Wiktor Wise
Electro house is a fast-paced style of house music, with a tempo of between 122 and 130 BPM. It's characterized by a pulsating energy and an electrifying atmosphere on the dance floor. To start making electro house music, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the basics of house music production, such as diatonic progressions, melody, and development. You'll also need a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) such as Logic, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, SONAR, FL Studio, or Cubase. When it comes to the creative process, start with a single house element, such as rhythm, and build from there. Focus on the interplay between the bassline and drums, and consider starting with a simple chord progression. To create an electro house sound, use buzzing chord timbres for harmony, or leave out chords altogether and use synths to add bleeps, squeaks, and glitches.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Tempo | 122-135 BPM |
| Rhythm | Four-on-the-floor |
| Drums | Kick drum is of supreme importance |
| Bass | Place the bassline between the drums |
| Chords | Start with a simple chord progression |
| Harmony | Use buzzing chord timbres |
| Synths | Use synths to add bleeps, squeaks, and glitches |
| Arrangement | Keep things minimal |
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What You'll Learn
Set a brisk tempo of 122-135 BPM
When making electro house music, the first step is usually to set the tempo. Electro house typically has a brisk tempo of between 122 and 135 BPM. This is considered a 'fast' house style, and the average tempo has probably increased over time. Setting a tempo within this range will keep your track contemporary, with the flexibility to go mellow or harder.
To set the tempo, you will need to use a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) such as Logic, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, SONAR, FL Studio, or Cubase. These DAWs allow you to create MIDI tracks, sequence drums, and adjust velocity values.
When setting the tempo, it's important to keep in mind that the BPM will determine the speed at which the beats play out per measure. A higher BPM will result in faster-occurring beats, while a lower BPM will give you a slower pace. This will impact the vibe of your track and how people respond to it.
Once you've set your brisk tempo, you can start building the groove. In electro house, you'll want to use space in the arrangement and mix, keeping things minimal. You can leave out chords altogether and use synths to add bleeps, squeaks, and glitches. Make sure your drums and bass sound great on their own, as you'll want to keep the arrangement clean without piling on too many additional elements.
Remember, these guidelines are not strict rules, and you can always experiment and adapt them to your creative vision.
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Use a kick drum
The kick drum is of "supreme importance" in electro-house music. To start making electro-house music with a kick drum, you'll need a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) such as Logic, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, SONAR, FL Studio, or Cubase.
Once you have your DAW, you can create a MIDI track and load an instance of Komplete Kontrol onto it. From here, you can access different kick samples. Sequence an A1 kick drum on each beat of a bar, using velocity values of 100.
When it comes to layering your kick drum, you can try using different drum loops, such as funk or rock drum loops. Chop these up into something that fits into a 4x4 track. You can also try layering multiple kick drums on top of each other to create a "phat" bass drum sound.
Compression is an important technique to use when working with kick drums. Play with the settings, aiming for extremes with a very high ratio and a very low threshold. You can also try using a fast attack and fast release type of compression. Additionally, EQ is crucial when working with kick drums. Be mindful of the frequency spectrum of your kick, especially if your track will be played on smartphone speakers, which typically don't return any frequency above 100 Hz.
Finally, remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to using kick drums in electro-house music. Experiment with different techniques and settings to find what works best for your particular track.
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Add other instruments, like buzzing chords
When making electro house music, it's important to remember that it is a fast style of music, with a tempo typically between 122 and 135 BPM. This is faster than traditional house music, which usually has a four-on-the-floor beat. Electro house, on the other hand, has a "spicy little pinch of swing", with delayed 16th-note subdivisions.
To add other instruments, like buzzing chords, to your electro house track, there are a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, you may want to hold off on adding in major new parts, such as chords, until beyond the halfway point of the song. This will create a sharper contrast and make your production more interesting. When adding buzzing chords, it's best to use the amplitude envelope's sustain at full volume so that the chords sound gated rather than plucked. This will give your electro house track a harmonious feel.
If you want to keep things minimal, you can leave out the chords altogether and instead use synths to add bleeps, squeaks, and glitches to embellish the groove. To achieve this, you can use SFX packages such as Airburst SFX, Fibre Optics, and Orbital SFX.
