have the first inversion of it. We can also keep in the original C note if we like.
We can play the G major chord (G B D) and also include the B (the 7th degree
of our C major scale) one octave below as well as keeping it in the G major
triad chord.
The I-V-I chord progression sounds fairly boring, but this is a good thing,
because it allows us to draw the listener’s focus to the lead melody which is
sitting on top of the chord progression.
You can do this with other chord progressions – if you feel that they sound a
little bit bland, it can be advantageous to you so that you can draw people’s
attention to the other things happening in your track.
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Section 9: Composing Basslines
What are the main principles involved in writing a clear, effective bassline?
As with drums and percussion, you can learn a lot about writing good
basslines by watching real bassists perform (bass guitar, double bass, etc.)
Principle #1 - Keep it simple.
The sounds are deep and heavy. They help to form the foundation of your
sound, and like the foundations of a building, they need to be strong and firm
to support everything else that sits on top of them.
Bassline patterns tend to be strongly anchored - not jumping all over the place
quickly.
Principle #2 - it is important for the bass to know what chords your track is
playing - chord progression. And the timing of the chord changes. The chords
determine the best notes for the bass to play. For example, if there is an E
minor at a point in a song, the triad chord of E minor contains E, G and B. So
the bass needs to play around the notes E, G and B, with whatever riff is
being played by the bass.
There are various styles, features and options available to you for composing
your baseline:
Option 1 - root basses
This is where the bassist will play just the root of the chord (in this example,
note E). This is the simplest, but is very common.
ALSO, the timing of the playing of this E note will depend on the rhythm track.
You will try to play something that complements and enhances your rhythm
track.
This brings us to:
principle #3 - the baseline supports the harmony and lead, and also supports
the rhythm track. There are the notes and there is the rhythm by which the
notes are played.
When this rhythm is played in a repeating, driving sense, causes what we call
a bass riff.
If you play an A note at regular intervals, there are some simple options
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available:
Timing 1 - Repeating quarter length notes
Timing 2 - repeating on the eighths (gives more pace, backs up the ride
element of the drum track)
Timing 3 - repeating on the sixteenths (a lot of energy and pace). This can be
represented with a wobble bass, and is very common in dubstep more than
any other genre of EDM.
Timing 4 - repeating the note with a characteristic rhythm. One example is the
3-3-2 bass - the numbers refer to the length of the notes in semiquavers.
Option 2 - Octave Basslines
This is an extension of the root bass. We use the root note and a note one
octave above that. This allows you to add variety without bring in more notes.
This is a very common technique used in all forms of dance music.
When used in steady quarters or eighths, it is called a ‘walking baseline’.
Option 3 - Root and Fifth Basses
We also have basslines that use other chord tones as well as the root. The
most common is the root and fifth bass, which also uses the fifth of a chord.
The fifth is one of the most important notes of a chord. Along with the octave,
it represents another way of adding variety when you’re playing within any
chord.
The root and fifth basses do not use the third of a chord, so these basses can
be used to play over a major and minor triad chord.
Principle #4 - relationship between root note and dominant (5th degree) is

very strong, use it!
Polarity between these almost opposite extremes in your scale can be very
powerful. This is the same relationship that exists between the tonic and
dominant chords in your scale (or the 1st and 5th chords).
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Option 4 - Triadic basses
A triadic baseline uses all three notes of the triad in any order or rhythm you
think sounds best. A minor triad means we can include the notes A, C and E,
together with their octaves.
Option 5 - Sixth and seventh chord basses
Another very popular configuration uses the notes of the seventh chord,
especially the root, fifth and minor seventh. This is very common. James
Brown ‘Sex Machine’ is one example of a bassline that uses this.
The sixth is also a popular alternative to the seventh, especially with major
chords, because it offers a note that can be used to add melodic interest to a
bassline.
Option 6 - Pentatonic Basses
The pentatonic scale offers numerous notes that can be used for decorative
purposes within the range of a particular chord.
The pentatonic scale also has a strange magic quality about it - no matter
what order the notes are played in, they always seem to work well together.
With A minor pentatonic scale, the notes D and G give us decorative notes
within the framework on an A minor harmony.
They are DECORATIVE because they play a secondary tole in the bass line -
they are points of passage between the chordal tones A, C and E. These
decorative tones will usually not be commonly played in a bass line compared
with the chordal tones.
These secondary notes add more melodic character to the bass line.
Option 7 - Chromatic Basslines
Chromatic notes are another way to add more melodic interest to your
bassline.
If we use A minor as our scale, these notes will be:
A, C, E,
Bb, C#, D#, F#, and G#.
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We have to use them very carefully because they are not a part of the
harmony. They are usually passing notes or returning notes to get back to the
notes within the chord. Their influence is purely melodic and they happen on
the weaker parts of the measure.
You may often hear them at the end of a bass line in the form of a chromatic
fill, ascending or descending.
A pitch shift is a common technique in a lot of dance music that makes use of
the chromatic scale
Principle #5 - pitch shifts up or down sound great, but don’t over do them.
If one element of your track is going crazy, the other elements usually become
less crazy / less of a focus. For example, if a huge baseline comes in in your
drop, the drums often simplify. This is very common in dubstep.
Principle #6 - If your baseline is going crazy let other elements get less crazy.
If you bassline starts showing a lot of fast moving melody, it will become a
focal point of your music and so it is best to let the other instruments become
less busy, so that the listener knows what to focus on.
Even the drums will get less hectic when you baseline becomes more hectic,
as is the case in a dubstep drop very often.
Basslines And Chord Progressions
We explained how the bassline has two main roles: to support the harmony
and to support the rhythm track.
This bring us to principle #7 - the baseline is entirely governed by the chord

