by Kate & Ray Harmony
Join over 250,000 YouTube subscribers learning the fast, easy & fun way to make good music without using AI, cos that's boring! Taught by multi award-winning college lecturer Ray Harmony, who works in all genres and has made music with multiplatinum Grammy-winning artists (see About page on website for details). Co-taught by Kate Harmony, Ray's wife and protégé. Download FREE Book at HackMusicTheory.com
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May 8, 2024
<p> </p><h2 style="text-align:center;"><span class="text-huge"><strong>How to Write a Catchy Melody.</strong></span></h2><p> </p><p> </p><h3 style="text-align:center;"> <a class="no-pjax" href="https://hackmusictheory.com/album/2877864/catchy-melody" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-huge"><strong><u>Download PDF Tutorial</u></strong></span></a><br><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>includes multitrack MIDI file</strong></span> </h3><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;">If the link above does not work, paste this into your browser:<br>https://hackmusictheory.com/album/2877864/catchy-melody</p><p> </p><p> </p><div class="video-container size_xl justify_center" style=""><iframe data-video-type="youtube" data-video-id="JpwJG0PMaoM" data-video-thumb-url="" type="text/html" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JpwJG0PMaoM?rel=0&wmode=transparent&enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></div><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><h2 style="text-align:center;"> <span class="text-big" style="color:#d63636;"><strong>Intro</strong></span><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>.</strong></span> </h2><p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-1e59f689-7fff-caca-0ad3-af3e070f0e1e"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-1e59f689-7fff-caca-0ad3-af3e070f0e1e"><span style="color:#000000;">British band <strong>Glass Animals</strong> are absolutely massive! At the time of writing this, they’re ranked #257 in the world on Spotify. Most artists as famous as them have achieved their success as a result of an obsessive striving for celebrity. However, Glass Animals seem to be obsessed with making catchy music instead. And not only that, their music is surprisingly creative for a band as successful as them.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">If you’ve been doing our Hack Music Theory tutorials for a few years, you’ll know that we don’t usually cover “celebrity artists”. The reason for that is because (nowadays) there’s an inverse correlation between the success of an artist and the creativity of their music. For an artist to achieve a fanbase of tens of millions, their music needs to appeal to the masses. And most people (nowadays) want “sugary” ear-candy music that’s pleasantly predictable, i.e. boring, bland background music.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">So why are we doing a tutorial on such a huge band? Well, Glass Animals’ new single “Creatures in Heaven” is a masterclass in catchy melody writing. The lead melody in their chorus has a whole bunch of creative hacks, as well as a very clever twist in its tale. So, inspired by “Creatures in Heaven”, here’s our 6-step method for writing a great melody that’s catchy enough for the masses. But first… Tea!</span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><h2 style="text-align:center;"> <span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Step 1. </strong></span><span class="text-big" style="color:#d63636;"><strong>The Chords</strong></span> </h2><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Open your DAW, leave the time signature on 4|4, but change your tempo to 80 BPM. Next, create a four-bar loop on your melody track, with a 1/16 grid. Okay so you may be wondering why the first step in a melody tutorial is… the chords?!</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Well, all great melodies are written over chords, or implied chords (chords are “implied” when they’re not played separately but their notes are incorporated into the melody instead). The reason it’s best to write a melody over chords is because it gives the melody a harmonic progression. Without this progression, the melody will sound mind-numbingly boring, as it won’t go anywhere harmonically. The difference is night and day. It’s like walking through a beautiful forest along the ocean compared to walking on a treadmill in a stinky gym. There’s no comparison!</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">So let’s get our chord progression written, that way we’ve set ourselves up to write a great melody. Glass Animals are in the key of D major for their chorus (so we’ll use it too), and they use four chords in their progression (so we’ll do that too).