How to Write Captivating Bass
Using Displacements for Variations

Download Tutorial as PDF
includes MIDI + WAV file examples

Do you ever write a bass line (or synth/guitar riff) that you love, but after a few loops it gets boring?…

How to Write Sweeping Arpeggios
using a unique layering technique

Download Tutorial as PDF
includes MIDI + WAV file examples

Do your arpeggios all sound rather similar? It’s a common problem for producers.

Arpeggios are when you play a chord…

How to Write Timeless Piano
like The Beatles

Download Tutorial as PDF
includes MIDI + WAV file examples

The last Beatles song. That’s what the official press release calls “Now And Then”. The Beatles made history this week (again!), but…

How to Write a
Memorable Bass Line
using modal ambiguity

Yes, your lead melody is important. But a great bass line has the power to make or break a section. Despite that fact, though, most producers approach their bass as…

How to Write a Modulating Melody
using a series of direct key changes

John Carpenter’s “Halloween Theme” is one of the most recognizable pieces of music in the horror film genre. And that’s not just because the movie is so…

How to Write Haunting Arpeggios
using parallel keys and borrowed chords

Danny Elfman’s theme song for the Netflix show Wednesday (officially called “Wednesday Main Titles” on the soundtrack album) is utterly brilliant! It’s just over one minute, but the amount…

How to Write a Suspenseful Melody
using Bitonality, AKA playing in two keys simultaneously

The dictionary definition of suspenseful is “causing a feeling of excitement or nervousness because you are waiting for something to happen”.

That perfectly describes the intro…

How to Write a Mysterious Melody
Using the Chromatic Scale

The epitome of a mysterious and magical melody is the Harry Potter theme (titled “Prologue” on the soundtrack album) by legendary film composer, John Williams.

This melody is overflowing with…

How to Write a
Technical Drum Beat

If you’ve been in the Hack Music Theory family for a while, you’ll know we love technical drum beats! And there probably ain’t nothin’ more tech’ than polymeters*. While polymeters were relatively popular…

How to Write a Prog Melody

using the Major-Minor scale, aka Mixolydian ♭6

There aren’t many melodies that stand out nowadays. In an era where most musicians are trying to sound like the popular musicians in their genre, the result…

How to Write an Octatonic Riff

Using the Half-Whole Diminished Scale

Almost all popular music (in every genre and subgenre) is made using the major scale or the natural minor scale. That’s a vast ocean of music from only two…

How to Write a Beautiful Melody

There are 7 elements that create a beautiful melody. In our new PDF tutorial (download link below), you'll learn what they are and how to use them!

When I recently heard “Ray Of Solar”…

How to Write Beautiful Arpeggios

If you play all the notes of a chord simultaneously, you’ll create an instant emotion in your listener. This is a powerful technique, and the most common way to play chords. While allowing a chord…

How to Write a Melodic Bass Drop

EDM producers didn’t invent the bass drop, but it’s easy to argue they perfected it!

Having said that, though, the bass drop has long since gone stale. After becoming so popular, it was…

How to Write a Rhythmic CHORD Progression

One of the most common mistakes producers make when writing chord progressions is focusing exclusively on the notes (i.e. the harmony). Now, it obviously goes without saying that the notes are a vital…

How to Write "Peaceful Piano" Music

I’m just old enough that I got in my Grade 1 to 12 school years before computers and the internet took over. If you’re a Gen X like me, and there wasn’t a computer…

How to Write in 2 Modes Simultaneously

Humans are walking paradoxes! You know those times when you’re feeling two contradicting emotions at the same time? Like when you’re in a difficult situation but you feel hopeful about the future, while…

How to Write a Mixolydian MELODY

Music in a major key is uplifting, but the downside is that it often sounds childlike.

This is because the major scale is the most predictable scale. Predictable things are comforting and reassuring, so…

How to Write Calming CHORDS

Within seconds of hearing the opening chords in Portishead “Roads”, you can feel your cortisol levels dropping and your body’s tension releasing. This intro has to be one of the most calming moments in…

How to Write Standout DRUMS

A standout drum beat can make or break a song. Want proof? Listen to the new Aphex Twin single “Blackbox Life Recorder 21f”.

He’s actually reversed the roles of the instruments in this song, as…

How to Write Bass Lines
That Move People

I remember the first time I heard “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails in a club back in the ‘90s. I’d never before seen people literally running to the dance floor. Running!

My…

How to Write Heavy BASS Lines

Step 1. Syncopated Octaves

Set up one bar of 4|4 with your grid on 1/16 notes, and your tempo at 110 BPM. You’re gonna start by using only one note, and the octave of…

How to Write Advanced DRUMS

Step 1. Pattern

Set up two bars of 4|4 with your grid set to 1/16 notes, and your tempo at 136 BPM. Now, instead of starting to make your drum beat with the usual kick…

How to Write Locrian BASS Lines

Step 1. Basic

Set up four bars with an 1/8 note grid, and your tempo at 97 BPM. You’re gonna start by writing a basic bass line that plays every 1/8 note. This creates…

How to Write a Beautiful CHORD Progression

Step 1. Beauty

Set your grid to 1/16 notes and your tempo to 113 BPM. We’re in the key of A minor here, which is just all the white notes from A to…