progression of the song. If the chord is C major, the chordal notes are C, E
and G.
Therefore if the bass is playing Eb and Bb, they will sound like the wrong
notes.
Without knowing what the chords are, you can’t possibly know which notes to
play in your bassline.
This is why knowledge of musical harmony is so important.
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There is another way to tackle this problem though:
Write your music from the rhythm and then the bassline upwards - start with
drums, then write your bassline, then define the groove.
All of these things will determine what leads, pads and chords are added.
This is what we call a groove driven approach, which is different to writing a

track from the lead down, which is called the lead-driven approach.
The order you choose is totally up to you. There is no rule or formula about
this. If you think of the lead first, write that first.
When composing a bassline with a chord progression in mind, there are some
important steps that I recommend you to follow:
Let’s take a look at our drum and bass example
Let’s say you want to write a bassline that fits with this chord progression:
E minor, B minor, D minor, C major, E minor, G major, B minor, Dminor
OR
1-5-7-6-1-3-5-7
First Step
Work out the root notes involved. In this case, they will be:
E, B, D, C, E, G, B, D
Second Step
Decide what kind of bassline you want - do you want a root bass? a triadic
bass? A root and fifth bass? Etc.
You decide how complex or how simple to make it.
For example, let’s say you choose to go with a root, fifth and seventh walking
bassline in eighths.
Third Step
Create a melodic extension of this pattern in a new midi clip (the next 8 bars)
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It needs to backup the implied harmony.
For example, between the 2nd and 3rd chords (B minor and D minor), we are
using the same note D, so we can use a continuance of that in the bassline if
we want.
We can also consider doing this between the 5th and 6th chords (E minor and
G major), which share the same note B, or the 7th and 8th chords, B minor
and D minor, which share the D note.
So there are three elements that make a good bassline:
1. Clear rhythmic identity
2. Clearly supports the harmony
3. Keeps melodic identity through all of the chord changes
Let’s look at a step-by-step approach for writing a bassline:
1. Choose a synth patch (you can always change it later!)

2. Use the groove-driven approach if you are writing your bassline before your
lead melody or chords.
3. Choose your key and your scale
4. If you are using the lead-driven approach, find the key and chord
progression of your track, and note the timings of the chord changes.
5. Find the root notes of each chord and log where the chord changes are
6. Write a bass pattern that covers your first chord. The root note is your
guiding tone.
7. Extend the pattern according to the changes of chords
8. Edit the pattern in terms of quantization and grooves.
9. Apply processing (filters, reverb, compression, etc.)
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Section 10: Composing Lead Melodies
The lead is the main melody of a piece of music. It is often called the hook -
the catchy melody that sticks in your mind and is the first thing you remember
when you think of a certain song. Hooks are used tons in dance music, pop
and rock music.
There are many instruments that we can use for playing the lead. These may
be acoustic, electric, or synthesized.
Acoustic leads: violin, acoustic guitar, piano, flute, saxophone, trumpet,