</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">D Major (notes)</span></p><div style="margin-left:0pt;" dir="ltr" align="left"><figure class="table" style="width:451.27559055118115pt;"><table><tbody> <tr> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">1</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">2</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">3</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">4</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">5</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">6</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">7</span></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">D</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">E</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">F♯</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">G</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">A</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">B</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">C♯</span></p></td> </tr> </tbody></table></figure></div><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">D Major (chords)*</span></p><div style="margin-left:0pt;" dir="ltr" align="left"><figure class="table" style="width:451.27559055118115pt;"><table><tbody> <tr> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">1</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">2</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">3</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">4</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">5</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">6</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">7</span></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Dmaj</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Em</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">F♯m</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Gmaj</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Amaj</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Bm</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">C♯dim</span></p></td> </tr> </tbody></table></figure></div><p> </p><p><span style="color:#000000;">*If you need help working out the chords in a key, read Hack 10 in our </span><a class="no-pjax" href="/books" target="_blank"><span style="color:#d63636;"><strong><u>Free Book</u></strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>.</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">As you probably know (or as you’ll hear if you play it), the diminished chord is crazy dissonant. It’s safe to say that using C♯dim ain’t gonna appeal to the masses, so take that off your menu. But other than that, you can use whatever you want.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Glass Animals use all three major chords, and only one minor. Playing three major chords in a major key gives their chorus a wonderfully uplifting vibe. So, think about your balance between major (happy) and minor (sad) chords. Also, think about the order of your chords. Glass Animals play the root chord (Dmaj) second. This detracts attention from it and creates a more fluid atmosphere. We played Dmaj last, though, which creates a more final ending. You can play Dmaj wherever you want, but consider where you want to draw people to the “home” chord. Here’s our progression: Gmaj → Bm → Amaj → Dmaj</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Once you’ve chosen your four chords, draw in the root note of each chord for a full bar (in a low octave). These roots will provide harmonic reference for your melody, which you’re gonna write above. This way you’ll be able to hear the relationship between each note in your melody and its accompanying chord. When you’ve finished writing your melody, mute these low roots. Then, create another track specifically for your progression, and draw in each full chord (i.e. 1, 3, 5).</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"> </p><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/hxsLBcat-aWVsK23HtDvJX51gxp-4H9D9OHFEEQ3k8AE-kOsW-NZkzSgFssx0GDOfiyv_22oFPru7ipmh4Xpj7f9Y8YfEXTJm_iQhNTGrbPL-7S-fgnYp3y9EiV_R5RvZWnhx1CU1EYQSN1CIuUKLL8" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="339" width="602" /><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Root note of each chord in progression (key note, D, highlighted)</i></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><h2 style="text-align:center;"> <span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Step 2. </strong></span><span class="text-big" style="color:#d63636;"><strong>The Drama</strong></span> </h2><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Great melodies contain drama, and there’s no better way to bring the drama than by using a big interval.* You see, larger intervals create intensity, while smaller intervals create continuity. You need both. In fact, you need a lot more smaller intervals than bigger intervals. However, if your melody contains only small intervals, it’ll be awfully boring. On the other hand, if your melody contains only big intervals, people will presume you were thoroughly drunk when you wrote it. <i><strong>Download the PDF to read the rest of this tutorial…</strong></i></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"> </p><h2 style="text-align:center;"> <a class="no-pjax" href="https://hackmusictheory.com/album/2877864/catchy-melody" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-huge"><strong><u>Download PDF Tutorial</u></strong></span></a> </h2><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;">Lastly, are you new to music theory? Or are you experienced, but you want a refresher? Then download our <a class="no-pjax" href="/books" target="_blank" data-link-type="page"><strong>FREE BOOK</strong></a> (link opens in new tab). It only takes 30 minutes to read, then you’ll have a solid theory foundation that you can instantly apply to your songwriting and producing. Enjoy!</p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p> </p><p> </p><a class="no-pjax" href="/books" data-link-type="page" data-link-label="Books" target="_blank"><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/64207/65e79fdcaf4a077d055edf5fedb28d506a02a358/original/book.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="1101" width="1500" /></a><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;">If the FREE BOOK link doesn't work, just visit our BOOKS page:<br>https://hackmusictheory.com/books</p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Ray Harmony</strong><br><i>Multi award-winning college lecturer</i></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
