In this latest Passing Notes we take inspiration from the Yasuke soundtrack and explore ways to incorporate traditional percussive elements into modern productions.

In this installment of Passing Notes we look at how you can use simple key selection to give your low end a boost.

In part two of this installment of Passing Notes, we break down three more Daft Punk basslines while noting composition and arrangement tricks that the iconic duo applied regularly in their productions.

In part one of this new two-part Passing Notes series, we break down the French duo’s bassline composition techniques to draw lessons from some of their greatest hits.

In this installment of Passing Notes, we break down a universal workflow for analyzing unconventional scales and incorporating them into productions.

In this sequel to our Passing Notes article about auto-generated parts, we use Live’s Random MIDI device to generate a long chord progression and two melodic leads.

In this new Passing Notes, we use Ableton’s Follow Action and Random MIDI features to produce a Leftfield-style drum pattern, a complex bass line and an endless chord progression.

In this new Passing Notes we use Spitfire Audio’s new Originals orchestral instrument plug-ins to recreate two sections from the Detroit Producers’ collaboration with a live orchestra.

In this new Passing Notes we focus on the technique of parallel chords, which are one of the tried and tested means for catchy progressions in dance music.

In the second part of this two-part Passing Notes series, we break down advanced chord tricks used by one of the true pioneers of house.

We break down Kerri Chandler’s top chord tricks by analyzing some of his classic tunes.

In our latest Passing Notes feature, we take a better look at the theory and arrangement behind Black Water by…

In this latest Passing Notes article, we take a better look at Todd Terje’s evergreen “Preben Goes to Acapulco…

Polyrhythms in dance music are a simple yet effective technique for adding a sense of complexity to your tracks. In…

Sampling strings from existing records is a staple technique in dance production, but it has its downsides. Creating your own…

Legato playing styles allow for smooth, seamless transitions between notes. Dave Clews explores how they can be…