vibraphone
Electric leads: Electric guitar, organ, rhodes, electric piano, clavinet
Synthesized leads: Supersaw (most EDM), sine-wave lead (hip hop), etc.
A lead synth needs to have enough presence for it to carry over the mix.
Therefore it is often processed with lots of reverb, stereo delay and other
effects to give it fullness.
Most leads are monophonic - only able to play one note at a time. This
produces a clean and well articulated sound - as soon as a new note is
played, the previous note is cut off, preventing overlap between tones.
This allows us to use portamento and glide, where the notes gradually slide
into each other over a time of about 50 to 100 ms typically.
Composing a lead melody
The quality of expression you give to it needs very careful thought. You have
to bring your music to life with personal expression and individual quality. You
can use expressive gestures such as portamento and syncopation.
Pitch slides are another technique. Vibrato is another, which causes slight
fluctuations of the pitch of the note. This can be done by mapping an LFO to
the pitch of the oscillator(s) that produce the sound.
Portamento, vibrato, pitch slides can add life to your melody. As the lead
melody is leading the rest of your track, it needs to be highly expressive,
almost as though it is singing.
People all around the world love a good melody. It is the soul of music.
Melodies can evoke emotions in us. Melody is the life force of music.
Therefore, a good melody needs to have the the recognizable qualities of a
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melody. This sounds obvious, but you need to develop a deep understanding
of what actually makes a good melody.
Key
A random sequence of tones will mean nothing to us. Good melodies are
clearly centred. They have a strong centre of gravity, like the sun in the solar
system, around which the other planets circulate. The centre of gravity holds
the melody together and gives it a sense of direction and purpose.
This centralizing force is called tonality. You hear it in the tonic note - the root
note of your scale. The first degree of your scale.
The tonic is the still centre around which the other notes circle.
In many melodies, you will see how the melody starts on the tonic, and then
rises up through the scale as it builds energy and emphasis, and then
gradually works its way back down the scale towards the tonic. This is similar
to the way gravity works if you throw a ball up in the air - what goes up must
come down eventually.
To write a good melody, you need to first decide on your tonic note.
Scale and mode
The scale that you choose to write your melody with is very important. It is
very unusual to hear a melody that uses all 12 notes in an octave. It is much
more common to hear melodies that use a pentatonic scale (5 notes),
hexatonic scale (6 notes) or heptatonic scale (seven notes). Sometimes we
hear octatonic scales (8 notes).
You choose the scale depending on the mood that you want to create for your
track. The major scale will give you a bright, happy melody, while a minor
scale will give you darker and more somber sounding melodies. The Dorian
and Mixolydian modes give you a nice contrast of both of these scales.
Avoid this trap: don’t just learn the scale in one key to use for all your tracks -
you will regret it. Different keys create very different moods, so your music will
benefit from you being able to improvise melodies in a range of keys.
You must learn by playing the scales to learn them. Once you have done this,
it is easy to pick out the melodies that you would like to use within a scale.
The major and minor are the most common scales because they are most
familiar to us. The Phyrigian and Dorian scales are used as refreshing
alternatives. The pentatonic scale has a strong link to blues, especially the
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pentatonic minor scale.
You can also use exotic scales to give your music a refreshing appeal.
Tonic and dominant
After you know your key and scale, you now need to understand the
relationship between the tonic and dominant notes in that scale. The dominant
is the fifth degree of the major and minor scale, so if you are writing in the key
of C, the dominant will be the note G. If you are writing in E, then B will be
your dominant note.
The tonic and dominant notes are related to each other in a polarity, like the
relationship between the kick and the snare in your drum track.
This polarity will give you the backbone of your melody - a stability around
which your melody can be built.
The tonic is the point where melodic phrases come to a close usually. We
therefore call it the home note sometimes.
The dominant is the point around which the melody will circle before it returns
to its home note.
A melody will usually weave its way around this dominant axis in a series of
curves and movements before it returns to the tonic. This is similar to the way
people talk, going up in pitch in a sentence and then returning back to the
lower note as they finish their sentence.
The dominant is the degree of the scale upon which the melody touches most
often.
Once you’ve chosen your scale, your melodic phrases will be orienting
towards the tonic and dominant tones. This means you just need to improvise
with the scale and maintain an awareness of the tonic and dominant degrees.
Melodies usually start with the tonic or one of the notes of the tonic triad chord
(for example, C, E or G if you are writing in the C major scale).
They will then move up to the dominant and circle around it.
The will finally return home to the tonic note.
This is not a rule though! The rule is - if it sounds good, run with it!
Steps and leaps
All melodies are a combination of steps and leaps. A step is a movement from
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one note of the scale to the next note above or below.
If you play a scale on a keyboard, you are playing a series of melodic steps.
The step tends to have a sense of smoothness because it is moving up or

