What Makes Up This Genre? #4 EDM

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

Hello and welcome to the fourth installment of my series: What Makes Up This Genre. 

 

 

EDM

 

Summary/Subgenres

 

"Bump, bump, bump-ty bump..." Ah yes...that beat...that beat that makes up the majority of today's electronic music...that beat that makes up nearly 75% of brony music and that beat that's sadly taking over the music scheme today...yes...EDM. Electronic Dance Music has been around since the 80s. Like Eurobeat, you may think it originated here, but it actually originated in Britain. When the synthesizer was developed, it was mainly used as a backup in rock, R&B and early forms of metal. 

 

EDM is divided into several genres, each with subtle differences.

 

House: House is the most basic form of EDM. it consists of a straight percussion drive with kick on the downbeat. The downbeat is is the main part of the beat. In conducting, every quarter note lands on the downbeat. Sometimes, there maybe a high-hat on the upbeat. A high-hat is a type of cymbal that is comprised of two cymbals facing each other on a stand. A high-hat on an acoustic set is controlled by a pedal for open hits and closed hits. The upbeat is a half beat found on "and". 

 

Trance: Unlike House, Trance consists of a more melodic aspect. An arpeggiated plucked lead almost always will be present. Arpeggiated means broken chords. Arpeggios input a more dexterous feel to the piece. Percussion lines may be a bit more complex consisting of synth toms for fills. A fill is a percussion line that consists of a complex rhythm that can end with a crash on the 1st beat of the following measure. 

 

Hardstyle: Hardstyle takes the basic elements of EDM, but gives it a more intense feel. The most notable element of hardstyle is the fact that it's drop leads into leads into a harsh thumping rhythm that may consist of hard sawtooths and distinguished plucked leads. The drop is the part of the EDM song that leads into the main thumping kick. We will discuss drops later. 

 

Techno: Techno is a little more complex, as it combined the African American styles with the edm styles to create a hip-hop/edm fusion. In techno, you may hear a mix of open and closed high-hats. In techno, plucked leads may be phat. "Phat" is a term for a plucked lead that is deep in the low end with filter work.

 

 

Those are four subgeneres of EDM. Now that we've got those out of the way, let's get into the sounds of EDM. 

 

Instruments and Sounds

 

EDM is mainly known for its full-on electronic sound. You can easily recognize it due to that deep pumping kick. The synthesizer is always used in EDM no matter the sub-genre. In addition, some producers of EDM rely on what is known as a launchpad. A launchpad is a special device that is calibrated for creating electronic pieces. Launchpads are very unique because clips of instruments can be assigned to them. Clips are small audio samples of instruments. Clips can be programmed to launchpads. There are other controllers that aid in the production of EDM. Alternatively, a MIDI controller can be used. A MIDI controller is a device that transfers MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) to trigger sounds, create effects and other parameters. Furthermore, a drum machine can also be used. A drum machine is a tool that plays pre-recording rhythms. Early drum machines did not have the capability to add fills and other transitional elements. Nowadays, drum machines can adapt to the way you create your music with modernized technology.

 

In terms of sounds, the four basic soundwaves are present: Sine, Square, Sawtooth and Triangle. These waves are all characterized by their distinct sound.

 

The Sine wave is the most basic wave. It is characterized by sounding like a digital "hum". In EDM, sine waves are usually one of the main leads. They are often condensed down to a beep lead. A beep lead is often found in the higher range. It usually takes arpeggiated runs on a quarter beat. 

 

Here's a sine wave: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/220_Hz_sine_wave.ogg

 

The square wave is a very versatile wave. It can act as a solo lead due to it's melodic character. A standard square wave can be somewhat sharp due to its already high harmonic level. A standalone square wave may need to be adjusted. Running it through a very soft low pass filter can help your square wave not sound so sharp. In fact, if you lower the attack (the time it takes for a note to fully sound), you can even convert it to what is known as an LM Square Wave. This variant of the square wave is more mellow than the standard square wave. It is close to the triangle wave but not quite there. In EDM, a square wave can be transformed into a plucked lead for arpeggiated runs. They are often used in slide drops. A slide drop is an element of EDM where a wave is rapidly shifted downward in pitch via a sliding sound. Slide drops are always chromatic. Chromatic means consisting of all half-steps.

 

Here's a square wave: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Square_wave_1000.ogg 

Notice the very sharp sound

 

The triangle wave is quite similar to the square wave in sound, HOWEVER, there is quite a difference. The triangle wave has a more mellow sound due to the fact that it's harmonic level is not as high as the square wave. In fact, the triangle wave is often used in making synthesized wind instruments such as clarinets. In EDM, the triangle wave can be transformed into what is known as a popcorn lead. A popcorn lead is very short sounding. It sounds like popcorn popping. Popcorn leads are rapidly arpeggiated running on 16th notes. Triangle waves can also be transformed into slow ascending sliding leads. An ascending sliding lead is found mainly in the build-up section of an EDM track just before the drop. Sometimes, smooth gating is applied. Gating is an effect that rapidly adjusts the volume of the sound. In EDM, gating is done to the beat of the song. Smooth gating occurs when there is a soft cut in volume, sort of like someone adjusting a volume knob. It has a very natural sound. 

