Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2774222

Let’s be frank, this article is not designed for ignorant people who think that Trance Dance Music is as Paul van Dyk satirizes “The sh*ttiest music since country and western.” The whole dilemma that comes with the grounds of overcoming cognitive dissonance is far, far beyond the scope of this article. Instead, if you are a person who has ever heard some mainstream “trance” or “techno” or “rave” music and thought it to be interesting and intriguing, this article will show you some of the ways to develop your inner love for Trance Music by avoiding the most common amateur mistakes when starting out with this genre of music.

1. Keep an open mind – This is by far one of the most idiotic mistakes we all make unconsciously if we’re not careful. Remember any music that you’re not enjoying all that much can be attributed to many things, but most importantly: remember that one bad song does not define the genre or sub-genre.

2. Don’t listen to cheese – Yes this means YOU, yes YOU sitting there wondering if you really have to put down your DJ Sammy, your Ian Van Dahl, your DJ Encore, your Darude – Sandstorm, and the list goes on. I am not going to sit here and tell you which artist to listen to or what not to, but there is DEFINITELY a world of a difference between eating McDonalds every day and having a rotation of quality foods like Japanese-grown Kobe Beef Filet Mignon every night. They may both be loosely labeled “beef” but there is a world of difference in difference in texture, taste, flavors, aromas and such that the person who has never had either will not be able to immediately appreciate on first taste. Remember my fundamental first point? Don’t be one of those people who think it’s cool to go against mainstream music just because it is mainstream. Have your own thought and opinion. Don’t fall victim and prey to social conditioning. I personally love what DJ’s like Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond, Ferry Corsten, etc. are doing for the EDM and Trance world. Are they mainstream? Yes. Are they utterly good at what they do to promote the genre, contribute POSITIVELY to it, and at the end of the day make millions of people around the world let go of their problems and burdens for the brief time they’re listening to them? That is the ultimate delimiter and deciding factor in a question of this scale. To wrap this point up, I believe a quote by one of the most genius and talented producers of our era Brian Transeau (aka BT) says it all:

“I love what guys like Oliver Lieb and Paul van Dyk do. I hate that ATB and those sorts of people have prostituted this stuff. You listen to an ATB track and then you listen to Sasha, and the difference is as obvious as listening to Led Zeppelin and Rachmaninoff.” – Brian Transeau

3. Don’t listen to low bitrate music – Now we’re starting to get to the heart of how to actually enjoy the music once we have little nuances like ignorance and stereotyping of a genre of music out of the way. Please do yourself a favor and refuse to listen to anything that is at the VERY least 128 kbps when you first start out, and then 192 kbps when you find that your brain and ears can hear the difference in them. The jump from 192 kbps and 320 kbps takes a bit longer to bridge, but I wholly encourage everyone who has the ability to get a 320 rip of whatever their tunes to do so. If you have no idea what bitrate means, in a nutshell the numbers denote how much information is coming through when you are listening. The less information that comes through, the more muffled, low quality, and ultimately un-lifelike the sound will sound.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1994734

The sounds are all familiar: From when the Moog synthesizer appeared in the 1960s to the present state of dance-to-pop spillover, electronic dance music is characterized by inhuman sounds. Although, in many cases, the sounds may, in fact, be created by a person, the fact that they do not mirror those of organic instruments (such as strings, piano, or winds) often results in many writing off synthesizers, turntables, and nearly any other device used in dance music as “cold.” But, while synthesizers might not have had the dynamic qualities of a traditional piano until recently, this aspect doesn’t make it or any other device less legitimate in music making.

Take the building blocks for creating music – rhythm, pitches, and melodic aspects. While, in traditional music, they may be created through a symphonic orchestra or a rock band, electronic music often transposes these multi-instrumental aspects into one instrument.

Synthesizers, for example, are truly the first instrument available for making dance music. Although in its early days, it was mainly seen as a novelty device for making strange sounds on film soundtracks, it gradually evolved into a key player in recording music. Polyphonic abilities and sampling capabilities were given to the instrument in the 1980s and, although the need for session players never phased out, a synthesizer could be used as the accompaniment with several sounds to a singer’s vocals.