down to the closest note in your scale. It is like strolling rather than jumping or
running.
A series of steps has a nice natural flow about it - a feeling of continuity and
grace.
Rising steps speak to us emotionally in the sense that they represent a rising
in energy, making us feel excitement.
Falling steps represent a reduction of energy, and so they convey a sense of

resolution back towards a state of normality. A series of descending steps can
evoke a feeling of sadness because the melody is falling away from the
direction of your hopes and desires.
If a melody consists only of steps it is boring to us.
Leaps are movements in a scale that move 2 steps or more. They give a
melody more interest, character, definition. They are exciting, because they
give sudden bursts of energy.
But if a melody was made up only of leaps, they would lose their impact. We
need to hear these leaps in contrast with steps, so that we can tell when the
melody is emphasizing bigger changes in energy and intensity compared with
phrases that convey smoothness and continuity.
A melody is a carefully crafted balance of leaps and steps.
A large leap in one direction is usually counterbalanced by a number of steps

in the opposite direction. Not always though. But this is the same as in nature
or physics, or mathematics. The balance, the rise and fall of energy.
Melodic Structure
A note is the smallest event in a melody. Each note is part of a larger unit or
structure.
The smallest structural unit in a melody is the motive. A motive is made up of

rhythm and pitch.
To build melodies in a lot of dance music, many producers first create a
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driving rhythmic motive, and then apply that motive to different notes in their
scale.
A sequence of motives is called a phrase. These motives may repeat within

the phrase, but the notes within each motive in the phrase change each time.
Melodies tend to be built into phrases that are then combined into larger
structures, called themes.
Melody is carefully constructed like a building. Starting with the notes in the
scale, then the motives, then phrases then the theme.
How to write a melody in 7 steps
1. Choose your key
2. Choose your scale or mode.
3. Play with the scale, find the tonic and dominant notes.
4. Improvise with the scale.
5. Create a motive
6. Connect different versions of the motive together to form a phrase
7. Build up the phrases into a theme.
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Section 11: Harmonies
11.1 An Overview Of Harmony
Harmony is the relationship between two different melodies.
When we have multiple notes playing at one time, we create harmonies.
Harmonies are implied by chord progressions.
Most electronic music is written using a groove-driven approach (writing the

rhythm track and basslines before the melodies and chord progressions).
If you want to easily achieve highly harmonic melodies, chords and basslines,
start with the chords.
Why?
Because the chord progressions will imply the melodies by the notes they
use.
For example, if your first chord is a C9 chord, your melody is likely to make
use of the notes in that chord right during the duration of the first chord.
The simplest form of harmony is doubling, where we have one melody being
played by both the lead melody and the bassline.
This is not very appealing in a harmonic sense.
Heterophony
We can create a harmony by having two instances of the same melody

playing a perfect 4th or a perfect 5th apart.
Again, this is pretty simple and there is no melodic independence between the
two melodies.
Melodic Independence
When it comes to creating harmonies with your chord progressions, lead

melodies and basslines, it is important to create melodic independence.
This means that each melodic element will have its own unique melodic
independence, but together with other melodies it will work well in a way that
pleases the listener.
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Homophony
This is a harmonic concept whereby the bassline and lead melody play
different notes but the same rhythm. This is common with legato style strings,
where the long notes are connected.
Each instrument in the ensemble is playing the same rhythm but different
notes to create a harmony.
Harmonic motions
When you think about how the bassline and the lead melody move in relation
to each other.
We have similar motion, where the two melodies move in the same direction.
We also have contrary motion, where the two melodies move in opposite
directions.
And finally we have oblique motion, whereby one of the melodies remains
static while the other one change.
Counterpoint
Counterpoint is the interweaving two melodies that run together but have
some kind of indepenence.
Too much similar motion is not good, so we need to make use of contrary
motion and oblique motion to create better harmonies.
Understanding how to harmonize
Let’s say we want to write a harmony that would work well with an E note in
our lead melody, working in the E minor scale.
Which triad chords contain the note E?
There are three:
• The E minor chord (E, G, B)

