General Tips and Tricks Thread

RevTech said:
Exporting each channel for resampling always helps me out a lot, especially on drums and the bassline. To make a bubbling effect on the organ play on the 2 3 and 4. To make metric modulation, have two pulses going at different tempos. Use major and minor chords, balance it out, 9/8 time signiture is interesting.

Just random bits I wanted to write down
Click to expand...

Don't get your rythmic things. Two pulses @ differents tempos?
9/8 time signature isn't possible on D&B. In fact it is but it become nearly unmixable. Never heard a D&B track in something else than 4/4. After that inside the 4/4 you can think your pulse the way you want.
In fact when you come from acoustic music, electro has that hard thing that it must be mixable in club by a random DJ, so you have to respect 8/16/32 measures structures, 4/4 signatures etc... Has been hard for me to understand and to apply.
 
Phat_Sam said:
Ok here's my two cents:

Major scales in every key:

C = C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C
D = D - E - F# - G - A - B - C# - D
E = E - F# - G# - A - B - C# - D# - E
F = F - G - A - Bb - C - D - E - F
G = G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G
A = A - B - C# - D - E - F# - G# - A
B = B - C# - D# - E - F# - G# - A# - B
C# = C# - D# - E# (=F) - F# - G# - A# - B# (=C) - C#
Db = Db - Eb - F - Gb - Ab - Bb - C - Db
Eb = Eb - F - G - Ab - Bb - C - D -Eb
F# = F#= F# - G# - A# - B - C# - D# - E# (=F) - F#
Gb = Gb - Ab - Bb - Cb (=B) - Db - Eb - F - Gb
Ab = Ab - Bb - C - Db - Eb - F - G - Ab
Bb = Bb - C - D - Eb - F - G - A - Bb

Minor scales in every key:

C = C - D - Eb - F - G - Ab - Bb - C
D = D - E - F - G - A - Bb - C - D
E = E - F# - G - A - B - C - D - E
F = F - G - Ab - Bb - C - Db - Eb - F
G = G - A - Bb - C - D - Eb - F - G
A = A - B - C - D - E - F - G - A
B = B - C# - D - E - F# - G - A - B
C# = C# - D# - E - F# - G# - A - B - C#
Eb = Eb - F - Gb - Ab - Bb - Cb - Db - Eb
F# = F# - G# - A - B - C# - D - E - F#
G# = G# - A# - B - C# - D# - E - F# - G#
Bb = Bb - C - Db - Eb - F - Gb - Ab - Bb
Click to expand...

Ok so using these scales.... What would one use these for in the context of a song? I mean, I guess the most obvious use would be to make your bassline or other melody follow one of these scales? Is that correct?
Sorry I have very minimal musical theory knowledge.
When I am making a song I usually just make up my own scales
 
Yeh you just use the notes in that particular scale in all your instruments, and you'll get a harmonic result. You don't have to follow them step by step, just use what sounds good within the scale.

A good example are the A minor and C major scales. It is basically all the white keys, if you go through them from C to B, you got a major scale. for playign a solo for a tune in C major for example. Then again if you start from A and go throught the whites to G, you got A minor scale.
 
So if you wanted to you could just use like 3 notes out of a scale and it would produce a harmonic type of result
Makes sense!

Thank you , i never really understood

---------- Post added at 13:23 ---------- Previous post was at 13:08 ----------

So I guess if you are ever stuck for a bassline and you already have a good bass sound going then you could just stick a scale or a portion of a scale in there
 
i cannot recommend "the idiot's guide to music theory" book enough. great for idiot's (like me) who want to know they are at least using the right notes!
 
Phat_Sam said:
Minor scales in every key:

A = A - B - C - D - E - F - G - A
Click to expand...

