August 1, 2009 (Issue #1) – Words by Luis Ojeda
The world of electronic music has been dominating the planet and taking over the airwaves. If you pay attention, you can hear that most television and radio commercials have electronic music in the background. Everyone is getting into this music, to such a degree that it’s becoming a household name. Even rock bands are incorporating synthesizers or a DJ. It has become very diverse in its essence. And when I say diverse, I mean that you can’t even categorize a certain genre of electronic music into a specific group. For example, you may have a Tech-House track that incorporates some Electro basslines, or a Deep House song that sounds a lot like Progressive House. Even DJ’s are maneuvering between several genres of house as long as the tracks mesh together.
Wherever you are, you are bound to hear electronic music and here’s a way to appreciate it. Every song has a musical structure starting with the kick drum. It’s the sound that goes boom, boom, boom, boom in a dance record. There are four beats to each bar (4/4 time signature), and they are arranged in four-bar “phrases.” Phrases are structured to create a song (e.g., 16-bar intro, 32-bar breakdown, 16-bar outro).
When listening to a song, count your beats out loud; 1,2,3,4, 2,2,3,4, 3,2,3,4, 4,2,3,4. This is counting bars. Each group of four beats is a “bar’ or a “measure.” Notice how in a song every 4 or 8-bars something comes in or something comes out. Sounds to look for can be an extra percussion, a woosh, a cymbal crash or reversed cymbal crash, a vocal, or an instrumental finishing a solo.
Then, there’s the snare drum. It’s the sound that goes chip, chip on the offbeat in between the kick drum (boom, chip, boom, chip). The hi-hat are two cymbals that crash up against each other and this sound usually goes tsst, tsst, tsst on the offbeat. The bassline is the funky rhythm which can be a distorted bass guitar, riff, or a synth pattern that normally loops within phrases. Melodies are the musical sounds that make up the structures of the song. These sounds can be a violin or strings, saxophone, guitar riff, horns, or synthesizers composed artistically to compliment the bassline and percussions. And finally, there’s the vocals, which is someone singing in verses or choruses. This can also be considered somewhat of a melody.
House music is the universal name that originated in the late 70’s as disco music was dying and DJs began incorporating drum machines into their DJ sets. The Godfather of house music is Frankie Knuckles. As he was introducing his audience to the new sounds of the four on the floor rhythm at Chicago’s “The Warehouse,” the term, “house,” was short for Warehouse and was synonymous with Knuckles’ musical selections as a DJ before becoming associated with his own dance music productions.
Now, house music has a large range of sub-genres in which to diversify. Producers are incorporating all styles of electronic sounds in order to make their unique music unlike any other sound. This style of music is evolving into a more musical and melodic structure. The horizon is constantly being pushed further and further away, with no end to the possibilities of where electronic music can go. Go Back…
