Music Theory for Electronic Musicians 2: Minor Keys and More

In the first part of Music Theory for Electronic Musicians, we learned how to work with the piano roll editor in a DAW to make harmonies, melodies, and whole tracks. In this second part, we'll expand on those ideas. We'll work with minor keys, focus some time on melody and bassline writing, and we'll talk about how different tracks work. 

Extensive Analysis 

In this class, we feature an extensive track analysis segment by Daft Punk, Avicii, Skrillex, and many more. In each of these segments, we'll look at their tracks on the piano roll editor. We'll talk about why they sound the way they do, and how you can use similar techniques in your own music. Each of these segments picks apart multiple elements of the song and dissects it in an easily digestiable manner. 

Who should take this course? 

Anyone interested in producing their own tracks. This will get you up and running and give your tracks a unique sound in no time.

Structure 

This course consists of video lectures, which all contain a session in Ableton Live 9. If you are using a different program (or none at all), no worries! This isn't a class on how to use Ableton Live, and the concepts can be applied to any DAW.  

• Welcome and Overview
• Analysis: Shame on Me (Avicii)
• Minor Scales
• Relative Keys
• Minor Diatonic Chord Progressions
• The Case of the Melodic and Harmonic Minor Scales
• Analysis: Ghosts N Stuff
• The Circle of Fifths
• Changing Keys Within Your Track
• Analysis: Get Lucky (Daft Punk)
• 7th Chords in Minor
• 9ths and 13ths
• Suspended Chords
• Reading a Chord Chart
• ster and Unnamed Chords
• Analysis: Everything You Do is a Balloon (Boars of Canada)
• Writing Melodies for Chord Progressions
• Writing Chord Progressions for Melodies
• Counter Melody with Apreggiators
• Analysis: Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites (Skrillex)
• Bass lines: Follow the Root Note
• Bass Riffs
• Get Muddy
• Analysis: Windowlicker
• Chromaticism
• Thanks and Bye!