How to Write a Prog Melody

using the Major-Minor scale, aka Mixolydian ♭6

There aren’t many melodies that stand out nowadays. In an era where most musicians are trying to sound like the popular musicians in their genre, the result…

How to Write an Octatonic Riff

Using the Half-Whole Diminished Scale

Almost all popular music (in every genre and subgenre) is made using the major scale or the natural minor scale. That’s a vast ocean of music from only two…

How to Write a Beautiful Melody

There are 7 elements that create a beautiful melody. In our new PDF tutorial (download link below), you'll learn what they are and how to use them!

When I recently heard “Ray Of Solar”…

How to Write Beautiful Arpeggios

If you play all the notes of a chord simultaneously, you’ll create an instant emotion in your listener. This is a powerful technique, and the most common way to play chords. While allowing a chord…

How to Write a Melodic Bass Drop

EDM producers didn’t invent the bass drop, but it’s easy to argue they perfected it!

Having said that, though, the bass drop has long since gone stale. After becoming so popular, it was…

How to Write a Rhythmic CHORD Progression

One of the most common mistakes producers make when writing chord progressions is focusing exclusively on the notes (i.e. the harmony). Now, it obviously goes without saying that the notes are a vital…

How to Write "Peaceful Piano" Music

I’m just old enough that I got in my Grade 1 to 12 school years before computers and the internet took over. If you’re a Gen X like me, and there wasn’t a computer…

How to Write in 2 Modes Simultaneously

Humans are walking paradoxes! You know those times when you’re feeling two contradicting emotions at the same time? Like when you’re in a difficult situation but you feel hopeful about the future, while…

How to Write a Mixolydian MELODY

Music in a major key is uplifting, but the downside is that it often sounds childlike.

This is because the major scale is the most predictable scale. Predictable things are comforting and reassuring, so…

How to Write Calming CHORDS

Within seconds of hearing the opening chords in Portishead “Roads”, you can feel your cortisol levels dropping and your body’s tension releasing. This intro has to be one of the most calming moments in…

How to Write Standout DRUMS

A standout drum beat can make or break a song. Want proof? Listen to the new Aphex Twin single “Blackbox Life Recorder 21f”.

He’s actually reversed the roles of the instruments in this song, as…

How to Write Bass Lines
That Move People

I remember the first time I heard “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails in a club back in the ‘90s. I’d never before seen people literally running to the dance floor. Running!

My…

How to Write Heavy BASS Lines

Step 1. Syncopated Octaves

Set up one bar of 4|4 with your grid on 1/16 notes, and your tempo at 110 BPM. You’re gonna start by using only one note, and the octave of…

How to Write Advanced DRUMS

Step 1. Pattern

Set up two bars of 4|4 with your grid set to 1/16 notes, and your tempo at 136 BPM. Now, instead of starting to make your drum beat with the usual kick…

How to Write Locrian BASS Lines

Step 1. Basic

Set up four bars with an 1/8 note grid, and your tempo at 97 BPM. You’re gonna start by writing a basic bass line that plays every 1/8 note. This creates…

How to Write a Beautiful CHORD Progression

Step 1. Beauty

Set your grid to 1/16 notes and your tempo to 113 BPM. We’re in the key of A minor here, which is just all the white notes from A to…

How to Write a BASS Line with Harmony

Step 1. Low

Harmony is when two or more notes are played together. And sadly, it’s rare to hear harmony in a bass line. The word “line” is actually used to convey…

How to Write a Standout MELODY

Step 1. First Impressions

There are many ways to write a standout melody, but it’s difficult to improve on the method PJ Harvey uses in her new single “A Child’s Question, August”. That’s because…

How to Write a Locrian RIFF

FREE: Download This Tutorial as PDF
Includes multitrack MIDI example

Step 1. Octaves

Set your grid to 1/16 notes and your tempo to 97 BPM. You’re gonna start by writing a creative pattern using…

How to Write a Catchy MELODY

FREE: Download This Tutorial as PDF

Includes multitrack MIDI example

Step 1. Scale

There are two types of catchy melodies: annoyingly repetitive ones you can’t stop singing but actually hate, and awesome ones that…

How to Write Energetic BASS Lines

Step 1. Rhythmic Energy

There’s a super energetic bass line in the new single “No Reason” by The Chemical Brothers. To write a bass line like this, you need a lot of movement. Not…

How to Write a Lydian MELODY

FREE: Download This Tutorial as PDF

Includes multitrack MIDI example

Simple music can be great music. Depeche Mode’s lead single “Ghosts Again” from their new album “Memento Mori” is proof. It has a well-written …

How to Write Polymeter DRUMS

Step 1. Kick in 7

The new Periphery single “Atropos” (from the album Periphery V: Djent Is Not a Genre) opens with a classic djent polymeter, which we love! Staying true to Meshuggah’s original polymeter…

How to Write a Layered Guitar RIFF

Step 1. Bass

The first thing you notice in the opening riff of “Ego Death” by Polyphia is that there are two layers. There’s a bass line and a lead melody all in…

Drum Secrets of Hip-Hop Legends

DOWNLOAD This Tutorial as PDF

Includes Bonus Hack, MIDI & WAV file examples

Could you hear the missing ingredient in our drum beat? (click play above). If not, don’t worry, that’s because the beat is…