How To Write Lush 1980's Chords

Paatreon: / elianadangelo
In this video I cover how to write lush chords straight out of the 1980's. I cover things like clustering chord voices and using chord suspensions to create a lush harmonic soundscape. This sound is good for mostly styles of music from Pop to R&B, Funk, Soul, Synthwave, Citypop and more!
00:00 Intro
00:37 Basic Triads
00:53 Chord Suspensions
01:53 Chord Extensions
02:30 Chord Voice Cluster
03:48 Suspended Dominant Chords
05:23 Basic V-I Cadence
05:53 Basic V-I Cadence w/ Dominant 13sus
07:34 Outro

[@XanBcoo]

Something about this actually makes it feel like a VHS tape of a lesson recorded in the 80s

[@MarioVelezBThinkin]

It's that static background noise. Really pretty on the ears actually .

[@thahawk]

The zoom ins

[@iamtuku1169]

Reading Rainbow moment!

[@winterzealot]

I feel like it's the calm energy 🩷

[@real.demesure]

The girl have that vibe haha it’s so cool

[@LizzardHimself]

The video being exactly 8:08 long is a nice touch.

[@seanonel]

I saw what you did there!

[@ag4640]

It means 80s forever

[@seanonel]

The Roland TR-808 is a legendary drum machine from the 80's...

[@LuckyFlesh]

Boooommmmmm

[@Viper-dz2kw]

Never realized how important the major 2nd interval was to 80’s harmony, wild

[@skaneverdies]

The best 'one weird trick' I've come across in the last few years. Never really touched in but now it's all over everything I do.

[@InflatablePlane]

Love the smooth jazz sensibility of this. There’s lots of jazzy progressions in 80’s pop which is probably why I love it so much. Also Japanese city pop is some of the most amazing 70’s and 80’s music out there.

[@pingpong7286]

amen

[@DavidBerglund]

Japanese city pop? Please give me some artist and band names! I feel like this can be what I completely loose myself in for a while...

[@EliSchweyer]

@@DavidBerglund kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4CyiYJmiM2ipqs

[@EliSchweyer]

@@DavidBerglund kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYKQl6iPj9OJeac

[@EliSchweyer]

@@DavidBerglund kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHmlm6KPmZd7sJY

[@tdwwxyz]

What sounds the Most 80s is the synth itself. It’s beautiful

[@TomAnderson7]

I need to know the sound of that plugin. It sounds super 80s

[@Jason75913]

@@TomAnderson7 DX7 piano with delay, chorus, and reverb; you can use Kontakt, Dexed, FM8, and probably more for that.

[@MikeSmith-tx2lp]

DX7 Rhodes.

[@TomAnderson7]

@@Jason75913 None of my chorus’s or delay sound like that

[@Jason75913]

@@TomAnderson7 admittedly, I'm guessing by the sounds I hear through my phone 😋 But that's a DX7 e.piano preset with effects for sure.

[@LucruxDCLXVI]

I appreciate that your keyboard diagram has all the notes labeled. As someone who is always a bit slow to recognize notes on a keyboard just by looking at them, it helped considerably to follow along with what you were saying

[@sammikinsderp]

The 80s while moving away from jazz still used a lot of harmony heavily influenced by it. Really cool breakdown! You're a good teacher!

[@chandlerzimmerman9857]

The humor is so out of left field sometimes and I’m HERE for it. Love your vibe and your teaching method, super easy to follow. “Sussy bussy” sound lmaooo call me a subby

[@suomeaboo]

You can be her true, her number one simp.

[@ahguitar1]

I'm a working guitarist / producer / sound engineer and have decided it would be beneficial to actually take a look at composition on piano to help take another step in theory understanding. I've also been listening to tons of city pop over the summer. So I loved this video. I'm going to learn some city pop tunes on the keyboard!

[@supernothing77]

What exactly is city pop?

[@ahguitar1]

@@supernothing77 I got to admit I don't know 100%. I only discovered what I think is city pop this year. To me it's specifically Japanese, with a Japanese vocalist. The genre style is this kind of smooth funky 80s sound you can hear in the video. Search for City Pop Playlist and you'll get some examples!

[@musictheory1403]

@@supernothing77 It's basically a jazzy sounding pop song. Best example would probably be Plastic Love with Mariya Takeuchi.

[@supernothing77]

@@ahguitar1 thank you!

[@supernothing77]

@@musictheory1403 thanks!

[@Hyper5nic]

Especially with this electric (or fm) piano sound, it does remind me of music by Luther Vandros, Al Jarreau or Michael McDonald. Those are well known 80s artists. 😊

[@ElianaDAngelo]

Luther Vandross is such a gigachad, can never get too much of his music.