• The C major Chord (C, E, G)
• And the A minor chord (A, C, E)
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You could therefore make use of any of the notes in these chords to make
your 2nd melody (possibly your bassline). So you can choose from E, G, B, C
and A.
Working out a harmony if you have no chord progressions yet
Another technique is to listen to your lead melody and see what the notes in
that melody are implying in terms of a chord.
I personally recommend you to form a chord progression first, because the

notes in each of the chord will imply the potential note choices for the lead
melody and bassline.
If you look at the first bar of a lead melody, it may make use of the notes A, C
and E.
This strongly implies an A minor key, where the most suitable chord would be
the A minor chord during this section of the loop.
Decorative notes
To create great harmonies, we don’t have to stick with the notes of the implied
chord for that section of your loop. We can add passing tones, which may be
within the scale you are using, but don’t fall into the notes that are in a certain
triad chord.
Harmonizing with 7th and 9th degrees of your scale.
We can also make use of the 7th and 9th degrees of our scale, so let’s say the
first chord in your chord progression is a C major, and let’s say you are writing
in the C major key.
For your lead melody, you could make use of the 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th etc.
degrees of your scale.
Exercise:
1.Form a chord progression that appeals to you. Try to form one that
makes use of 3 or 4 different chords.
2.Look at the first chord. See which notes could be used in this section of
the chord progression to form a melody.
3.These may be the notes within the chord, or the 7th, 9th, 11th, etc.
degrees.
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4.These may also include passing tones within the scale, that are not any
notes that are used in the chord itself.
5.Come up with a motive for your lead melody that can be used with the
first chord in your chord progression.
6.Next, repeat the same above steps for the 2nd chord in your progression,
and all subsequent chords.
7. Your newly formed lead melody should harmonize well with the chord
progression, because it was formed from the implied melody of your
chord progression.
In my opinion, this is the most effective way to write harmonies – start with the
chord progression, then form basslines and lead melodies around those chord
progressions.
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Section 12: Arpeggiation
What is arpeggiation?
The word arpeggiation comes from the word arpeggio.
An arpeggio is a musical technique where the notes of a chord are played in a

sequence, one at a time (not simultaneously).
Arpeggio is also defined as being a ‘broken chord’.
12.1 Using an Arpeggiator Plug-In
Please refer to video 12.1 in the e-book to understand the features of an

arpeggiator plug-in.
I will be walking you through the functionality of the Ableton Live arpeggiator
midi effect, which has the same core functionality as most other arpeggiator
plug-ins.
Playing Arpeggios Manually
We don’t always have to use an arpeggiator plug-in to create the ‘broken

chord’ or ‘arpeggio’ effect.
While plug-ins can create incredibly fast-moving arpeggios that we as humans

may not be able to play, we still have some advantages to playing an
arpeggiated melody live.
The most obvious advantage is that we can use syncopation to create

melodies that have gaps of silence at certain points in the measure, which
may not be possible with an automated arpeggiation approach.
Syncopation:
1.A disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm:

2.A placement of rhythmic stresses or accents where they wouldn't
normally occur.
Composing With Arpeggiation
There are hundred if not thousands of ways to use arpeggiation in musical

compositon.
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In this section I want to provide you with some ideas on things you can try
experimenting with in your own music.
1.Let’s say you have a chord progression made with some pads, but no
arpeggio. One technique is to have that same chord progression slowly
fade into the track with an increasing volume level over an 8 or 16 bar
loop. This will imply a build in energy in your track.
2. Try creating a harmony between two arpeggio melodies. You can use
manual arpeggio or you can use two separate instances of an
arpeggiator, possibly using them one or two octaves apart, with the
lower octave arpeggio melody having less melodic variation than the
other.
3. Have an arpeggio that never repeats in the same way (this may require
some imaginative arpeggiator programming)
4.Have your arpeggio melody change every 2, 4 or 8 bars.
5. Have an arpeggio melody occur intermittently within your arrangement.
For example, in a 4 bar loop, an arpeggio may suddenly be heard only
in the 2nd half of the 2nd bar of the arrangement.
6. Use arpeggiation on percussion sounds to create strange rhythm
sections
7.Try using an arpeggiator on a one-shot sample of anything you like –
vocals, synth hits, drum hits, etc.
Exercise:
1.Try using any or all of the above compositional techniques for

arpeggiating a chord progression.
2.Try to come up with some other ways of using an arpeggio in your

music.
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Section 13: Working With Acapellas
13.1 Working With Acapellas
When working with acapellas, one of the most challenging things for many
producers is figuring out how to get the acapella in time with your own music
in your DAW.
Here is an approach that you can use:
1.Drop the acapella audio file into your DAW.

