4 Steps To Chords: How To Make Insanely Good Chords

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[FREE Chord Building Blueprint Guide]: alexromesound.com/pages/7-ste...
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MY GEAR:
DAW (Music making software): Logic Pro and Ableton Live
Studio monitors (speakers): Yamaha HS8's
Headphones: Audeze LCD X (open back)
Camera: Canon 80d
Computer: Mac Studio with M2 Ultra chip and 2 TB hardrive
Midi controller (keyboard): Komplete Kontrol 61
Interface: Scarlett Clarett 2 pre
Desk: a cheap one from ikea
Chair: also a cheap one from ikea
My favorite plugins that I use the most:
XFER Serum
Sylenth 1
Nexus 3
Kontakt
RC 20
Valhalla Shimmer
Valhalla Vintage Verb
Shaperbox 3
XFER OTT
Fab Filter Saturn 2
Fab Filter Pro C 2
Arturia Pigments
Baby Audio Comeback Kid
Output Thermal and Portal
LABS Soft Piano
Hardware that I use behind the scenes but not in videos:
Elektron Octatrack (my fav)
Elektron Digitakt
Korg Minilogue XD

[@DJDEEM1]

Cool. You can also use chord codes as a foundation: Major Chords = 0, 4, 7, 11. Minor Chords = 0, 3, 7, 10. 0 is always the root note and just count up each semitone to the next note in the chord code. It’s a great way to start building chords.

[@takhetabyo871]

"2 notes that will sound good no matter what" that's the fckin secret nobody evertold... you're amazing

[@eric_bzr]

With these two notes he means the the I which is the tonic and the V which is the dominant. In this case the key was Eb major, so the I was Eb and the V Bb. They will always match every chord within the key, so you may add them if this is the sound you are looking for.

[@takhetabyo871]

@@eric_bzr thank you so much... gonna try this thing

[@karlord3274]

This guy is an actual genius I have learned so much from him

[@direfly9818]

Bro make some tutorials on how to make smooth transitions from drop to break & how to arrange the whole track in the best way possible of any genre

[@BigVic687]

Great suggestion

[@afroboi7454]

WOORRD

[@italyisntreal]

Yeah I need that info

[@davidhoward1870]

THIS PLS!

[@hummergames7315]

Up!

[@thestoicscientist]

Alex, I've been watching loads of your videos in the last few weeks and learned something from every one. Just bought your preset packs and looking forward to using them 🔥🔥🔥

[@OHLR]

Super helpful video on how to build major or minor chord progressions off a vocal clip. You make a great point about the tonic note, thanks Alex!

[@AlexRome]

Saw your comments on my last video and have some good stuff in the making but doesn't hurt to ask again! What would yall like to see next?

[@philiplent5068]

One more Kygo video or something like that would be awesome! 😎😍

[@alexbevan2183]

Make a song from scratch start to finish, no cuts, no edits, whole process. You could make it into a series or 1 long video. Would be really cool to see the process. Would love for it to be in ableton too if not too much to ask 🙂

[@ShloimyZaltzman]

How to become your own artist and style - find who your own sound is 😊

[@wydsuhaan__]

Could you do a video where you build this track further and make it into a song?

[@Sandy-oe4ni]

Hi Alex..plz make a video on how to make a pop song and its arrangement...♥️♥️plz...

[@almostnathan984]

Dude I've leveled way up because of your chord tutorials and down to earth style of teaching. THANK YOU and keep doin what your doin man!! 👏 🙌✌️

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

This is so cool! All 3 of the chord videos I’ve watched from your collection have been a massive help!

[@nerdexproject]

Ingenious! And thank you for explaining it so well!

[@napalmfugitive]

Immensely grateful the algorithm brought me here, I’ve checked out a bunch of your videos and really appreciate your no nonsense and heartfelt approach to making music, Thank you so much for all your hard work, I’ve already seen my production skills improve tenfold with your guidance.

[@Paco-my6pc]

I cant believe my recommendation algorythm came along with your videos just now! Your tutorials are amazing and im at least 21% better at music production and chord writing :)

[@CoreyLaGray]

Your videos are a gold mine, thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge.

