5 CHORD TRICKS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

[@AndyLowe-net]

A detail that the video doesn't mention and could potentially lead to confusion: the point about the 'bottom note' of the chord becoming the bass note - this will not work if the chords are not in root position, ie. If it's an F major chord the F should be at the bottom in root position. If you have already inverted the chord then the bottom note is not going to be the root. Sometimes inverting the bass sounds good but only used sparingly, most of the time you will want the 'root note' as the bass, NOT just the bottom note of the chord, whatever that happens to be.

[@CuzCutz]

Yes, most likely referring to the “root” of the chord although it can sometimes be a chord/root “note” like C/E

[@cinematiccreator716]

damn

[@fxandmeow]

hi, maybe i can help you. i have my first music production episode. how to make an Awesome bass! kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmGVdZWJfsumjq8. if you need more to know, jut ask me.

[@vxd]

thats true, but sometimes it can work as a happy accident. just use your ear, if it doesnt sound good, just move the midi notes around until you get the sound you want - I mean there are only 4 of them lol

[@cinematiccreator716]

@@vxd true

0:34 - Trick #1 - Spread voicing 2:13 - Trick #2 - Change rythm of chords 3:33 - Trick #3 - Use bottom note as bassline 4:40 - Trick #4 - Use automation to add movement 5:57 - Trick #5 - Create alternative chords

[@RickyTehra]

Add arp layer

[@lewinside8289]

A D lmao

[@cinematiccreator716]

dope

[@michaelknight141]

Thanks, you saved me 7:31 Minutes :)

[@cinematiccreator716]

@@michaelknight141 lol

[@benwogu]

There's a distinction between a root note and a bass note. Root note is in the chord, bass note doesn't have to be. The distinction is important because you don't have to make the root note of a chord the bass note. Seems unconventional when you're first starting but I assure you its feasible and practical - they're "rich" sounding chords lol....try these two chords - (bass note -d1 chord, f3,a3,c4, e4) bass note - f1 chord - a3,c4,e4,g4) to see as an example and then implement it towards other chords and see how much it expands your toolbox of chords. Might be my next tutorial.

[@rollvideo]

I followed your advice and my songs were only 17% more interesting.

[@BraveNewWorld8101]

Throw on some reverb

[@nichttuntun3364]

@@BraveNewWorld8101 LOL

[@designhappens8444]

Did you try the correct serum pluck cliche sounds?

[@keithforrester82]

Haha I was going to write this comment!

[@AlexRome]

lol

[@fusionsmarty]

"20% more interesting music".... Only a guy in a gaming chair can say this.

[@AlexRome]

SÆLA lmao

[@RareTechniques]

@@AlexRome Great video, you inspire.

[@cinematiccreator716]

lol

[@cinematiccreator716]

damn

[@fusionsmarty]

Annie I‘m with you. Plus expressing the interesting things in music as a percentage 🤣

[@g2010oogle]

Often slightly changing the baseline to the chords brings about a far deeper change in the song and very effective as well.

[@osagie2]

Great Tips Man !!! Many Thanks !!!

[@johnfollis2357]

I am using chord progression number 4. B Major, A Flat Minor, E Flat Minor, and D Flat Major. It starts quiet and then it brightens up with the cutoff knob. From there I have a nice melody with some beautiful uni-polar vibrato. So it sounds like some one is bending strings like you would on a guitar. But then it goes into a weird chord loop with some Minor7 Sus2 Chords I believe. I need to get back to it to see what I can do with it. But there is a couple of times when the bass line has some of that uni-polar vibrato I was talking about earlier. So yes. Trick 4, you did inspire me.

[@asherevenson4080]

I just have to say. Alex, you explain things so simple and easy. My brain understood what you said sooo easily. Keep it going!

[@mdoering]

I have probably watched this video 10 times already, those cords are so satisfying.

[@AlexRome]

haha awesome man. which chords did you like the most?