In more recent electronic dance music, the turntable is a significant component. For many DJs, this device is coupled with a mixing console and other devices needed for on-the-spot production. Nevertheless, from production to scratch DJs, this device has become a necessity for playing the sounds that the DJ then tweaks. To further its reputation as a legitimate instrument, a concerto for turntable that utilized scratching techniques was written earlier this decade.

A computer, preferably a laptop in recent years, has been another device used regularly in electronic dance music. In the earlier days on the genre, sounds were created on a computer, copied onto a disc, and added to a sampling keyboard. In the present, the computer becomes another instrument in a musician’s setup. Programs like Ableton Live and Logic Audio allow sounds to be recorded from the outside, incorporated into the track, and, in a live performance, used directly from the computer. Additionally, a computer is often attached to a turntable or keyboard setup as a source of samples.

Aside from these three main components, additional ones may be added. Nintendo systems and tablet computers have found their way into DJ setups recently. Tape players, similarly, have been added from genres ranging from synth-pop to classical as a source of loops and repetition.

Are you interested in making custom dance music? Most of the information on the internet will tell you that in order to create dance beats yourself, you will need a professional recording studio which costs many thousands of dollars, but that is definitely not the case now.

Although it is beneficial if you have a recording studio and many years of background experience in music production, the truth is that it is not the only way to make dance music. There are other options available that allow you to make amazing dance tracks just like the stuff you hear on the television and radio which have been made by professionals.

The way to make this happen is through the use of a brand new groundbreaking piece of software that can aid you in the creative process of making your own dance beats easily and quickly.

Be aware that if your background is not in this genre, it can be difficult to make music that sounds good or to even learn the software in general.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though, because that is not the case with this software…

One piece of software that was recently made available shows you step by step how to make your own dance music with ease. The best part is that both professionals and absolute beginners can benefit from this unique program.

A lot of people are even making there own professional music beats with this software and selling them online, which is also perfectly legal as though they were the ones that created the music, so there is no copyright worries etc.

With the internet evolving all the time, it is quickly becoming easier for you to do things that you might not have ever dreamed possible. This includes the ability to make your own dance music online, that will have a packed club paying attention and waiting for your next hit.

This process begins with you finding a website that will connect you with the software you need. Online there are hundreds of websites that are devoted to helping you to make the strongest dance music possible. They just require that you do spend some time focusing on the progression of the track and ensure that it gets the heart pounding.

Audacity Is a Free, Open Source editor that you can use on a Mac, Windows or Linux computer. It really is a great tool for people that want`s to start making music online, and is beginner friendly.

The only problem i found with this free software is that one`s you have change the audio and don’t like it, you can not go back and tweak the composer or EQ again. You will have to start over, unless you get a paid tool that is. The tool will convert your finished song into MP3 format, which is not really that good, WAV is better if you want to send it to a producer, But it will help you learn how to make music online, and when you ready, go for a pro tool. Once you have selected between a couple different options, it will be time for you to look at the tutorials that they offer. The goal is going to be to get a deep understanding of how you can create your own dance music, while remaining in the confines of the software you are using.

Typically, these tutorials will touch on everything from the kinds of beats that can be found in dance music, to how you can take compression’s and supercharge the music that you are producing in the process. With the tutorial out of the way, you can then begin to flesh out a track and make it your own. Often, this starts by simply choosing your core instrument and then creating a small track sample. When you have the beat and general sound in place, you can begin to flesh out the song, so it comes across as fresh and vibrant. It will be important that you maintain the flow, for the best results possible.

For example, if you have a hard driven heavy dance beat, you wouldn’t suddenly change it to a ballad as the progression isn’t natural. Sound effects are going to be the next important element that your track is going to need, in order to be successful. Often, this will be tricks like compression in the music that gives it some depth and a life of its own.

With gyrating people, dizzying lights, and sexual suggestions, a dance music videos is absolutely a feast for both the auditory and visual senses. If you are an artist, perhaps you should release one as well!

You can be a self-made artist like Marie Digby (2 million hits on the channels) and Mia Rose (35 million hits), thanks to the popularity of YouTube and Me-Media in general. To shoot a dance music video, you simply need to mix your film making and dancing talents together.

