toprocker22
New member
I just started getting into writing techno and i was wondering were to begin? Is there any funky tips that i could use to help out my writing.
Anyone Give Me Tips On Writing Techno
- Thread starter toprocker22
- Start date
VomitHatSteve
Hat STYLE. Not contents.
I personally write FX plugins for Reaper to generate techno music for me automatically. If I can teach you anything, it's that although automatic random music is cool... it's probably not really a good idea.
toprocker22
New member
Right ya the first one i wrote was just a bunch of random shit put together that i thought sounded cool at the time but i actually spent alot of time playing with it the other night and started workin on a pretty sweet soundin beat, but i just figure practise will be my best bet to get better 
Techno, eh...
Techno. I think of a couple things when I hear the word techno.
One, is strong bass dance beat. Complex or simple... its got to make girls get out there and SHAKE their thing and drag their girlfriends with them to dance to it.
I also think trance, dance when I think of the word techno. Arpeggiation effects are applied in many ways in it.
The one thing I DO know about it, is that you shouldnt just let the "arpeggiation" you program become the "melody". You need a melody(s) as well as just arp-ing.
Don't neglect traditional song structure... IE, you might want a bridge to markedly stand out from the rest. Consider relative key for this, and a style change to set it apart. These tend to get L-O-N-G, and you are trying to fight listener fatigue.
Many of these follow while not a 'rule' pr se, more of a guideline... that they "build" or "construct", and later on... they "de construct". meaning? They start with say just a strong bass line... add another line... add another... and so on... after several elements are working perfect, you might drop one early one (not the bass! thats ass-shaking constant!) as you add another.
a bridge could be SUDDEN and jarring, fall away or quickly deconstruct... or be whatever (like any song, it might not NEED a bridge)
I hear a lot of de-construct too. it slowly morphs, dropping stuff, adding others earlier used, until they fall away more or less like they started, giving a kind of finality to it.
some instruments tend to have "arp-ing" on them.
I hear what sounds to me like a lot of minor scale work, my ear hears a lot of pent minor in this genre. But, my ear is not to be trusted like Gecko's ear, believe me, LMAO.
when your working on one, bring a girl that loves to dance in, and can dance suggestively and well... if she wants to start doing the "perverted cupcake shake" and the "perverted pelvic thrust" to it, you are doing well.
I hear alot of reverbs, echoes, and effects like that used in these, but, I also hear foreground and background in it as well. various lines move from the foreground to the background smoothly, and you dont notice it unless you listen very critically. Your "system" should not be too easy to follow... you should not be able to say "okay... that whistle melodyt falls... away... right NOW!"
it kinda "morphs" and changes. I fancy I hear some polyrhythm aspects to the way various lines interact, but, again... if Geck okays this, then its likely more correct.
I heard a lot of these on the smaller music site I came from before I ended up being here. I dont make these, but, I have heard a lot of them. Its an acquired skill to specialize in this kind of music. me, I lean more towards classical type of stuff... these guys that I heard that were really good at this, tend to be able to make a coule other genres of music as well, where I am sorta one dimensional.
this genre will always be in and out, and has staying power... because its eminently danceable, and makes hot chicks dance and do suggestive moves with their girlfriends. ANything that does THAT is here to stay on dancefloors, heh heh
If I were to try this? I would start with pentatonic minor, I think anyways, and try to add lines, and take some away, then de-construct... in a simple, linear fashion staying in key at first... then get used to moving lines fom the back to the front of the sound stage with verb's that morph. Keep them short at first, and add length to your pieces as you keep interest higher, then you can start changing keys and experimenting with bridges and stuff.
designing/tweaking original and changed sounds is a key element in this genre as well. You will want a lot of software synths, and be good at using them to find sounds.
vocals tended to a lot of times be several lines, with a lot of effects on them... and only intermittently used. You want a BIG vocal hook if you use vocal(s) line(s).
You want a good "bass hook", and musical hooks should be obvious.
anytime a chick you bring in to see how its going, if she says its "danceable", your on the right track!
Techno. I think of a couple things when I hear the word techno.
One, is strong bass dance beat. Complex or simple... its got to make girls get out there and SHAKE their thing and drag their girlfriends with them to dance to it.
I also think trance, dance when I think of the word techno. Arpeggiation effects are applied in many ways in it.
The one thing I DO know about it, is that you shouldnt just let the "arpeggiation" you program become the "melody". You need a melody(s) as well as just arp-ing.
Don't neglect traditional song structure... IE, you might want a bridge to markedly stand out from the rest. Consider relative key for this, and a style change to set it apart. These tend to get L-O-N-G, and you are trying to fight listener fatigue.
