There are various types of hobbies that teenagers all over the world pursue in order to keep themselves busy during their spare time and also to enhance their knowledge. Of all these different hobbies, music has always occupied the prime position in the hearts of the youngsters the word over. And it's not just the kids - it spans right through to adulthood.
People of a more experimental and non-traditional nature love to experiment with their musical instruments to come out with new sounds - even a new genre of music. It is largely due to their efforts that the world has witnessed the dawn of new and different types of music and Trance music is one of them.
Developed during the 1990s, Trance is a type of electronic music targeted at dancers that is characterised by its tempo that falls regularly between 130 to 160 beats per minute and utilises complex synthesised phrases, loops to portray deep emotion. Trance music typically follows a formula that allows the track to flow, progress and build to reach epic climaxes and deep low points, mixing together elements of different types of electronic music including House, Industrial, and Techno while keeping its own signature characteristics.
Thanks to the popularity of Trance music, it's not difficult to find people who are interested in seeing how the music is created. With powerful software studios getting increasingly cheaper to set up and with synthesiser technology getting easier to use you'll be surprised at how many people can actually get involved with the creation of Trance music in their own bedrooms quickly and easily and with great results. This process is known as Trance music production.
If you too are a lover of Trance music and are interested in getting into the production side of the genre, here are some hints that will help you to move up the ladder faster.
To begin with, Trance uses a 4/4 beat and uses a tempo in the range of 130-160 BPM (beats per minute). This means that there are four beats to every bar, and four bars to a phrase. So, a typical loop will run over 16 beats and repeat itself, although this vary. A phrase can be shortened or extended by divisions of 4. For example 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 beats in a single phrase.
In terms of instrumentation, a simple Trance production can be divided into five sections; percussion (drums), bass, chord progressions, melody and special effects. These should be the focus of your production. Then add to that extra programming and arrangement techniques and drum fills as you get a little more advanced.
Musical instruments are versatile things. They can all be used to produce different genres of music and the same humble piano that can recreate Waltz music can also be used produce a fantastic Trance melody if played at the right tempo. The same goes for acoustic and electric guitars. But Trance doesn't have to use real instruments. It is so versatile that a track made solely from synthesised instrumentation can sound just as professional as one that incorporates traditional instruments.
There are various types of Trance music and they include progressive, psychedelic Trance (also known as modern Goa), deep or dark Trance, breaks, and uplifting/melodic Trance. Some of these terms might sound alien to you, but as you listen to more of this genre and research each of them carefully, you will find that they all have similarities. For example, in breakbeat Trance production, the drum pattern deviates from the typcal 'four to the floor' rhythm and veer more towards funkier styles. Often, the other instruments play their fixed pattern but the percussion changes in rhythm, thus bringing about a whole new experience and mood.
A good thing about Trance music production is that you have the scope to experiment as much as you like in order to find your sound. Once you find sounds that you think compliment each other and will work well for the type of track you want to create you can start working on chord progressions, melodies and even the arrangement to develop your ideas into something that resembles a song. Then, once you are happy with the way things are laid out you can add in finishing touches to help polish the overall sound up, including sweeping effects, drum fills, variations in sound or melody and filtering instrumentation in and out to create swelling effects and change the dynamics of the song, a characteristic typical of Uplifting Trance.
Once you know the basics of the genre, what goes into a good Trance song, how tracks are typically arranged and the types of sounds you need to use you can progress quickly into creating high quality tracks that are of a releasable quality, but it isn't all plain sailing. There is a lot to learn and it takes time to develop your skills for you to complete a high quality piece of music that people will want to listen to over and over.
Although Trance music production is a lot of fun and can be very rewarding, be prepared to invest a lot of time and dedication into your music. Experiment and learn as much as you can as this will help you grasp the technicalities of music production quicker and you'll soon learn what works best for you, aiding you in producing better Trance music in a shorter space of time.
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