Remember that electro house is known for its dramatic build-ups, leading to a climactic drop. So, when adding new instruments and harmonies, be sure to contrast them with sparser sections of the tune to increase their impact. This will also ensure that your drums and bass, which are essential in electro house, stand out and sound great on their own.
Additionally, be mindful of the diminished chord that is part of the major scale. It is generally avoided in electronic music due to its dissonant and unsettling nature. Instead, use the six other diatonic chords when building your progressions. You can also adjust the voicings, or the octaves of the individual notes in your chord part, to create a smoother movement within the progression and more independence between the chords and the bass.
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Use space in the arrangement and mix
Electro house music is characterized by its fast tempo, usually ranging from 122 to 130 BPM, and its use of electronic drums with a four-on-the-floor kick pattern, claps on the backbeat, and hi-hats on the offbeat. To create an effective electro house track, using space in the arrangement and mix is crucial. Here are some tips to achieve this:
First, keep the arrangement minimal. This means avoiding the temptation to pile on too many tracks or elements. Focus on making your drums and bass sound excellent on their own, as they form the foundation of the track. You can use buzzing chord timbres for harmony, but consider leaving out chords altogether to maintain a minimalist aesthetic. If you do this, you can use synths to add bleeps, squeaks, and glitches to embellish the groove.
Second, create contrast by using sparser sections in your tune. If you're incorporating harmonies, make sure to offset them with sparser sections to increase their impact. This will make the harmonies stand out and give them more power when they return after a sparse section.
Third, automate reverb to build contrast. Reverb can add interest to a minimal mix, especially when applied to snares. Unlike kick drums, reverb tails on snares won't smear out the hi-hats or shakers, nor will they sound muddy. Experiment with running your basses through a reverb on a send/return track, but remember to use a high-pass filter to prevent the mix from becoming muddy.
Fourth, leave space for the kick and bass. High-pass most elements to clean up the mix and ensure that the kick and bass have room to breathe. Be mindful of the cutoff frequency—if it's too high, your mix will sound thin, and if it's too low, you'll still have clashing and muddiness.
Finally, use space to highlight impactful lyrics or vocal parts. Cut away parts of the arrangement when an impactful lyric comes in, or bring back the full track during a bridge between vocal parts. This will create dynamic moments in your track and ensure that the vocals shine through.
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Contrast harmonies with sparse sections
Electro house is a fast style of house music, with a typical tempo of between 122 and 130 BPM. It is characterised by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat, driving rhythms, captivating synths, and an infectious groove.
To start making electro house music, you'll need a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) such as Logic, Pro Tools, Ableton Live, SONAR, FL Studio, or Cubase. You'll also need to choose a scale and improvise within it to get a feel for how it sounds.
When it comes to contrasting harmonies with sparse sections, there are a few techniques you can use. Firstly, it's important to create a great rhythm section, as this will be heard unaltered for 16-32 bars at a time, with only minimal variation. You can also create contrast by hanging back on adding in major new parts, such as chords, until beyond the halfway point. This will produce a sharper contrast and make your production more interesting. Instead of building up to a clichéd drop, use simple fades to let the quality and balancing of your individual tracks shine through.
Another way to create contrast is through the use of space in the arrangement and mix. Keep things minimal, and if you're going for harmonies, contrast them with sparser sections of the tune to increase their impact. Make sure your drums and bass sound great on their own so that you can keep the arrangement clean without needing to add too many other elements.
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Frequently asked questions
The first step is to set the tempo, which is usually between 122 and 130 BPM.
The second step is to find a suitable kick drum. Create a MIDI track in your audio editing software and load an instance of Komplete Kontrol onto it.
House music is one of the oldest electronic dance music genres, dating back to the late '70s. Electro-house is a subgenre of house music, along with deep house, tech house, French house, Dutch house, ambient house, micro house, and Balearic.
It is common for the bass and drums to sound muddy when first starting out. To avoid this, place the bassline between the drums rather than having both elements hit at the same time. You can also formulate your bassline around a simple chord progression, such as I IV V (C F G in the key of C major).