March 18, 2024
<p> </p><h2 style="text-align:center;"> <span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;"><strong>How to Write</strong></span><br><span class="text-huge" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Better Snare Rhythms.</strong></span> </h2><p> </p><p> </p><h3 style="text-align:center;"> <a class="no-pjax" href="https://hackmusictheory.com/album/2806684/snare-rhythms" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-huge"><strong><u>Download Tutorial as PDF</u></strong></span></a><br><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>includes MIDI + WAV file examples</strong></span> </h3><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;">If the link above does not work, paste this into your browser:<br>https://hackmusictheory.com/album/2806684/snare-rhythms</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><h2 style="text-align:center;"> <span class="text-big" style="color:#d63636;"><strong>Intro</strong></span><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>.</strong></span> </h2><p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-4d4a32e0-7fff-5416-8184-c38936535613"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-4d4a32e0-7fff-5416-8184-c38936535613"><span style="color:#000000;">While it’s normal to hear at least a few different kick patterns and hi-hat patterns in music nowadays, it’s rare to hear an interesting snare pattern. The rhythm assigned to this neglected element of the drumkit is almost always an afterthought. In 4|4 (which most music is in), the snare is usually one of these three rhythms:</span></p><p> </p><ol> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Regular backbeat (beats 2 and 4): used in most songs</span></li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Half-time backbeat (beat 3): used for a slower vibe</span></li> <li dir="ltr" aria-level="1"><span style="color:#000000;">Double-time backbeat (beats 1+, 2+, 3+, 4+): used for a faster vibe</span></li> </ol><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">So, when listening through to the new releases on Spotify, it was rather shocking (pleasantly so) to hear something completely unusual. The collaborative single “Snare Thing” by French producers Matt Sassari and Tony Romera is a refreshing celebration of the drum that almost always plays the most boring rhythm!</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">With these PDF tutorials, we usually have to make an educated guess as to what the creator’s intention and process was behind the song. But, based on the less-than-subtle title of their track, it’s safe to say that the duo were intentionally showcasing the snare drum’s creative potential. So, inspired by “Snare Thing”, here’s our 4-step method for writing creative snare patterns. But first… Tea!</span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><h2 style="text-align:center;"> <span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Step 1. </strong></span><span class="text-big" style="color:#d63636;"><strong>Motif</strong></span> </h2><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Set up two bars of 4|4 with your grid on 1/16 notes, and your tempo at 126 BPM. The first thing we need to do is write a motif, which is a short idea that’s repeated to give the music structure and make it more memorable.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">As we’re writing for the drums, our motif will obviously be a rhythmic motif (when using pitched instruments, you can also write melodic and harmonic motifs). The motif that Matt and Tony use is a couple of 1/16 notes followed by a 1/16 rest. They then repeat this motif to create their snare rhythm.</span></p><p> </p><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/sJa9w6J5oa3QMs6hpvlFbNeDlRKzOoEvbisc3mLfEhbyuCjbbZFlQVIa5U_HY6Tb1pN_97gsRApWwFscDaMTsIL-fGMTzPEh4-j9NnlJtaaWHNI699E4Es9MaIvI7eNdPMjnZ_ZuG_Wra9KykODy7s0" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="339" width="602" /><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Motif repeated to create snare rhythm</i></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">As you can see, their motif is three 1/16 notes long. Having a motif that’s an odd duration (like three, five, seven, etc.) will make it far more interesting, because each time the motif is repeated it’ll start on a different 1/16 note beat (e.g. 1<strong>a</strong>, 2<strong>+</strong>, 3<strong>e</strong>).</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">A motif lasting four (or eight) 1/16 notes will repeat on the same beat, so it’ll get repetitive and boring extremely quickly. Therefore, avoid using an even-number motif here. For the record, though, they can sound great when played on melodic instruments, because you can repeat the same rhythm while changing the pitches.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Right, when you’re happy with your motif, copy and paste it into the first three 1/4 note beats of bar one. You wanna leave beat 4 open for now, as that’s where you’re gonna write a variation. Next, copy and paste your rhythm into bar two.