2.Deactivate any time stretching or warping that may be automatically
applied to the file by your DAW.
3. Listen closely to the track and identify the time signature.
4.Identify the first note that hits on the 1-beat of a bar.
5.Position your track so that this point is at the start of a 4 bar loop in your
DAW.
6.Activate your DAW’s metronome so that it clicks one beat per bar.
7.Listen to the audio file and adjust the tempo of your DAW so that the
metronome matches the tempo of the track. If your DAW has a tap
function, tap repeatedly in time with the acapella so that your DAW
adjusts its tempo based on the speed of your tapping.
8. Once roughly in time, listen to a section at the very end of your acapella
track and tweak the BPM of your DAW so that the ending of the
acapella is still in time with the music.
9.At this point you can activate time stretching / warping so that you can
add a ‘warp marker’ (Ableton lingo) at both the start and end in the
audio file, to hold this point at the position in your DAW’s arrangement
viewer that you position it at.
10. Now you will be able to adjust the tempo of your DAW and the tempo of
your audio file should change in time with your DAW’s tempo.
Exercise:
1.Download the acapella pack in section 13 of the videos page on the

courses website.
2.Choose one of the six acapellas that you want to use.
3.Get it into perfect time in your DAW using the method above.
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Section 14: Composing For String Instruments
Everyone loves a well written string section.
Unfortunately, many electronic music producers don’t know how string

instruments are composed in the real world.
Having a deeper knowledge of this will arm you with the skills to craft
beautiful, well written string scores for your music.
There are four string instruments in a string ensemble.
1.Violin (used for the highest notes 0 G2 to G6)

2.Viola (slightly deeper, lower notes than the violin)
3.Cello (representing the bass in your track – one octave below the violas)
4.Double bass (equivalent to sub bass in modern electronic music)
Now that you know these four instruments make up an strings ensemble, you
can appreciate that a full ensemble will cover the full frequency spectrum,
from the lowest bass notes up to the highest lead melody notes.
There are different types of ensembles:
1.The strings quartet (2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello)

2.The strings ensemble (minimum 4 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, 1 double
bass)
3. The full string orchestra (30 violins, 12 violas, 10 cellos, 8 double
basses)
How to score string chords
To do this effectively in your DAW with a strings ensemble synth/sampler, you

need to incorporate notes that represent the violins, ciolas, cellos and double
basses.
Therefore you will score from the bass to the high treble.
The high treble notes will be closer together, playing triad chords, while the
lower bass notes of the strings ensemble will be spaced more widely apart.
This gives space for the lower bass notes to have their own room to be hear d
clearly.
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Different Styles Of String Writing
Legato
When the bow is drawn across the string over several seconds, this produces
a long, continuous note. The notes from one note to the next are often
connected. This legato style of playing can also be done with pads, pianos,
rhodes, etc.
Note that the player can push down on the string (left to wright) or pull back on
the string (right to left).
This will cause a sharper attack when pushing down on the string compared
to pulling back on it.
To create a more realistic sound in your DAW, you may want to automate the
attack time of the string ensemble synth/sampler to change its attack time
when playing the even numbered notes in a sequence.
Pizzicato
This is where the player will pluck the strings in the same way as a guitarist.
This create short plucking sounds.
You can separate out these notes in the chord using an arpeggiator as
demonstrated in the tutorial video in section 13 on the courses website.
This style of playing can be hear d a lot in trance music.
Staccato
Another very popular playing is staccato bowing.
This is where the string is bounced off the string. This creates a similar effect
to the pluck sound of pizzicato, but with a slightly more aggressive sound.
Tremolo
Here, the performer is rapidly alternating between two different notes to create
a quivering sound. This sound is often heard in horror movies.
It is similar to the vibrato effect that we use on synth patches sometimes.
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Exercise:
1.Compose your best ever string score using legato strings

2.Make it even better.
3.Compose another string score using either pizzicato or staccato.
4.Make it even better!
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Section 15: Layering & Sequencing
Please refer to section 15 of the course videos on the courses website. You
will see me compose a track from the ground up.
Common problems I hear from students of BassGorilla.com:
1.My loops sound too empty