 

Here's a triangle wave: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/220_Hz_anti-aliased_triangle_wave.ogg

 

Finally, the sawtooth wave, the brightest wave of the four, is the most popular wave used. Due to it's bare sound, it almost always has to be tampered with to get that bright sound. For details on how to get the bright sawtooth wave, you can visit the second installment in this series, which is eurobeat. After the equalization and transformation of the sawtooth wave, you can make it into a backup lead or plucked lead. A backup lead is any lead that performs chords on rhythms and other elements. In addition, sawtooth waves can be run through harsh gating. In comparison to smooth gating, harsh gating is very choppy-sounding. 

 

Here's a bare sawtooth wave: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Sawtooth-aliasingdemo.ogg

 

Well, are you overwhelmed? It's not over yet...we still have one more section to tackle...and it's the most important

 

 

Song Formats and Chord Progressions

 

In EDM, there is much repetition, and sadly nowadays, producers limit themselves in chord progressions. For best results, it is best to use 4 chords, since you have 24 ways of ordering them. 

 

EDM does have a specific order. It is comprised of phrases with 8 bars. A bar of music consists a certain number of beats. In EDM, it is 4 beats to a bar.

 

1-2-3-4|2-2-3-4|3-2-3-4|4-2-3-4|5-2-3-4|6-2-3-4|7-2-3-4|8-2-3-4|

 

Study this beat chart. Now, focus on bars 5, 6 and 7. These are the most important bars in EDM. This is where most of the transitional elements, drops and other stuff appear. When an EDM song starts it may start softer, but it all depends on the producer. In bar 4, a small fill may occur with synthesized toms. In the early part of the song, bars 5, 6, and 7 stay normal. Bar 8 is reserved for a larger fill with more activity. This repeats until the drop-prep phrase begins. The drop-prep phrase is the part of the EDM song where there is a setup for the drop. In bar 5, a noise sweep rise may begin. A noise sweep rise is a sound where general noise is run through a filter and swept out of the filter. A snare may begin on quarters as well. In bar 6, the snare converts to 8ths, and then 16ths in bar 7. Bar 8 contains the drop. The drop is the most important element of an EDM song, as it's the transition between the main phrase and the breakdown. The breakdown in an EDM song is the loudest part of a song, which contains many elements. Anything can happen in a breakdown. There are endless possibilities. Outros vary as well. Sometimes, everything is swept into a filter, or it just ends abrubtly. A more unique approach is the subtraction element. Here, an instrument is taken away after every 4 bars, until there is nothing left. 

 

To hear this all come together, take a listen to one of the most famous pieces that even earned a meme on youtube. Yep...you guessed it. Sandstorm - Darunde

 

 

Notice how all the elements come together. Also, listen out for the drop. Keep count using the chart I provided you above so you can listen out for the drop. 

 

Miscellaneous Info

 

Synth Strings are also used in EDM. They can be created with a sawtooth wave equalized, chorused and with a higher attack time. 

 

A reverse cymbal can be used for short fills. To make one, all you have to do is collect a crash cymbal sample and reverse it in any audio program. 

 

 

 

Well, I hope you've learned a lot from this guide. Remember, I'm always here if you got any questions. Just shoot me a PM and I'll get back to you ASAP. 

[Espy Vibe 4,298]

No offense but some of the information is erroneous.

It's hard to really split "EDM" into just 4 subgenres (can't blame you for choosing only 4, there are loads), all of which would technically find it's way under House anyways (or we want to be really nitpicky: Disco and US Garage). Also, it's completely omitting breakbeats genres which is really weird to leave out for EDM.

It's best to describe it as any club-friendly electronic music. Like "Pop" but for electronic music because the popular subgenres get switched around between different subgenres.

 

 

Quote

Electronic Dance Music has been around since the 80s ... you may think it originated here, but it actually originated in Britain.

EDM as we know it originates in the USA, though it has traces to Europe. New York City, Chicago, and Detroit were the biggest exporters for very early EDM, which would've been a walk around the corner from Disco. House and Techno territory, most of which was played at underground raves.

The undergrounds of America liked it, some commercial success here, but it was the Brits across the pond who fell in LOVE with it. Everything from House to Acid Techno, wow! Of course, now it's a worldwide phenomenon (has been for decades), but it's important to make that distinction. 

If memory serves me right, the UK's first new electronic subgenre that they introduced was Bleep, or Bleep Techno, around the late 80s/early 90s. But, more famously, they introduced Jungle/Drum & Bass, UK Garage, and Dubstep, just to name a few. All of which are based on LIVE drum breakbeats as a huge backbone to their own characteristic sounds, which had to be sourced either from Funk, Rock, Soul, and Reggae (including Dancehall, Ska, etc.). Also, Hip Hop records. (Or, from random floppy disks, CDs, and the internet when that became more accessible as a resource.)