[@Adiiii7]

This is sick !!! Those chords were so beautiful!!!!!!

[@coltinyocom]

There are some awesome reminders and tips in this. Cheers bro!

[@nightskydawnnsd5994]

your tutorials are so underrated. I don't even know if there is a video from you that I din't learn something useful and easily.

[@MrRatsrule]

Wow. This is spot on!!!

[@jnny7182]

Dude you’re a beast that was great. So helpful

[@kevinrodriguez2209]

This is brilliant

[@aaront8985]

I love your videos man thank you this helped me a lot!

[@wydsuhaan__]

Helpful tips man! Could you do a video where you build this track further and make it into a song?

[@Jonas_luz]

Thanks very much! Really help me !!

[@just4dalaughters431]

Dude, this was A-MA-ZING!!! I could kiss ur forehead right now. I’ve watched almost every piano video and KZbin and u’re the only one who really broke through my brain... again; *A-MA-ZING* !!

[@hummergames7315]

Dude! Are you the guy that from the other planet?? Your brain is not from this earth! You're soo geniuss! Keep thoose great thing! Spread kindness trough these way! Im sure there's a lot lot of people out there that inspiredd by you man! And I wanna say thank you man!

[@gmaxxbln]

Nice approach! Like it!

[@thedan2]

Awesome stuff!

[@BeneathTheBrightSky]

"This is the last chord progression video you'll ever need". Three years later and many more chord progression videos. Always more to learn guys :)

[@joesp7301]

You the best man 🔥🙏

[@cedarroots]

Wow. Super appreciate

[@vijayadhitya6002]

Thanks mate ❤️

[@rustinusti]

1:27 Alex's face here gives me life.

[@servetdemirci8009]

this man is a professional💯

[@musicmediaproductions]

Great video! Please make a playlist for ableton tuts and also ableton training as well We love it! We will purchase it! Thank yous so much for all the amazing content/ value!! Have a great day!

[@invictaalin2496]

Hey Alex, I’ll keep asking over and over till I get you do it. I love that outro song and I would love to see a tutorial and the making of that one. That’s the style I’d love to understand and get started with

[@DeuceGenius]

thanks my friend

[@Aqwil]

This helped me a lot bruh! thanks

[@Sandy-oe4ni]

You are the best bro♥️♥️

[@Toasty_1992]

ALEX is my favorite.

[@frostedfade]

Hey Alex. Loved the video as always. What piano are you using? I can see that its in kontakt and NEED to add it to my sound library as well.

[@CoffeeMusic288]

the chill music

[@tkyotaxi]

Thanks Alex ⚡️

[@AlexRome]

yup (:

[@ejayybeats2815]

bro i randomly found your channel while going down a rabbit hole....fuck youre good!! simple and teach a whole lot while not making it harder then it has to be had to sub!

[@EvoDanceOfficial]

my orbital video hits youtube tomorrow. its an hour long unedited video. but the track is a banger in the making. thanks so much for the sponsor! ill fs be using it in the future!

[@alexbevan2183]

Nice to see some stuff in ableton for a change. Do you plan on using ableton more often in videos?

[@markemerson98]

delicious - bravo

[@eikarin]

Amazing

[@cliffordmilemba3639]

Awesome...

[@henri-fillipbauer6579]

Thé only KZbinr I actually enjoy the sound of.

[@cs-williams]

It would help people more if you included the chord name once you had the sound you wanted, once you know the chord you can also quit guessing, by ear is fine for those who can but not everybody is going to stumble on the right notes, unless your point was to intentionally avoid any theory since people seem petrified of it ;)

[@DeuceGenius]

i disagree. i absolutely like how he showed it on the piano roll and i hear it before i even knew they were called diatonic chords. youre making music. if you cant listen to it and hear it what are you doing? you have to make it by ear. youre not writing it on paper for someone else to read and play. youre creating music to listen to. once youre done you can look up the names of the chords you used and learn them if you want to talk about them on paper or remember them for later. i like to learn what sounds good and what sounds horrible by playing it. i feel like i learn much much more this way. in order to be good you have to learn what sounds wrong and what sounds right. its also helpful to look up chords because i hear something and i cant figure out what notes are used to make that sound. or ill look up chords for new ideas and inspiration. everyones different probably but i feel like this is the best way to learn.

