It’s a widely known fact that many of the great musicians, songwriters and producers borrow from their predecessors. After all, where would Tame Impala be without The Beatles, or The Black Keys without Led Zeppelin?
With that in mind, we put together this list of 10 tricks that an electronic music producer can “borrow” (we use that term liberally) from rock and roll. Grab a distortion pedal and check out the list:
Honest question for you. Do you consider yourself to be a musician? Sure, you are producing or engineering music, but are you a musician? This is something we ask our
Let the frustration stop. Learn how and why we love the circle of 5ths for producing music.
If you’re a YouTuber then you’ve likely seen his advertisements selling his world class MIDI pack with piano chords and melodies. With a background on Wall Street and a pianist
If you hang around Pyramind then you know that we’re all big Madeon fans. So we’ve finally gotten around to breaking down the theory and arrangement for Madeon “You’re On.”
Matt Donner is back with another breakdown. This time, he analyzes RAC’s “I Still Wanna Know” featuring Rivers Cuomo. Rather than focusing on the chord progression, Matt focuses on the unique arrangement of the track. He notes that although the song is sort of a “pop” song, the arrangement doesn’t follow the typical “pop format.”
Matt Donner is back with another breakdown. This time, he analyses Madeon’s “Isometric”. He goes over the chord progression, as well as a critical tempo changing technique. This is a must-watch for Madeon fans, as well as music theory enthusiasts who enjoy Matt’s breakdowns.
Pyramind mentor Ezra Sandzer-Bell talks about the ‘50s chord progression, and uses Dj Khaled’s hit single “I’m The One” as an example. The roman numeral progression is “I vi IV V.” He also talks about the “millennial whoop”, a musical cliche that appears in a lot of modern pop music.
Pyramind instructor Ryan Rey analyzes the opening theme music for AMC’s The Walking Dead. He talks about the music’s harmony, texture, and instrumentation.
Pyramind mentor Ezra Sandzer-Bell is back with another insightful video. This time, he talks about the connection between music and magic, and examples of this theme in pop culture. He uses several examples from films, including Fantasia, The Goonies, and more. He also uses examples from video games, including multiple Zelda titles.
Pyramind instructor Ryan Rey deconstructs Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” from their seminal 1996 album OK Computer. This analysis will help you get a sense for how Radiohead works as a whole because they employ these techniques throughout their music.
These techniques include:
• Pedal points
• Changing meters and Odd meters
• Modes and mode mixture
• Cadences
• Planing or parallel harmony
• Chromaticism
Pyramind mentor Ezra Sandzer-Bell goes over the Phrygian mode using Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” as an example. He also talks about the Hirajoshi scale, and how can incorporate it into your music. We have provided some helpful visuals for those of you following along at home.
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