More Expressive Music Theory For Ableton & Electronic Music

Write daring, bold electronic music, enhance your music theory knowledge and craft expressive performances in Ableton

What you'll learn
Experience more creative freedom with intermediate music theory
Understand beat patterns for Dubstep, Trance, Jungle, Drum and Bass and Techno
Make Ableton expressive with an informed live performance strategy
Get people dancing… learn to use syncopation, polyrhythms and side-chain compression
Requirements
Access to Ableton Live (any version, Suite preferred)
Students should understand basic triads, dominant chords and scale basics
Students should be able to count (or otherwise understand) 16th note rhythms
Description
* 2019 Comprehensive Update! *This course has been completely overhauled to improve video and audio quality. Electronic music can be daring and bold.  Music theory makes it easier to make great tracks.  Ableton Live and Ableton Push 2 provide AMAZING tools for electronic musicians.  Plus, Ableton Push 2 makes live electronic music performance and improvisation easier than ever before.  Are you a beginner at electronic music production who wants to inject your tracks with compelling textures and professional composition techniques?  Enroll now and discover compositional power tools for writing, recording and performing expressive electronic music using music theory in Ableton Live!5-Stars - "Clear and concise way of explaining the various theory concepts, and how it can be applied to Ableton and the push 2" - Jason (Udemy Student)Learn Inversions - the key to smoother, more emotional chord progressionsUnlock Asynchronous Polyrhythms - compelling, evolving beats on autopilotUse the 12 Bar Blues "Sandbox" - the ideal "sandbox" for any musical experimentationExpress Yourself with Macros and Aftertouch - Ableton's technical tools for expressive, realtime performancesUnderstand Side-chaining and much more…Transform and ElevateMusic theory has the power to transform and elevate any electronic music production.  This course will introduce students to specific concepts in harmony, melody and rhythm that you won't find on your own.  Each short video either introduces at topic or demonstrates its use in the real world (on real instruments).  Plus, every demonstration was filmed, hands-on, in crystal-clear HD quality, so you can learn faster and see what's going on.  Ableton Live (with Ableton Push 2) has several features that are only useful to electronic musicians who understand music theory.  Using scales, swing and polyrhythms are examples of features that many beginners never use (correctly).  These powerful features will benefit you even more once you understand the age-old musical language that all great music relies upon - music theory.  Each lesson is likely to inspire a new direction - either in performance or composition.This course moves beyond very basic music theory (I cover that in another course) and gets on with the good stuff! We'll focus on intermediate music theory and rhythm theory concepts.  The topics presented here will make a measurable difference in your tracks and will directly build on your understanding of music theory basics (triads, scales, etc.)Concise and To-The-PointEvery lesson is concise and to the point.  Explanations are complete and the collection of topics will undoubtedly open new frontiers for beginners.  Let music theory inspire you!  For example, you'd be amazed how a polyrhythm (alone) can elevate a seemingly uninteresting track.  Once you get to know the 12 bar blues, you'll hear it EVERYWHERE - from classic R&B to disco, rock, jazz and pop.  Students may experience one side effect: you're ears will begin to "understand" what they're hearing!Beginners will discover new musical textures that they can use on day 1.  You'll understand chord inversions, syncopation, color tones and much, much more!  Bite-sized video lectures make it easy to learn about everything from augmented chords to developing a better synth lead patch. Plus, see it all done live on the Push 2.Use MIDI for expressionDiscover expressive sound design principlesGet hands-on with sampling the "Amen" breakContent and OverviewBegin expanding your knowledge of harmony with the introductory series of hands-on video lessons.  You'll learn about how to properly play chords and practice inversions using the Ableton piano roll, traditional keyboards and Ableton Push 2.  Chords and chord progressions (a.k.a. harmony) will provide the significant boost to your tracks.  Harmony defines an emotion, guides the listener's experience and defines what your melodies can (or can't) do.5-Stars - "Do yourself a favor and take this course!" - Matthew (Udemy Student)Next in the curriculum, maximize your beat-making flexibility with a series of 10 video lessons discussing rhythm-related topics.  You'll learn about syncopation, swing and beat-making patterns AND get clear guidance for practicing these aspects for yourself.  I'll walk you through creating a pattern on Push 2 for these genres:DubstepTranceJungleDrum and BassTechnoOnce your harmony and rhythm skills are up to scratch, You'll learn to redefine your EDM melodies with melody theory lessons in Section 4.  Learn to discern different tone types - especially "color" tones and use them intentionally to deepen the emotional impact of your melodies.  Skim through familiar chord progressions (that everyone's been using since the dawn of time) and learn how to make catchy, irresistible melodies to go over the top.  This course presents many insights related to the relationship between catchy melodies and harmonic choices.I've always felt that the performance is where its really at.  So, my goal is to help you get ready to rock a stage.   We'll start by setting up an arsenal of expressive MIDI controls using Push 2.  Watch hands-on lessons about configuring macros, aftertouch and other expressive performance tools.  Plus, gain insights on how and when to ACTUALLY use these expressive tools to make each performance fun, authentic and totally original.Plus, the course includes in-depth lessons on compression, limiting and sound design techniques.  EDM is known for pumping side-chain compression and I'll show you how its done.  For beginners, the lessons on compression and limiting will undoubtedly raise the stakes for your finished tracks - in the studio and on stage.Finally, this course provides practice tips for beat-making as well as developing your live improvisation skills.  This course was filmed in 4K and streams in crystal-clear 1080p HD (where available).  Throughout this course topics are demonstrated in hands-on video lessons on Novation LaunchKey 49, Push 2 and Ableton Live 9 Suite. It is not necessary for each student to have this equipment, but be warned - you'll want to get hands-on to have the most fun with this course!  Each video demonstration has crisp image quality so that you can see exactly what is happening, learn faster and use the lessons in your own music.Enroll now and begin making more expressive electronic music on day 1.  As your instructor, I'm always engaged and available.  I look forward to keeping in touch and helping you develop your electronic music!

Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Introduction

Section 2: Harmonic Concepts on Keyboard and Push 2

Lecture 2 Why Do We Have Sharps and Flats

Lecture 3 Hands On (w/Keyboard): Sharps and Flats

Lecture 4 Octaves on Push 2

Lecture 5 Hands On (w/Keyboard, Push 2 and Ableton): Keys and Piano Roll

Lecture 6 Hands On (w/Push 2): Playing Harmony on Push 2

Lecture 7 Hands On (w/Push 2): Chord Progression Review

Lecture 8 Hands On (w/Keyboard): Chord Inversions Explained

Lecture 9 Hands On (w/Push 2): Chord Inversions on Push 2

Lecture 10 Hands On (w/Keyboard): Inversion Examples and Demo

Lecture 11 Hands On: Modulation Using a Secondary Dominant

Lecture 12 Using Augmented Chords to Convey "Mystery"

Section 3: Intermediate Rhythmic Principles

Lecture 13 Syncopation Explained

Lecture 14 Quantize and Swing

Lecture 15 Hands On (w/Push 2): Making a Dubstep Beat

Lecture 16 Hands On (w/Push 2): Making a Trance Beat

Lecture 17 Hands On (w/Push 2): Making a Jungle/Drum and Bass Beat

Lecture 18 Hands On (w/Push 2): Making a Techno Beat

Lecture 19 Hands On (w/Push 2): Sampling and Slicing the "Amen" Break

Lecture 20 Hands On (w/Push 2): Simple Sliced Drums Demo

Lecture 21 Polyrhythms Explained

Lecture 22 Asynchronous Polyrhythms

Section 4: Principles for Better Compositions

Lecture 23 Hands On (w/Push 2): Review Common Chord Progressions

Lecture 24 Hands On (w/Push 2): Electronic 12 Bar Blues

Lecture 25 Hands On (w/Push 2): Using Cadences

Lecture 26 Hands On (w/Push 2): Better Melodies with Color Tones

Lecture 27 Melody Theory: Choosing Color Tones

Lecture 28 Melody Theory: Making Memorable Melodies

Lecture 29 Inspiring and Generating Ideas

Section 5: Expressive Tracks and FX

Lecture 30 Hands On (w/Keyboard): Setup Expression with Mod Wheel

Lecture 31 Hands On (w/Push 2): Setup Expression with Macros

Lecture 32 Hands On (w/Push 2): Setup Expression with Mod Strip

Lecture 33 Hands On (w/Push 2): Setup Expression with Aftertouch

Lecture 34 Developing a Better Lead Patch

Lecture 35 FX Overview: Compression and Quickstart Settings

Lecture 36 FX Overview: Side-chaining (a.k.a. "Pumping")

Lecture 37 FX Overview: Limiting and Limiters

Section 6: Conclusion

Lecture 38 Review of Harmonic Analysis (Roman Numerals)

Lecture 39 Staying Sharp on Genre-Specific Beats

Lecture 40 Developing Improvisation Skills

Lecture 41 Share Your Tracks!

Electronic Musicians who want concise, polished tutorials for creating more expressive tracks,This course is NOT for electronic musicians who have already mastered EDM production and performance