Many of these follow while not a 'rule' pr se, more of a guideline... that they "build" or "construct", and later on... they "de construct". meaning? They start with say just a strong bass line... add another line... add another... and so on... after several elements are working perfect, you might drop one early one (not the bass! thats ass-shaking constant!) as you add another.
a bridge could be SUDDEN and jarring, fall away or quickly deconstruct... or be whatever (like any song, it might not NEED a bridge)
I hear a lot of de-construct too. it slowly morphs, dropping stuff, adding others earlier used, until they fall away more or less like they started, giving a kind of finality to it.
some instruments tend to have "arp-ing" on them.
I hear what sounds to me like a lot of minor scale work, my ear hears a lot of pent minor in this genre. But, my ear is not to be trusted like Gecko's ear, believe me, LMAO.
when your working on one, bring a girl that loves to dance in, and can dance suggestively and well... if she wants to start doing the "perverted cupcake shake" and the "perverted pelvic thrust" to it, you are doing well.
I hear alot of reverbs, echoes, and effects like that used in these, but, I also hear foreground and background in it as well. various lines move from the foreground to the background smoothly, and you dont notice it unless you listen very critically. Your "system" should not be too easy to follow... you should not be able to say "okay... that whistle melodyt falls... away... right NOW!"
it kinda "morphs" and changes. I fancy I hear some polyrhythm aspects to the way various lines interact, but, again... if Geck okays this, then its likely more correct.
I heard a lot of these on the smaller music site I came from before I ended up being here. I dont make these, but, I have heard a lot of them. Its an acquired skill to specialize in this kind of music. me, I lean more towards classical type of stuff... these guys that I heard that were really good at this, tend to be able to make a coule other genres of music as well, where I am sorta one dimensional.
this genre will always be in and out, and has staying power... because its eminently danceable, and makes hot chicks dance and do suggestive moves with their girlfriends. ANything that does THAT is here to stay on dancefloors, heh heh
If I were to try this? I would start with pentatonic minor, I think anyways, and try to add lines, and take some away, then de-construct... in a simple, linear fashion staying in key at first... then get used to moving lines fom the back to the front of the sound stage with verb's that morph. Keep them short at first, and add length to your pieces as you keep interest higher, then you can start changing keys and experimenting with bridges and stuff.
designing/tweaking original and changed sounds is a key element in this genre as well. You will want a lot of software synths, and be good at using them to find sounds.
vocals tended to a lot of times be several lines, with a lot of effects on them... and only intermittently used. You want a BIG vocal hook if you use vocal(s) line(s).
You want a good "bass hook", and musical hooks should be obvious.
anytime a chick you bring in to see how its going, if she says its "danceable", your on the right track!
gecko zzed
Grumpy Mod
What Sedstar said ^^^
In summary:
1 A strong pulsing beat, heavy on the onbeats. Think about tempo of around 140bpm.
2 A strong and convincing melodic hook . . . you want them to keep singing it after the song is done.
3 Lots of variation for a dance tune . . . but allow time for variations to develop. If you are thinking 7 to 8 minutes, you need to provide 'waypoints'. However, abrupt changes are good too. I wouldn't be afraid of cutting bass and kick for eight bars for a bit of relief, then bring them back with a crunch. Overlaying the 4/4 with other rhythms is cool, as Sedstar notes.
4 Above all, listen to what others are doing in this genre. Listen to what works for the chicks . . . the ones invariably dancing while their boyfriends drink beer and punch each other's lights out outside.
In summary:
1 A strong pulsing beat, heavy on the onbeats. Think about tempo of around 140bpm.
2 A strong and convincing melodic hook . . . you want them to keep singing it after the song is done.
3 Lots of variation for a dance tune . . . but allow time for variations to develop. If you are thinking 7 to 8 minutes, you need to provide 'waypoints'. However, abrupt changes are good too. I wouldn't be afraid of cutting bass and kick for eight bars for a bit of relief, then bring them back with a crunch. Overlaying the 4/4 with other rhythms is cool, as Sedstar notes.
4 Above all, listen to what others are doing in this genre. Listen to what works for the chicks . . . the ones invariably dancing while their boyfriends drink beer and punch each other's lights out outside.
Paulie Jay
New member
Somebody ate my perverted cupcake. Can I have another one...?
leaningpine
New member
That was awesome! lmmfao!
jab2980
MoA
The System is Down
I recall a highly-detailed walk through from around 2003 and was lucky enough to locate it on youtube for you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4gqsuww6lw
I recall a highly-detailed walk through from around 2003 and was lucky enough to locate it on youtube for you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4gqsuww6lw
essentially i have nothing new to say but would like to reiterate what others have said. the pulsing on off 1-2 beat is huge becuase it is a dance style. you also do need a repetitive hook, but thats probly less important than the beat itself. also, with the beat and melody patterns it seems in popular techno that it works well to experiemtn with whatever strange and unusual sound effects possible. just something ive noted. i know very little about the style, but i hope that helped somewhat.