2.My loops sound too full and crowded
3. I write one section of my track, then I get stuck trying to write a different
section
Let’s address each of these problems here:
Problem 1: My loops sound too empty
Please be aware that this may be caused by a mixing problem or a sound

design problem.
If so, make sure you start making your main drums by comparing them with a
reference track right from the start.
From the very start of your track, your kick and snare need to be able to stand
up the kick and snare heard on a commercially available track in your genre
(ideally an iconic track within that genre).
Note that the reference track will have been mastered, so reduce its level by
around 10 DB to compare your drums with it. Also, try not to choose a
reference track that has been mastered in a way where it has very little
dynamic range when you look at the sound file’s transients in your DAW.
Once you have made sufficiently fat drums, the rest of your instruments will be
mixed to the level of those drums, continuously comparing your sounds to
your reference tracks to make sure each sound is full enough.
If you are confident that each of your sounds in your loop is sufficiently full and
fat enough, here are some potential causes and remedies for this problem:
Your drop consists of kick snare, ride, sub bass and main bass (for the most
part).
Solutions:
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1.Add more ride cymbals, crash cymbals, percussion such as shakers,

tambourines, etc. and other atonal sounds that will fill up the high
frequencies in your mix.
2. Add more melodic elements (chords, lead melodies, etc.)
3.Add more atmos and background sounds to occupy frequencies that
haven’t been filled yet.
Problem 2: My loops sound too full and crowded
This is a common problem of many a producer.
Solution 1
Realize that each element in your composition will sound fuller and fatter if it
has its own space to breathe and is not having to compete for frequencies
shared with other sounds.
The problem then becomes, “ My composition consists of just drums and a

bassline and it sounds boring!”
You don’t have to compose in this way.
If you have ever heard complextro or Porter Robinson’s music, you will be
familiar with this cutting and pasting, chopping and changing style of
composing, where you hear maybe half a bar of one sound, then a short,
sudden interruption of a completely different sound, then the 4th note of the
bar is a 3rd new sound, and so on.
This Allows you to have each element fill its own space in the frequency
spectrum, and also lets you write a track that has a lot of variation.
Check out how I demonstrate this technique in section 15 on the courses

website.
The other great advantage here is that only one instrument is heard at one
time (excluding the drums), which means that you don’t have to do as much
subtractive EQing to each sound, which would otherwise remove frequencies
from it so that it can sit well with different elements in your mix.
Solution 2
Another solution is to make sure that each instrument in an arrangement

occupies different octaves/frequencies within the entire frequency range.
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Try transposing different elements of your track up or down by an octave or

two, to create a different mix and feel to your composition.
Problem 3: I get stuck trying to write a different section
Solution 1
Check out the inteview with Haywyre in section 15 of the course.
He explains how to come up with a different chord progression that will match
your first chord progression.
It is a lot easier than you think it might be to do this.
Once you have this new chord progression down, it is easier to come up with
lead melodies and basslines that will be implied by each of the chords you
have chosen.
Solution 2
Try writing a new track chronologically.
This means, try starting with the intro. Then write the build up.
Next, you’ll find it easier to write a drop that fits well with the mood / vibe you
have created in your intro and the whole track will flow more naturally from a
structure point of view.
Solution 3
Analyze the structures of two or three reference tracks.
Make notes, then map out your desired structure of your own track. It doesn’t
have to be exactly the same as your reference tracks, but these will give you
some ideas of how your song could change from section to section.
Solution 4
Never give up! Perseverence is key to success in any venture in life!
Many great songs were written by tons and tons of trial and error and
experimentation.
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Exercise:
Using all the knowledge you have gained from this course, write your next
track from start to finish. Spend as long on it as it takes to complete it.
When you’re done, send me a link! I want to hear it.
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Appendix
Crotchet: a quarter length note
Sustain: the period of time during which the sound remains before it becomes
inaudible, or silent.
Motive: a short musical idea that recurs.
Sharp: a note raised by a semitone (half step)
Flat: a note lowered by a semitone (half step)
Degree: a scale degree is the name given to a particular note of a scale to

specify its position relative to the tonic (the main note of the scale)
major chord: a chord having a root, a major third and a perfect fifth
minor chord: a chord having a root, a minor third and a perfect fifth
legato: indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and
connected.
Stacatto: Italian for ‘detached’. In music it means a note of shortened length.
Tremolo: a trembling / quivering effect.
Pizzicato: meaning ‘pinched’ in Italian. A method of playing by plucking the

strings with the fingers
Scale: Any set of musical notes ordered by frequency or pitch
Mode: a type of scale coupled with a set of characteristic melodic behaviours.
Swing: a rhythmic that makes use of triplets to create an off-beat rhythmic