</span></p><p> </p><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/ZUoaZ_BOfsKeUkSe8adxRu4K4if0rhohYWpIT7H95m8f3iH2pFWkx0eRHAfzO4P8mat7ceW0MMWINTghKyRiC6AvA-G3SdHbEIMEFUPbyxUXFyteOMsdRXRLCZtaQ5ewYxgZH5W35JhJOtUY8fSQa3c" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="339" width="602" /><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Snare rhythm copied and pasted into bar two (highlighted)</i></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Now it’s time to write your variation in beat 4 of bar two. This variation will prevent the snare rhythm from getting boring, by turning it into a two-bar rhythm:</span></p><p> </p><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/2VhxF5tAgYOt2AbIKA0xo-gAi0R7fH4OZ1muaRuYhScHt23Ak7PGQuLPp61jQkYdrRNOwoUqhwdzzX-7luJ-rogDWYDhTvvS9_iSBsYMwYWMA08Dr6X72F2nXiAyqqMLv-gVguD5O7HIJHnTxdXL-Oc" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="339" width="602" /><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Two-bar snare rhythm created by adding variation (highlighted)</i></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><h2 style="text-align:center;"> <span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Step 2. </strong></span><span class="text-big" style="color:#d63636;"><strong>Swing</strong></span> </h2><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">With such an unusual snare rhythm, it would be completely acceptable to move on and write the kick drum pattern now. But, Matt and Tony have one more brilliant snare trick up their sleeves. Instead of using the regular straight grid that you hear in almost every song, they use a swing grid. This is a game-changer! <i><strong>Download the PDF to read the rest of this tutorial…</strong></i></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"> </p><h2 style="text-align:center;"> <a class="no-pjax" href="https://hackmusictheory.com/album/2806684/snare-rhythms" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-huge"><strong><u>Download PDF Tutorial</u></strong></span></a> </h2><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;">Lastly, are you new to music theory? Or are you experienced, but you want a refresher? Then download our <a class="no-pjax" href="/books" target="_blank" data-link-type="page"><strong>FREE BOOK</strong></a> (link opens in new tab). It only takes 30 minutes to read, then you’ll have a solid theory foundation that you can instantly apply to your songwriting and producing. Enjoy!</p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p> </p><a class="no-pjax" href="https://hackmusictheory.com/books" target="_blank"><img src="https://d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/64207/65e79fdcaf4a077d055edf5fedb28d506a02a358/original/book.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="1101" width="1500" /></a><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Ray Harmony</strong><br><i>Multi award-winning college lecturer</i></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
November 17, 2023
<p> </p><h2 style="text-align:center;"> <span class="text-huge">How to Write</span><br><span class="text-huge">Sweeping Arpeggios</span><br><span class="text-big">using a unique layering technique</span> </h2><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><h3 style="text-align:center;"> <a class="no-pjax" href="https://hackmusictheory.com/album/2639559/sweeping-arpeggios" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-huge"><strong><u>Download PDF Tutorial</u></strong></span></a><br><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>includes multitrack MIDI file</strong></span> </h3><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;">If the link above does not work, paste this into your browser:<br>https://hackmusictheory.com/album/2639559/sweeping-arpeggios</p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><h2 style="text-align:center;"> <span class="text-big" style="color:#d63636;"><strong>Intro</strong></span><span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>.</strong></span> </h2><p> </p><p><meta charset="utf-8"></p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-b64edd6b-7fff-c472-6ea9-817dd9626c8c"><span style="color:#000000;">Do your arpeggios all sound rather similar? It’s a common problem for producers.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Arpeggios are when you play a chord one note at a time, and it’s one of the best techniques for making your progressions more interesting. And while it’s definitely more rare to hear arpeggios than “block” chords in popular music genres, most of the arpeggios you do hear are rather boring. Merely playing chords one note at a time is not a foolproof way of making progressions more creative. If you want better arpeggios, you need to write an internal melody within them. Want even better arpeggios? Write two internal melodies, or maybe even three!</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">What are we talking about when we talk about “internal melodies”? Well, the melodies need to be formed from notes within the arpeggios, as opposed to writing a melody over the top of them. There’s obviously nothing wrong with doing that, but it will be heard as a separate melody, not as part of the arpeggios.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">While there’s an abundance of genius examples of this in classical music, there are sadly not many to be found in popular music genres. If you’re into the rock side of things, Muse has plenty of creative arpeggios. Examples are even rarer on the electronic side of things, though, but Daft Punk comes to the rescue with their song “Motherboard” (check out their new “Drumless Edition” of this song, as it’s easier to hear the arpeggios). At 28 seconds into this track, the most beautiful arpeggios begin to sweep up and down. Despite their fast pace (i.e. 1/16 notes), they’re thoroughly calming due to their smooth, sweeping motion. And it’s not just the fast pace that makes their arpeggios so creative, it’s also their choice of notes.