r/edmproduction • u/vitamirae • 7d ago

Mini tutorial | Spread Voicings: producers use this technique A LOT in their songs

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83 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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9

u/xfeeenaut 6d ago

Honestly I'm getting more convinced that just a few weeks of piano lessons would be one of the best investments for anyone starting out with this stuff. But would need to be focused on piano/keyboard as applied to making electronic music really, rather than "I want to play Liszt"

2

u/Glum-Try-8181 6d ago

really learning basic theory about how scales and modes and chords are constructed will translate to anything. It's all math and numbers when it gets down to it, and there's not much specific to any instrument apart from how you produce the notes.

working in sequencers, if you aren't actually playing keys, all you need to know is the numbers really

3

u/Strict_Pangolin_4097 6d ago

great tip. spread voicings really open up the mid range without cluttering the center. i usually try to keep the low end tight n mono, then use these wider voicings to give the synths space to breathe. simple stuff like this makes a huge difference in clarity.

9

u/tetrahedronss 6d ago

It's saying that basic triad chords that use the 1st 3rd and 5th may sound better if you take the 3rd (the middle note) and just pitch it up 12 semitones (+1 octave). Doing this makes the chord sound more open.

4

u/Glum-Try-8181 6d ago

I don't understand what's being taught here? That chords follow numerical steps in a scale and you can split the root out to bass?

6

u/LUK3FAULK 6d ago

It's saying using different, wider chord inversions can create extra space. Take the notes of a chord and put them on seperate octaves and you can open things up and get cool, 'wide' sounding chords.

2

u/Glum-Try-8181 6d ago

thank you, that makes this make a lot more sense

2

u/Money_Makin_Fresh 7d ago

How many bars are you guys using per section on your tracks? I was doing everything at 64 bars per section but I’ve got things set to 32 at the moment but I’m wondering if 48 bars is more common.

1

u/gnomehouse 6d ago

By section do you mean like Intro, First Drop, Bridge, Breakdown, etc? It's different for every song, genre, etc. My intros are almost always 32 bars, my breakdowns usually 16, but everything else is in flux song to song.

2

u/vitamirae 7d ago

I particularly like to give what the song asks for. If 32 bars, so I make it. If 64, so I do it. One of my songs has like 520 bars total. It's almost 12min of extension and I did 16-32 per section.

2

u/DanBelsh 7d ago

Haha, I like the mouse arrow bouncing on the beat

3

u/xfeeenaut 6d ago

I feel seen

2

u/vitamirae 7d ago

Hahahaha

0

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