[@neonpop80]

@@ElianaDAngelo did you say gigachad?! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 hilarious

[@ElianaDAngelo]

@@neonpop80 yes. I know he got all the staceys.

[@pihermoso11]

Sergio Mendez , Christopher Cross, Toto... Debbie Gibson was also amazing cause she could compose her own songs

[@rillloudmother]

@@ElianaDAngelo never too much.

[@54CFL]

Thanks for this! The cluster notes…and moving one of them down an octave is such a lightbulb moment. So many rich chords and new progressions available 😊

[@AidanMiles]

what a keyboard tone my goodness seriously have three adjacent whole tones (CDE) together ever sounded, out of context, this good together

[@NickyJamesTV]

Been following this channel for 3 years now and really appreciate your hard work.

[@Proestetic]

The music in the beginning is extremely typical for Japanese 80s pop incl. the new wave of inspired artists. It's the obligatory use of dim chords that gives it away. But playing these chords on an old Rhodes or piano, you get a feeling of lounge, 70s disco, smooth jazz or easy listening like Burt Bacharach. It all comes from artists well versed in jazz most definitely. Diving into these genres can inspire a more natural and creative approach when trying to make good 80s pop. David Foster is a go-to listen from then. He was almost involved in everything.

[@AllanGildea]

Absolutely fabulous track. Superb. Great to see you again - thanks.

[@Boyo-xe5fp]

I want to listen to you speak about music all day. You are absolutely hypnotizing and incredibly interesting. Super rad.

[@Makoto03]

This was incredible. Enjoyed watching you explain how to do awesome 80s music.

[@forgottensectors4807]

I love your videos! always well put together!

[@ilovecody7514]

Glad to have you back, those chords were awesome!!!

[@privatetransfer]

Excellent! Always such good and timely information delivered in a clear and direct way. Thank you!

[@micha4431]

Lovely! Gonna have fun with these progressions!

[@54LZ]

Thanks Eliana for sharing your knowledge!

[@Edward_Is_Weird]

You are awesome! I am so happy I have found this channel! 🥰 I still live in the 80's, musically speaking, so it is nice to meet people like you‼️ Greetings from Japan

[@siahfishin5295]

I just wanna say your stuff is some of the best content on youtube i have seen for music related things and mixing and mindset behind it with no bullshit and straight forward without worrying about offending anyone. I love it. I want more of it! Easiest sub of my life.

[@dessireemcfarland1040]

Thank you, love this and the production value you bring to your lessons. I can actually follow along with enough piano lessons behind me. Thanks again!

[@peter-hassett]

hey this is so helpful to me -- the way you discuss it and demo it and visualize it-- just really got through to me, and I can be sorta dense about this stuff. Thanks!

[@Benheartsart]

The vibes you have are ✨immaculate✨

[@BorisBidjanSaberi11]

Really great video. Straight to the point and filled with gems of info

[@mindphaser23]

Wow. This was a totally awesome tutorial! Definitely going to check out your other stuff!

[@asecretturning]

This really couldn't possibly be more clear, thank you so much for sharing!

[@CNTRRNDM]

What a great tutorial! Thank you so much for sharing all these tips with us!!!

[@richtw]

Love your sound! Those min9 and 7#5 chords are delicious, and you nailed the squidgy staccato moving bassline. Look forward to hearing the finished track soon!

[@jmoody3]

Nice walkthrough on the use of these chords. Thanks for putting this video together.

[@ernemorphs]

❤❤ing my first eliana video - Thank you for all the voicing inspiration! Can’t wait to play around with it tonight!

[@laHagans]

This is fantastic! Thank you for sharing!!

[@dwhutto]

You effortlessly explained a very complex idea in the beginning of the video. You have a real talent for teaching.

[@paulyberry]

Back at it with another awesome video! I learn something new every time thanks 🙏

[@icystorm9968]

Thank you! I always wanna make my chords a bit more chill/hazy. That's just the style of music i like to play and this certainly helps ❤️

[@AaronBaldes]

Love it! Great video! Beautiful!

[@AJPMUSIC_OFFICIAL]

Great video, happened on it by chance. I'm a guitarist who mainly played metal but I've always loved that 80s sound and synthpop and funk and such are things I'd love to write and this video really helped. Keyboards are a bit alien to me so this was good, the visual keyboard on the bottom was a great help. I was a little confused at first but once you showed stretching out the chord so you had those whole tone notes with various notes above and below it made a lot more sense. Thanks again.

[@id_avalon3451]

this is so cool ! thanks for explaining everything on a technical level.

