How to Produce and Write Dance Music

The purpose of dance music is to entice people to move. To do this, you need music with a cool groove or beat. If you're really serious about learning how to produce and write dance music, it's best that you take a course in electronic music production. A class will teach you the basics of music knowledge, synthesis and how to use music-making software. But this article will guide you in the right direction.

Instructions

1. Determine what type of dance music you'd like to write and produce. There are many different types of dance music available and the only way to understand the different types is to listen to the artists currently on the market. Don't limit yourself to mainstream artists. Music gems can be found in new and up-and-coming talent too.

2. Create a beat. Dance music is all about the beat so spend some time on this step when you write and produce dance music. Dance music typically has a beat in 4/4 time.

3. Add a low-frequency bass track to accent the beats and provide a heavy bottom. Create some repetition in the bass track to make pulses and grooves. This is your rhythmic baseline. Adjust the baseline as you'd like by adding or subtracting beats or adding percussive sounds.

4. Write lyrics. They don't have to be fancy. One popular song repeated the phrase "I'm in Love" as virtually it's only lyric. Most dance songs repeat the same few phrases or lines over and over again. The topic can be anything you choose from romance, love, sex, clubbing or dancing.

5. Produce the song using computer software. Burn the song to a CD for your personal enjoyment or to send to friends. If you'd like to send demos to official record labels, you'll need to have your music professionally produced.

Tips & Warnings

• Good software that'll help you produce and write dance music include Reason and Cubase. There is a bit of a learning curve with these programs. Sound Forge or FL Studio are slightly easier to use.