People For Hire

When producing a music video, you have to go one step higher than home videos of yourself and your friends dancing to “Thriller”. The following are the people you must get:

• The back-up dancers need to remain that way – back-up! They shouldn’t overshadow you. You are the video’s star, after all!
• The choreographer needs to have new moves to contribute. He must also know how keep your expertise highlighted.
• The director oversees everything. Pick him cautiously with his expertise and your budget in mind.
• The cameraman should know his thing. After all, you want all your best shots captured!

Your dance music videos won’t be complete without these people. You can also get optional professionals such as a production designer and director of photography, depending on your budget. You can even get a choreographer who will also serve as back-up, or a director/cameraman in one. But it is impossible to do it all by your lonesome, so don’t even dream about it!

Your Video Shoot

Before you make the video, you have to create a storyboard with the whole concept of what you wish to achieve. Decide which factor you want focused on – your dance moves, or the special effects.

Do not be disheartened if you have to re-shoot scenes. The most famous artists go through this, too. This renders your online dance music video dance music videos as polished as possible.

Video Upload

When you are finally done, upload your video to YouTube. And while waiting for those hits to come, why not shoot another? Watch out, J.Lo!

A lot of the electronic house music was produced in Chicago over in the USA during the mid 1980’s. Producers and DJ’s introduced the genre in bars and clubs all over the UK and the rest of Europe by the mid and late 1980’s. The UK took house music, Acid house, Electronic Body Music (formed in Belgium) and created UK Hardcore. The Hardcore sound then incorporated sped up Hip Hop beats, piano strings, dub and sound samples that can only be described as cartoon like. Hardcore opened the door to other similar sounding genres like Happy Hardcore and jungle. Happy Hardcore sped up to between 160 BPM– 180 BPM and included piano and techno sound samples. Jungle set at around 150 BPM to 170 BPM to include Reggae vocalist artists and Reggae sound samples and lost the piano and Techno influence. You would now associate original hardcore with ‘Old Skool Hardcore‘ and a lot of popular songs are still being played out by DJ’s all over the world today in 2013.

By 1992 the Hardcore scene, or also known as the Rave scene was huge and rife all over the UK. Crowds of people in their thousands would flock in to empty warehouses and open land for illegal raves to take drugs and dance to hardcore for up to 10 hours at a time. Of Course there were legal raves such as the famous fantasia which started up 1991 and they in fact counted 30,000 people at One Step Beyond! This really was the beginning of the club and dance scene that we know so much about today. There were so many big name producers such as The Prodigy releasing ‘You Love’ back in 1991 which is one of the biggest dance tracks of all time. Various other big name British producers such as SL2 with ‘Way in my Brain’ and of course one of the most famous acts ‘The Ratpack’ with ‘Searchin’ for My Rizla” who really did bring Hip Hop in to the mix with their vocal and sound samples. Old Skool had become commercial and ‘Searchin for My Rizla’ went straight to number one beating massive acts such as Madonna and Kriss Kross to the number one spot in the charts. Most radio stations didn’t add ‘Searchin for my Rizla’ to their play-list as it was blatantly a song about taking drugs! When dance music finds its way in to the commercial scene it can sometimes mean the end of the underground scene where Hardcore was at the start of the 1990’s and this was evident with the release of Sesame Street – hardcore mix. This Old Skool sound and beat is timeless and still used in today’s dance songs and main steam pop records.

Time and Time again, one of my friends will say to me, “You’re still listening to Dance Music? When are you going to grow out of that, there hasn’t been anything new in years?”… Me: “No, you haven’t heard anything new in years”.

“And listen to what?” I always say. “That crap you have in your glove box?”

I run into people and friends all the time that “Used to” listen to Dance Music, and claim knowledge of the most popular and listened genre of music in the world, but in all reality, they just really jumped a bandwagon at the time the radio was playing a lot of C and C Music Factory, Black Box, KLF, Pet Shop Boys, and every Top 40 artist had to have a “Club Mix” and thought that they were in “The scene” for a time period.