pattern
Triplet: A note that is 1/12th of a bar in length
Tonic: the first scale degree of a diatonic scale and the tonal center of final
resolution tone
Pentatonic: a musical scale or mode with five notes per octave
Dorian: One of the modern modal diatonic scales corresponding to the while
notes from D to D, or any transposition of this.
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Phyrgian: One of the modern modal diatonic scales corresponding to the
while notes from E to E, or any transposition of this.
Lydian: One of the modern modal diatonic scales corresponding to the while
notes from F to F, or any transposition of this.
Mixolydian: One of the modern modal diatonic scales corresponding to the

while notes from G to G, or any transposition of this.
Tension: the perceived need for relaxation or release created by a listener's

expectations.
Release: the perceived relaxation created by a listener’s expectations.
Melody: a succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single

entity.
Atonal: Music that lacks tonal center or key.
Dissonance: a harmony, chord or interval that is considered unstable
Register: the relative height or range of a note, set of pitches or pitch classes,
melody, instrument or group of instruments.
Tonality: a musical system in which hierarchical pitch relationships are based

around a tonic triad and on hierarchical relationships between that central
triad and the seven others in a key
Bar: a bar (or measure) is a segment of time defined by a given number of

beats, each of which are assigned a particular note value.
Harmony: the use of simultaneous pitches (tones, notes) or chords.
Chord: Any harmonic set of two or more notes that is heard as if sounding
simultaneously.
Diminished: A minor or perfect interval that is narrowed by a chromatic

semitone is a diminished interval
Augmented: A major or perfect interval that is widened by a chromatic

semitone is an augmented interval
Syncopation: a variety of rhythms that are unexpected in some way which
make part or all of a tune off-beat
Root note: the note that is the first degree of a scale
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BassGorilla Composition Masterclass E-Book

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BassGorilla Composition Masterclass For Electronic Music Producers

This e-book is designed to provide a summary of the content included in the

1. Knowing Your Genre

Section 1: Knowing Your Genre

Please see the video on the BassGorilla courses website.

Points made in this video:

• Many producers, musicians and composers dislike the term ‘genre’

1. Write down your main genre(s) OR subgenres that you produce.

Section 2: Workflow & Productivity

2.1 Beating roadblocks to completing tracks

Please refer to the video 2.1 in section 2 on the courses website.

The points made here include:

• Push yourself to finish a song

1. Write down 3 points on what is stopping you from completing your

2.2 Workflows for composing

Common problems relating to workflow:

Why is this recommended?

Mute a layer – a lead melody, or a bassline,or both, and write a new,

Default presets for plug-ins in your DAW

Channel strip (EQ, compression, reverb)

High Frequencies Distortion

You may want to include:

• A channel for each of your main tracks

2.5 Productivity – Tasks & Distractions

Making music can be split into 3 main tasks:

2.5 Beating Roadblocks To Completing Tracks

Please refer to the video on creative mindset on the BassGorilla courses

Other music is a great source of inspiration.

Believe In Your Ability To Be Creative

Points made in the video:

• Your own creativity is important in defining who you are as a person

You have to start believing in your abilities to be creative.

Adjusting Your Mindset To Allow Yourself To Be Creative

Points made in the video:

• Follow your own path

Going Your Own Way

Points made here:

• Control your music making environment – make it an environment that

Challenge Your Creativity

4. Combine different ideas together

6. Do word association exercises – write a word on paper, then write other

7. Write an event from the perspectives of different characters. These ideas

Try watching some videos of a drummer on YouTube. You will be able to

Please refer to section 4 of the videos on the BassGorilla courses website.

4.1 The right kick and snare for your genre

Video 4.1 demonstrates this in detail, with me using Haywyre’s track

The kick is asking a question, or ‘calling’, and the snare is ‘responding’

The Ride Element

4.3 Swing, shuffle and groove

Please refer to the videos in section 5 on the courses website.

There are two main types:

1. Color-adding percussion (tambourines, shakers, cowbell, wood blocks,

1. Analyze your own percussion sample library. Is it top-notch? What’s

Please refer to section 6 in the courses website.

6.1 Note Names

The distance between C and D is a whole step, also called a tone.

6.2 Major Scale

The major scale is a ‘happy’ sounding scale.

How to work out the major scale in any key

We will call this root note ‘R’

We will call a whole step up from the C note a TONE, or T.

The major scale will always follow this pattern:

So if you are in the key of F# major, the notes will be:

The F sharp note is often referred to as Bb (B flat) by musicians.