[@hypal]

Great video. I would like to add the following: Randomize the velocity of your chords and create different spaces between the starting point and the ending point of the notes if you're not recording them on your midi keyboard. It gives a certain human genuine touch.

[@nembutsu1045]

select a note/chord then hold shift+alt and use the arrows to move them up or down an octave

[@tombstoneharrystudios584]

Kit Fisto use that trick a lot 😂

[@DarkSide-ru2el]

hey man, I can understand your videos because the subtitle option is active, and I have come a long way thanks to the useful information you have explained in an understandable way that I could not find anywhere, I am very grateful to you, I just wanted to say this.

[@mineheadX1]

I highly recommend Scaler, it can reprogram the way you put chord progressions together...inversions & modes will turn you into a songwriting savant, those two avenues will blow your mind if you've never used them...as a drummer who is always trying to pick up some tricks rooted in theory, you really need to analyze the greats, like The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Elton John...try Scaler, get enlightened.

[@thetree2044]

Thank you Alex your guidance is really helping my music and my confidence

[@itsjodi9939]

i just finish using these tricks on my piano, on Garageband btw, and i was just amazed at how it sounded, i really appreciate your videos, thank you🙏

[@danielbenjaminmusic2920]

I can tell you put a lot of work into helping out people that are starting their production journey. There is so much more available to producers when it comes to making chords more interesting, including walking baselines, voice leading including the bass (not just low note/root note bass), velocity controlled envelope filters, suspensions, automating resonance and decay sweeps, humanizing note on, randomizing velocities, ramping up the note on time (like a guitar strum). Possibly up to 25% more interesting...

[@carlossaraiva7968]

You are great. Thanks for helping us with your expertize. Thumbs UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@reeblesnarfle5443]

Thanks for the subtle tidbits that feed the final product.

[@josecodes1764]

Thank you very much for these tips! I’m new to music production and you have no idea how much this has changed the way I tackle chord progressions and even music in general! Thank you, sir!

[@TheRoneZone]

Use sus2 and sus4 chords. It makes the changes less jarring and less obvious

[@nichttuntun3364]

Absolutely.

[@cinematiccreator716]

cool

[@dom-ct6ie]

TheRoneZone whats sus2 and sus4 mean

[@cinematiccreator716]

@@dom-ct6ie yeah

[@cinematiccreator716]

@Alfonso G what oh

[@johnlowe3050]

I love chords and this made me think.....i will try all this but experiment also....thanks Alex.

[@gomesiekamalukwamanda3586]

I need to learn more a bout the chords,the tip number five is where I am and that's what makes music dope. Thanks for the video,am just setting up my home studio,this video is my starter back.

[@bharathirajae]

I get so excited to see a notification from your channel, coz I know I'm gonna learn something valuable today..... You create a great vibe.... Thanks!

[@AlexRome]

bharathiraja elangovan so exciting to hear man (:

[@fredacuneo5180]

Well done video - really good explanation and straight-forward without all of the distracting fill. Thank you.

[@nichttuntun3364]

Hi. I think this is very handy for beginners and they will for sure appreciate that. Going to the next level I think will be learning poly-rythms. Another very important thing, if not the most, is to learn how to insert notes not contained in the chosen scale to make things more interesting and less predictable. Another thing I think makes sense is not to start every chord on beat one. Use all the positions plus the ands and smaller units to place them in rythmically interesting ways. To learn all the church modes and make use of playing 7, 9, 11, 13 chords as well and finally learning to built rootless chords structures and use inversions of basic chords may some days result in maybe the most interesting EDM tracks I heard so far. Have a great time. Cheers.

[@AlxndrJG]

I like ur profile picture ✌️ Great comment. Short and stuffed.. spitting facts! Also- if some chords are jawing together, try to remove parallels, by spreading and subtracting every other chord. Really opens up the harmonization.