Then radio moved on to the “next big thing” and like sheep, they went with it, or reverted back to what they were listening to before. The fact of the matter is, Radio, MTV, and other mainstream outlets play what image they think they can sell you, not what’s really good, or popular. They create popularity. That is their business.

The Death of Dance Music has been predicted by one writer or another over the last 25 years and it always makes me laugh. Some of the same guys, (and gals) that were hitting the clubs in the 90’s, wearing their best Z-Cavaricci’s, Cham’s, Polo’s, Alexander Julian Shirts, Roots Shoes, Baby Doll Mini’s, Coach Bags, and “Jacked up” on enough Cocaine to stimulate the GNP of Bolivia, are now the same writers and “haters” that lost touch with what is going on, had a kid or 2, sobered up, and since it wasn’t on the radio anymore, and assumed that everyone stopped listening, and continued to be force fed the same 40 songs as everyone else in the country, until you heard it enough times, that familiarity tricked you into believing that you liked it.

Nothing, as we all know, nothing could be further from the truth but I always get a kick out of my friends and associates that don’t give any respect to the form, and pull out an old Megadeath, Journey, or Phil Collins TAPE, and say, “See now, this was the good stuff”

I have been listening to House, and Techno/Trance since the beginning, and not only is the old ground breaking stuff still able to hold it’s own on any dance floor, but it has evolved and gotten better over the years and has spread around the world like an infectious plague, and planted a flag firmly in the culture of most every civilized society on the planet. I love it when I play something from “back in the day” and somebody in my car will say, “Hey , I like that new stuff you’re playing…Who is that?”. And I’ll say something like, “Um, that’s Todd Terry with Martha Wash…it’s 10 years old”

In whatever area you will want to make yourself wealthy and famed, you need to embody the enthusiasm and patience, the courage and gumption to succeed spectacularly. Or else, you’ll never grow out of being a dreamer.

And with the aggressive rivalry in the dance music business today, your ambition of succeeding will have its adequate share of difficulties. There is no need to worry, though. Examples and tips for success in this kind of industry are available so you may have what all hopeful DJ’s like – people on the groove to their beat and hefty bank accounts. Now, wouldn’t you welcome the thought of that?

Be Seen, Be Heard

Ascertain that you are visible as this is possibly the best method in getting to the top of the heap. Do not just have other people discover you, go to them and flaunt your skills. People must notice you, hear you and sing praises to your music. You can do this by following these simple tips:

Get close to dance music aficionados by enlisting in online groups. With the Internet, you can easily tap the influence of social connections and make this work to your benefit so industry honchos looking for new talent will get to know you.

Be part of events where dance music enthusiasts and producers gather. You can get to know them, emulate them and take advantage of their networks, too.

Take advantage of the freebies that the Internet offers. With the rising popularity of video sites such as YouTube and dropyourtalent.com, you can now easily upload your music videos and ask your network to spread the news. Of course, be accountable for the quality and quantity of your uploaded videos.

Introduce yourself through your very own website. With this, you’ll have the chance to promote your profile, your work and your dance life. Remember, you’re your greatest marketing collateral.

Being recognized worldwide means letting go of shyness and having temerity. This is the only sure shot at taking a chance of the fame and fortune that the business has to offer.

Be You, Be Them

It’s true, the battle is fierce; therefore, you have to stand out. You need to have your own style of music, one that carries your individuality. Otherwise, you might just end up being an imitator.

Tiesto, for example, had to constantly reinvent himself in the earlier years before he became the leading producer of trance and electronic dance music now. He used to be an enthusiast of hardcore tracks, and of acid house music.

You should make your own music, as what the other great DJ’s like Tiesto, Fatboy Slim, Paul van Dyke did. It is important that you “find your own beat.”

But by finding yourself, you must remember that you are playing for others. They want to be “in” and they patronize everything that is “in”, thus, you must ascertain that your music is within the current trends of music. They should also be fun so others will buy it, and they must sound unique and original.

You must be deliberate in everything that you do, though. This means that you need to practice, produce, listen to beats and produce your own mix. This is exactly what DJ-ing is all about so you must do this over and over again, if you need to.

Soon enough, you’ll find yourself at the top of success in dance music!