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">So, inspired by “Motherboard”, here’s our 5-step method for writing sweeping arpeggios, which are guaranteed to stand out from all those boring, clichéd arpeggios. But first… Tea!</span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><h2 style="text-align:center;"> <span class="text-big" style="color:#000000;"><strong>Step 1. </strong></span><span class="text-big" style="color:#d63636;"><strong>Chords</strong></span> </h2><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">As arpeggios are simply broken up chords, the first step is to write a chord progression. So, set your tempo to 103 BPM, then create a four-bar loop and set your grid to 1/16 notes.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Daft Punk play their arpeggios on woodwind instruments, but we’ll get to that in the last step. For now, we actually recommend using a piano, for two reasons. Firstly, piano arpeggios are beautiful, so if you want, you can keep them on a piano sound (we did). Secondly, the piano has a much bigger range than any woodwind instrument, so you won’t be held back by not being able to play a note because it’s too high/low for that instrument.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Daft Punk’s arpeggios are in the key of E minor, so we’ll use it too:</span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">E natural minor</span></p><div style="margin-left:0pt;" dir="ltr" align="left"><figure class="table" style="width:451.27559055118115pt;"><table><tbody> <tr> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">1</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">2</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">♭3</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">4</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">5</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">♭6</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">♭7</span></p></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Em</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">F♯dim</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Gmaj</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Am</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Bm</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Cmaj</span></p></td> <td style="border:1pt solid #000000;padding:5pt;vertical-align:top;"><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Dmaj</span></p></td> </tr> </tbody></table></figure></div><p> </p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Regarding what chords to choose. This PDF is all about arpeggios, so we’re not going to cover the “chord choice” topic. If you need help with writing better chord progressions, we recommend our </span><a class="no-pjax" href="https://hackmusictheory.com/product/841067" target="_blank"><span style="color:#d63636;"><strong><u>Songwriting & Producing Course</u></strong></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><strong>.</strong></span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">The only three guidelines we suggest are to choose four chords, avoid the diminished chord, and play the root chord somewhere (you don’t have to start with it, though). Here are the chords we chose for our progression:</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">Cmaj → Gmaj → Dmaj → Em</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;">After you’ve chosen your four chords, draw in each chord’s root note for one bar.</span></p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"> </p><img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/4X9I6wlZgRYSQ94BDNaWyekcJA-3EhWLe4Ia7fC3vP6qD1grk9-uyNju6X6JI2Z6WTNypJ_U5c7PiFjyWGXoigOKtHGqSupERhjeCp58dru7woS-hARciMFbFK--TTfPweOR3Cb2eKMeThscwwHCseA" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" height="339" width="602" /><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i>Root note of each chord in progression</i></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;" dir="ltr"><span style="color:#000000;"><i><strong>Download the free PDF to read the rest of this tutorial…</strong></i></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;" dir="ltr"> </p><h2 style="text-align:center;"> <a class="no-pjax" href="https://hackmusictheory.com/album/2639559/sweeping-arpeggios" target="_blank" data-link-type="url"><span class="text-huge"><strong><u>Download PDF Tutorial</u></strong></span></a> </h2><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;">Lastly, are you new to music theory? Or are you experienced, but you want a refresher? Then download our <a class="no-pjax" href="/books" target="_blank" data-link-type="page"><strong>FREE BOOK</strong></a> (link opens in new tab). It only takes 30 minutes to read, then you’ll have a solid theory foundation that you can instantly apply to your songwriting and producing. Enjoy!</p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><a class="no-pjax" href="/books" data-link-type="page" data-link-label="Books" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/s:bzglfiles/u/64207/65e79fdcaf4a077d055edf5fedb28d506a02a358/original/book.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==" class="size_l justify_center border_" height="1101" width="1500" /></a><p> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:center;">If the FREE BOOK link doesn't work, just visit our BOOKS page:<br>https://hackmusictheory.com/books</p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>Ray Harmony</strong><br><i>Multi award-winning college lecturer</i></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
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