[@TheEnderFlash]

same. I love his tutorials the man absolutely knows what he’s talking about but i wish there was more theoretical explanation of what he’s doing for guys like me who kinda knows the basic theory and can analyze but has a struggle applying those concepts to practice.

[@FaranAiki]

​ @DeuceGenius, "if you cant listen to it and hear it what are you doing?" Making music, why asking for obvious? If you do "by ear", it is the same as religion, but it forces you to believe with no explanation whatsoever.

[@noobspice]

​@@FaranAiki People seem to have such an odd relationship with music theory, that learning it is the end-all-be-all to music. Your comparison to religion is far-fetched; just because you don't understand music theory doesn't mean it's akin to the supernatural. If you're curious about music theory, look it up. nothing this youtube producer does is anything advanced by any means. What I believe @DeuceGenius is saying is do learn the technique. But in order to be good in any field, you got to stumble and learn to deal with the frustration through your own path, especially in the beginning. The video gives the notes on the piano roll. There's countless other resources about music theory in understanding why he chose those notes. In other words, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, finding out the solutions yourself instead of SOMEONE TELLING YOU THE EXPLANATION. Kind of like what you said about religion, hmm?

[@DeuceGenius]

@@FaranAiki I wouldn't say it's the same as religion, it's independent science and discovery. I don't believe I know what sounds best before I start the song, I discover what sounds good through experimentation. That's science not religion

[@milim3135]

Finally using my daw

[@djdazza2796]

Niceeee!!! And nice to see your using ableton.

[@j.bennyalex]

Vera marii bro verra marri😘😘😘😘😘

[@RahmenNoodles]

my only question left is how to find the tonic. I mean initially when you started building the chords, you said “okay we’re in D”, so when u said “we need to pick the tonic or the note that will sound good the whole way through”, which i would have assumed to be D, but then Tonic was A. if anyone can help me out w this question id appreciate it

[@persona83]

Didn't understand that also. As most "learn music theory in 10 minutes" videos, it seems the producer just adds random notes to the chords.

[@themanfromvolantis]

Yeah. There were 3 occasions he said pick what sounds good. 1 Where he said choose the notes to go with the sample. 2 When adding the middle lines of the chord. Some of mine both choices sounded OK. I went for the 4tb one up from the initial note but only because I am using C Chromatic and I happened to read one of the comments that said 1, 4, 7 for major and 1, 3, 7 for minor. 3 The tonic. This threw me totally. I still dont know what he means.. No disrespect intended to Alex. I've seen a few of his videos and I love how much he literally loves music. I'm still trawling KZbin trying to find a video that fully explains how to make nice chords.. Mine are very hit and miss. I've written pleasing chords on 2 occasions out of about 20 attempts and one of those was when I was trying to copy Gouryella. Also u don't ever know what instrument to use to make it sound like that.

[@dynamix5222]

ayyyyyy thx

[@CPCGowda]

Could you do a sound design tutorial on massive leads but in VITAL?

[@martinhorvath2497]

@Alex Rome so Can I have also 2 tonic notes not just one? by the way whats the differenc between TONIC and ACCENT notes?? always call them differently ! :)

[@Jonacci]

How to make sentimental youtube influencer music. All it needs is an inspirational talk on top.

[@AlexRome]

what music are you blessing us with?

[@iamjaako]

What is the one note that sounds good with all others called?

[@elitexus-_-5994]

thanks dude! im 14, and im using lmms as a daw, anyways thanks for the tips!

[@FaranAiki]

Learn music theory, then.

[@bugatjixl4789]

Awesome videos man, this comment is for the algorithm

[@raspberrynipple9342]

Me watching this: so it is actually that easy Also me later on when I load up Ableton: why is this so hard

[@jeriahshield2955]

I got some really good chord progression that I love so much, but I got stuck whenever I try to structure it , like verse chorus bridge etc I got only intro and verse

[@nimck6642]

What made you want to use Ableton? Is this a permanent switch of DAW?