Drum machines and synthesizers are mentioned, but how come hardware samplers (and ROMplers, tbf) like various Emu and AKAI hardware are left out? It was a big part of the production process. Back then, they had to really speed up the sample because the memory on those things would not be large enough if it were played at normal speed. Then, they would stretch it back out as needed but this would lead to a degradation in sound quality, and on top of that were the hardware samplers that had their own audio processing. So, it led to an inarguable lower sound quality that's simultaneously ridiculed and loved now.

This process is also historically important for Hip Hop.

I could also get into more specific sounds, like 808 basses were just the kick from Roland's TR-808 drum machine but modified to work more as a bass note, and there's a test tone on AKAI's S950 hardware sampler that was also popular to use as a bass note, but that's it's own discussion.

Speaking of bass, no mention of how to make a simple electronic bass here? It's one of the main signature aspects of any EDM subgenre! There's too much focus on leads and other brighter sounds here.

The sine and triangle wave are the best options for simple electronic basses and sub basses. Just play them at lower octaves and it should be done to taste based on the full context of a tune. Doesn't even have to be on the grid, there's no hard rule on what it has to sound like musically. Additional saturation or distortion effects on them and you'll easily get some characteristic EDM basses immediately. 

 

 

Quote

In EDM, there is much repetition, and sadly nowadays, producers limit themselves in chord progressions.

Let's leave out the negative rhetoric like "sadly nowadays." I got a negative vibe while reading this, but that's besides what I wanted to bring up.

There's a few reasons for how it came to be so simple. The obvious ones are, well... obvious: bedroom producers have less to worry about when producing due to limited musical knowledge (though always open for learning), and DJs have less to worry about when mixing songs (their considerations are actually a whole separate topic on their own, so really it's just making it more predictable so they can DJ a little easier). (Mind you that there are plenty of formally trained musicians producing EDM just as much as there are informally trained, so it can be a weak argument to say otherwise.)

The less obvious reason is more technical. The human hearing range is limited to about 20 Hz - 20 kHz, varying a bit person-to-person. Every note has a specific frequency which can be tested with a piano or a sine wave through a frequency analyzer. As it just so happens, there's a small frequency range holding specific notes that work the best for EDM because of the BASS, which I want to point out AGAIN that it's left out of this guide! Knowing how important bass frequencies are, this answers why most EDM sometimes feels unintentionally limited to specific notes: web archive of the frequencies of musical notes chart from the "Physics of Music" course by Michigan Technological University.

It's roughly around 40 - 60 Hz where the bass has the most impact on club soundsystems. Nobody was really trying to find the "best" frequencies through technical reasons, but it just so happens that there's a specific range of frequencies where a good chunk of notes, and by extension certain scales, are most impactful and effective for EDM. Again, there's no hard rule here but it's good to know WHY it's mostly like this. Feel free to break out of it, though this potentially leads into predictability reasons.

Where does EDM shine the most? At clubs and festivals, played by DJs through a large club soundsystem. Their goal is to keep the energy flowing for the crowd sometimes for a few hours without stopping; DJs WANT people to come to the dance floor, not start booing and running away from it! Because most songs are impactful at the rough specified frequency range, and that people will get bored of a song if it's always looped repeatedly, DJs will try to find music that they have on hand that will musically work without being distracting.

They can pitch songs as needed, but too much pitching can lead to a song either not having good impact via the bass or it'd just sound way too unnatural even for electronic standards, and thus would be a different vibe that wouldn't work than what'd be currently playing (though with modern DJ equipment, what was a very common situation to consider is no longer much of an issue).

Looping sections works also, but that requires some setting up ahead of time. There's also a trend lately to squeeze a few bars of different music into each other, not to mention a more performative aspect to DJing lately (pressing lots of buttons and moving every knob and slider imaginable, but trust me that they're just adjusting volume levels, EQ, looping points, other basic effects, and monitoring a different audio channel before performing what they want out. (yes there's DJs that fake mixes, I'm aware of that, that's a separate topic for another day.) As for performative, replace "DJ" with "rockstar" and there you go, it's not really that different.

 

 

Quote

EDM does have a specific order.

This is being nitpicky but it's not really some sort of hard structure that has to be followed. It's definitely common to have that structure, no doubt about that, and it's a great place to start. But, if an idea is formed that would break that structure, just do it if it sounds good! Remember, DJs can always loop sections if they're playing it on club systems. Listeners at home just want something catchy, so just try to make it sound as good as you want to hear.

 

At least to me, everything else is alright, but it's leaving a lot out. Though, it's somewhat understandable because every major EDM subgenre requires it's own deep dive to truly understand what makes them stand out from others. Personally, I would give a history rundown on EDM with a better variety of example subgenres, and have it branch out towards notable subgenres with dedicated production, because it's like trying to make a guide on Pop music. Pop has proven itself to be literally anything from Country, to Progressive Trance, to Alternative Rock, and more. It's one of the biggest blanket terms that needs to be split to understand since it comes in so many flavors, just like EDM should.

 

Edited August 27, 2024 by Trot Shuffle
small corrections