[@nichttuntun3364]

@@AlxndrJG thank you for the feedback. I'm glad you can put the positive aspects of our it. My avatar picture of course is one of the coolest records made in the 1970th. Check it out, Headhunter from Herbie Hancock, it's amazing. We can all still learn from this album :) Have a great time. Cheers

[@AlxndrJG]

nichttuntun absolutely amazing album! I’m teaching my cousin to play watermelon man and chameleon on the piano! He is one cool 13 year old boy 😎

[@nichttuntun3364]

@@AlxndrJG that's really cool. Glad to hear young people like such older music too and even learn to play it. Amazing :)

[@birdvatcher7424]

personally i think keeping the bass note the same as the root of the chord limits how dynamic it can get, and you bring it up a few times throughout the video. even something as simple as changing the bass note to the 5 of the chord sounds so much more interesting (sometimes). messing around with the bass provides a lot more than you'd think. a Cmaj chord with a C in the bass will be Cmaj. A Cmaj with an A in the bass becomes an Amin7. remember that music is not prescriptive. experiment, people! take every word with a grain of salt.

[@Toulouse41000]

i have no salt

[@MarkFreedmanNY]

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.

[@christopherkouri2317]

Simple. Effective. Super helpful. Genius. Thank ya sir!

[@DreamsandadventuresOfficial]

You are my hero... Great video.. ThANKS

[@haystixxbeats9225]

This is going to be life changing for me. Thank you, I really appreciate this!

[@professorplaysgames]

Appreciate your videos. Learning a lot. Thanks!

[@rajkamaljangir3618]

Keep doing great work, all the best, brother

[@lofitrumpetguy]

YES. This is awesome, thanks!

[@MontegoBayApartment]

great hints...thanks a lot Alex

[@A_Class216]

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this but nudge some of the notes so they aren't pressed at the same time. Remember when you are actually playing on keyboard you won't always press all the keys simultaneously. And change some of the note velocity again you wouldn't press all the keys simultaneously at the same velocity. Also nudging the notes help your melody not sound so computer generated. I'm sure most daws have this feature (I'm a fl user)you can flip the chords that helps too. Last I like to use the slice tool in the piano roll and chop some of the notes.

[@elijahgonzales5564]

I was looking at the piano roll wrong due to poor music theory skills and lack of focus, so thanks lol. and the transition effect will change every one of my beats now that I actually saw someone do it. and tip 5 is perfect, imma start laying out every one of my projects like this so it can give me a clear understanding of not just the intro. thank you. got my sub.

[@saksezo]

I followed your advice and lost 20 pounds, and made £2,000,000 in 3 months!

[@sofoklessantorini1888]

brother... this is the first good video i ve seen in a while... con gratzzz good stuff put together

[@jimsaintamour2]

Awesome tips! Thanks man very cool

[@samruddha.r.k189]

You are doing a great job ................

[@andrewtangas5891]

Thank you so much for sharing, this was definitely helpful :-)

[@MYC-ONOS]

great Work - thx from Germany !

[@Kampiapina]

I’m really ejoying these videos. Clear explanation of basic things.

[@mkcm2073]

great tips ! really helpful . thanks

[@davelordy]

My 5 tricks, makes any production 10% better: 1) Red wine (Pinot Noir, drunk with straw) 2) Pringles. 3) Tinnitus. 4) Double denim (denim jack sleeves rolled all the way up) 5) Tight 1980s curly perm.

[@user-pi5vg9ms6j]

I followed step 1 & 2 and now my chords are just ringing

[@cc950]

thanks for the interest in inspiration! feels great when you end up actually generating a lifelong fellow producer. =]

[@LokiBeckonswow]

really dope videos man, thanks so much

[@Jaakie_Junior3]

You are really talent. You inspired me 100%. I am thinking about getting into beat making as well. I like your content. I thing you would really help me to achieve that gold. Thanks alot bro

[@rupertknoop]

Amazing! Concise and super helpful. Thanks Alex

[@riot245]

You are the greatest musical nerd

[@gregt4202]

Excellent video! Simple, direct and helpful.

[@donaldswan1587]

Nice - simple techniques that really make a difference! My music is now 20% listenable!