No harm intended, but officially the A Minor scale is:

A = A - B - C - D - E - F - G# - A

in fact on a piano/keyboard, 2 notes next to each other (including the black ones) is called a semitone
e.g. C - C# is one semitone (where u see the 2 black notes together, C# is the left one)

a tone = 2 semitones
e.g. C - D is 1 tone (2 semitones) because you go C - C# - D

all scales follow a pattern of semitones...

for all minor scales its:

tone - semitone - tone - tone - semitone - 1 1/2 tones - semitone

where 1 1/2 tones = 3 semitones.

here's the A minor scale in bold/underlined :

A - A# - B - C - C# - D - D# - E - F - F# - G - G# - A

count out the number of semitones/tones to test that the pattern works.

you can use this pattern on any note to get the scale in minor.

playing G instead of G# is melodically correct and I use it a lot when playing in Am, but Im just writing the actual A minor scale.

hope this helps! :D
 
djdevz said:
No harm intended, but officially the A Minor scale is:

A = A - B - C - D - E - F - G# - A

in fact on a piano/keyboard, 2 notes next to each other (including the black ones) is called a semitone
e.g. C - C# is one semitone (where u see the 2 black notes together, C# is the left one)

a tone = 2 semitones
e.g. C - D is 1 tone (2 semitones) because you go C - C# - D

all scales follow a pattern of semitones...

for all minor scales its:

tone - semitone - tone - tone - semitone - 1 1/2 tones - semitone

where 1 1/2 tones = 3 semitones.

here's the A minor scale in bold/underlined :

A - A# - B - C - C# - D - D# - E - F - F# - G - G# - A

count out the number of semitones/tones to test that the pattern works.

you can use this pattern on any note to get the scale in minor.

playing G instead of G# is melodically correct and I use it a lot when playing in Am, but Im just writing the actual A minor scale.

hope this helps! :D
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure Phat_Sam had it correct. There are no flat or sharps in the C major scale, or the A minor scale. I think you're getting it confused with another scale, possibly Harmonic minor? Can remember learning it in college, 'cause all you did was raise the seventh note a semitone and it gave the scale an almost egyptian feel to it.

Then again, it's been years since I practised music theory, so forgive me if I'm wrong.
 
yeah i was talking about harmonic minor scales..
phat_sam's scale is a descending melodic minor scale, or natural i think

but now its getting too complicated, so stick with phat_sam's if you want to

but my post is there as another option :)
 
Last edited:
haha sorry guys. There are fuckin loads of diferent variations on the each scale!

Also.. for more interesting chord sequences, learn what 'Inversions' are. Basically you substitute the root of the chord for another not already in the chord.

I can't explain it without making it more confusing but here is a helpful link: HELPFUL LINK
 
I think this Is a good Idea for a thread and If it were a sticky I'd be sure to keep coming back to It.
Already learnt a bit, espescially about looking at D&B not as a 1,2,3 process, i think I have been doing that lately and do need to 'break the mould'

Phat_Sam said:
I can't explain it without making it more confusing but here is a helpful link: HELPFUL LINK
Click to expand...

^^ Not sure If you ment for this or not but the helpful link just took me to google.
 
mini_molko said:
I'm pretty sure Phat_Sam had it correct. There are no flat or sharps in the C major scale, or the A minor scale. I think you're getting it confused with another scale, possibly Harmonic minor? Can remember learning it in college, 'cause all you did was raise the seventh note a semitone and it gave the scale an almost egyptian feel to it.

Then again, it's been years since I practised music theory, so forgive me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...

For major scale, it's pretty much that. Minor are much more complicated. There is a shitload of different mode. Moreover, it depends of what chords are surounding your minor one.

Minor/major7 chords are different. It can sound arabic or maybe spanish. It's called minor harmonic yes. With a major 6th is minor melodic. Strange color if you are not used to it.

---------- Post added at 14:41 ---------- Previous post was at 14:34 ----------

Inversion or drops are basically changing the bass of your chord by another note of the chord an putting your bass higher in it. You can put a "stranger" note on your bass but be careful of the result.
Ex: A C E G (Aminor)can become C E G A or E G A C
Or: B C E G which is basically a CMajor or Ab C E G (AbMajor #5) or whatever you want if it sounds good.
You can change the order of every note in your chord to change the sound, or for the chord changes to be more or less fluent.
 
elmaruk said:
I think this Is a good Idea for a thread and If it were a sticky I'd be sure to keep coming back to It.
Already learnt a bit, espescially about looking at D&B not as a 1,2,3 process, i think I have been doing that lately and do need to 'break the mould'



^^ Not sure If you ment for this or not but the helpful link just took me to google.
Click to expand...

Yeah was supposed to be an ironic joke... :D (y) Just search ' Chord Inversions' in google.

Or here's a link I prepared earlier
 
Back
Top Bottom