[@AlexRome]

honestly because half my students use ableton. I still use logic. i just switch between both so no, not a permanent switch.

[@nimck6642]

@@AlexRome Interesting! Logic user here 🍏 what DAW do you prefer?

[@MGallear9]

fire tutorial bro but you also need to explain the theory behind the second part change up, "just rebuilding the chord" is not very helpful, don't mean to sound like I'm criticizing I was just lost on that part. Great tutorial as always!

[@ShloimyZaltzman]

HEYYYY WHAT HAPPENED TO LOGIC PRO X

[@DJKunstMusic]

Ikr what the heck just curious btw what are you doing here don’t u play keyboard are you thinking of starting to produce?

[@italyisntreal]

Bro I'm glad he's finally using Ableton just pls shut up

[@italyisntreal]

No offense

[@NoxiousDream]

Hey alex joined ableton gang!!!

[@PradaCashHD]

LIKE YOUR HATS BROTHER

[@MehulShaRma]

where's Logic Pro X??

[@praveenabeysinghe6038]

what is this piano, i did the same thing in my piano but it sounds so different...plz help

[@shubhajitchakraborty9362]

Would Love to see some Trance tutorials on this channel. Much Love ❤️🙏🏻

[@epheler3926]

yo I saw the thumbnail I was like, is that Ableton's piano roll?

[@trim7535]

Why did u switch to ableton?

[@milkyfernandez5505]

What guitar pack?

[@sleepy_onion4838]

The tonic is the first and third note of the key you are in. I think.

[@fluctura]

holy

[@kajammusicent.-djwhiteknig2931]

firre , great tutorial

[@johnnyboy06]

what software does he use? bc I use Soundtrap but I'd like to move on to something more professional

[@xystumlol]

ableton

[@adarshvermamusic]

Edm bootcamp price?? There isn't mentioned price😕

[@oguzcan815]

support

[@samuellabrecque2457]

Anyone Know what piano is this ?

[@felixflint9440]

Does anyone know what key this is in?

[@harmonicstudio3861]

👏👏👏👏👏

[@AKRIDASGAMWEKSOGIINI]

hey I tried this in my trve kvlt norwegian black metal song and it didn't work 😫

[@chorroboymusic]

i think you always go to heaven lol but always thanks for the tips

[@shalinisingh776]

Bro are you using Ableton what

[@nc818]

It would be great if you used samples and presets that were audible on iPhones or iPads without headphones for these, I’m sure a lot of people that view these are just scrolling though KZbin and don’t have their AirPods nearby like I am currently doing lol

[@jfambro]

alex

[@italyisntreal]

I can't sign up for the bootcamp because the form doesn't allow me to

[@AlexRome]

Sorry!! Fixing that now

[@italyisntreal]

@@AlexRome yay

[@italyisntreal]

@@AlexRome I got the bootcamp email! I don't have the money right now and I have an important exam coming up this year so after that I'll join the bootcamp!

[@djbooey1364]

None of the links work apart from the boot camp one ! Sort it out bro

[@Burdznestmusix]

20%gang Texas

[@denizmusic8804]

20% gang

[@ankiiyoi_i]

Hey u switched to Ableton....

[@shubhamnagre7859]

Welcome to Ableton Gang

[@aspiceoflife]

What is that Decap you are playing at 7:37? You can't just play a whole nother soundscape at the end of class 😂

[@adarshvermamusic]

Ig you won't upload chord tutorial again coz u said it's last one...😉 20%army😅

[@maximevanraemdonck1712]

With fruity reverb (fl studio) I can still hear the attack of the pluck 😑

[@evanthorn5089]

Alex why don’t you take it just a tad further explain that 7 semi tones is the fifth. And explain the third. Give us a little music theory. If you can say “diatonic” you can explain chord theory. Otherwise great video. Thanks.

[@AlexRome]

Sometimes I just forget. I’ve said it in other videos but yes I just forget sometimes lol

[@mist2894]

[@lilharu2385]

SEA

[@AKMarv]

I thought he was gonna say "spread this D across the grid" 😂