[@sabertooth8198]

Haven’t even started the video yet, but I just wanted to say thank you. When I started producing almost 2 years ago I watched some of your videos to get me started. Appreciate you and your vids bro.

[@Nick-be5hh]

Very helpful! Thanks for sharing the knowledge

[@SteveMedina303]

Love the arp idea👌

[@tejas4045]

Thanks for video Really helpful

[@Diamond88keyz]

Thank you for this video!

[@ryantavan2688]

Very helpful, thank you!

[@salimasencio3629]

Thank you my brother!

[@Joe-mz6dc]

Very nice man! Thanks!

[@Experimental_Propulsions]

Wow his life is forever changed

[@DJMeriMero]

Drums and bass are fire 🔥

[@peterward6047]

Found this extremely helpful Alex! Well done!

[@ginotarabotto]

You're a great instructor. Thanks man.

[@jahmarikeeton5227]

Bro that’s crazy. I actually came here to find some new tricks but I do all the things you taught already 🤦🏾‍♂️😂. If you have any more tips share them please 👌🏾.

[@italyisntreal]

its better if you have an emotion in mind because that would help you get an idea of how you want your song to be

[@tiagocavalcante2854]

Thanks bro! You really helped me out!! Subscribed

[@happyhomelesshomesteaders158]

Thanks Alex, first time here, but need much knowledge, to keep me busy

[@12347andres]

shift + option + down arrow or up arrow to move the midi notes an octave

[@5966ramesh]

Thank you Alex.

[@harlcieel]

Damm ! Your advices help me so much ! Thank you

[@kingvan143]

So basically learn inversions. Cool. General rule is you don't jump around with chord progression. You learn chord inversions so you finger position doesn't have to change as much. I'd suggest learning at least the major and minor scales and their chord progressions. It's a formula they use so it's not hard to remember. Major and minor scales use a different formula. Major scale Major minor minor Major Major minor diminished Minor scale minor diminished Major minor minor Major Major In popular music you can mostly ignore the diminished chord since no one really uses it. They make a chord wheel for each scale which makes it way easier but I'd still learn it so you don't need to always reference a piece of cardboard. Will help with the creativity too

[@cs1147]

u literally saved my life

[@chrismofukaxd8330]

thank you so much for this!

[@TheMikeHoltShow]

Awesome advice. Subscribed.

[@Itsmeitscharles]

Some really great tips here, thanks for sharing! Can't wait to put them into practice :)

[@قصصواغانياطفال-د5ج]

You are great bro👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏👏♥️

[@wmsproductions]

I was hesitant but this is very very very good! Subscribing

[@rolarocka]

Love it and thx 😍

[@Plazebology]

Thanks. Useful, informative, no bs just great advice.

[@Xendrius]

Cool trix bruh.

[@hirakjyotipathak7775]

You are great man

[@djodjokabema2146]

Thanks for these tips .

[@leviscott2378]

Great video! Very helpful, and easy to follow. Thanks.

[@JOUJAMSTUDIO]

My life is changing

[@VoidloniXaarii]

Thank you very much. Great advice

[@cal1350]

Cheers for this info! Well explained as well, got an 8 on my GCSE composition exam, mostly because of this :D

[@nerdexproject]

Great tips! Very useful! No BS

[@jojo-l5t7i]

very useful thank you!

[@Omiee28]

This was very helpful! Track sounds great!

[@helenduval2243]

I like what I learnt..good work

[@ManteeMusic]

4:31 amazing!! 🔥

[@AbriElMusic]

Very interesant and amazinf tips Ale! Have a great day!

[@nicoschmitt9857]

first time viewer here, i like your videos!

[@MichaelFazio]

Pro tip: Opt + Shift + arrow up or down changes your MIDI note one octave.

[@MrArtist1971]

Thank you! Excellent tips brother.

[@sheenomeechi]

Incredible video.. short, sweet, and highly informative. Thank you!!

[@marwox6765]

Thanks for sharing this with us.

[@Yurkinz]

Nice video, thanks!