[@synthsamuraiproductions]

Awesome!! Thanks for the sweet tips. Great video

[@EJBarrois]

Thank you, Eliana. Subscribed on the strength of the funk in your demo.

[@leor1113]

The suspended voicing one octave below is incredible, thank you SO much for sharing! Very interested in the more advanced theory concepts you mention too :)

[@estelasanchez.]

I liked, subscribed and have shared!! Girl... I'm loving this! THANK YOU!!!!❤❤

[@jonathanwingmusic]

Thanks for sharing, great tutorial - especially love that dom13sus voicing trick! :)

[@vocalizingdreams]

Awesome! Love the simple explanation. Super helpful

[@StevenQBeatz]

Great video!! 🔥🔥 I love that beat on the intro too. I remember hearing it on your Twitter a couple weeks ago.

[@sethdusith6093]

Amazing video, thank you for it

[@ChristianThoresen]

Thanks for this video! Cool chords!

[@ababc5]

Those chords were lush AF in all the right ways. Nice playing too. Thank you for making this easy to understand.

[@gummishepardtones]

A really wonderful exploration! I learned so much. Thank-you :)

[@TheNeatwork]

Welcome back! THIS SLAPS!!!

[@noahpettibon]

You're a naturally very funny person, but also very clear and articulate! Enjoyed the heck out of this.

[@brandonbayangos9143]

you are fireee! Eliana can you please make a related video where you break down the sounds you used on this track and how sound selection and the chords go hand in hand in making this sound?

[@JPBrooksLive]

If she doesn't. Check through your "EP" (electric piano) presets on any keyboard and there should be something close. The "FM E. Piano" especially, if available. Anything that has that chime in the attack, and not too much distortion in the sustain. It's my favorite electric piano sound, and it (or a very similar sound) is used in the Koji Kondo piece "Dire Dire Docks".

[@JackAcid]

This is great!

[@cloud-pants]

Great explainer! I caught a few new ideas in here, especially about the sus chord inversions and moving that bass note around.

[@Topcatyo.]

This video definitely gave me some ideas for some chords to try out on my next track. Thanks for the breakdown, and damn that example track in the beginning is some funky freshness

[@bestdisco1979]

I absolutely loved this tutorial. Those beautiful lush chords. I would never have thought of putting notes so closely together. A very valuable lesson. Thanks Eliana.❤

[@78thandSynth]

Very helpful- great way to present and explain. 🤘

[@lukepayton2669]

Thank you ! I have been looking for something like this for ages

[@Musik_Arbeiter]

Thanks for video! I feel like other channels I've seen reviewing 80s chords don't really cover the concepts very well. Your clear and concise explanation along with showing us the keys you were playing helped me understand the chords better (as a visual learner) haha 😄👍🎹🎶

[@itstommy135]

this is amazing

[@Bordres]

Very helpful! Will use this in my new project! Normally i would just reuse progressions from other songs but this is much more better

[@eleele8254]

As always, thanks for your excellent work. :)

[@sct777]

This is really helpful and well explained. Thank you!

[@harem137]

Amazing Video!!

[@LiamHagan]

This was extremely helpful, thank you!!!

[@dizfoster8726]

Wow! Super educational and easily understandable! Thanks for the lesson!

[@Ocho213k]

Love you Eliana, i found your channel a few weeks back and it's been really useful.

[@FatherFunk]

Instant subscribe! Wish there was more tutorials like this. Thanks for the great video!

[@javiermorhaim3667]

Great stuff! Such a pleasure to study this music sound and style. In many movie scores of the 80 this embellishment chords can be found, specially in the film scores of Henry Mancini in the 1980s, in films such as "Blind Date" or " That's life". Thanks for uploading this video, it's really cool!!

[@NugGarou]

This is really cool. Definitely going to try some of those. Thanks!

[@filipemecenas]

Awesome ! Subscribed

[@Xeranxies]

Love your content so much, keep up the awesome work! ✌😁

[@Julesplaysbass]

Nice! Great explanation, thanks for this

[@ChickyNYC]

Excellent video

[@iamtuku1169]

omg 3 years later and your music is still even amazing-er!!!! SO proud of you!!!!! :)

[@RandomRetr0]

Great tutorial! Thank you!!!

[@mitchpattimusic]

Love this lesson!

[@ajkraz9855]

Hey, love this video/channel. Learned heaps! 🎶😊

[@nickskywalker2568]

Wow really love your content! I look forward to the next video

[@ahmtTyln]

03:00 Pretty much Blade Runner..isshh.. A fine touch adding modulation to the last note...Makes me nostalgic..👌👌🙌🙌💯💯👍👍

[@UserName________]

So amazing! this just perfection.

[@johncaccioppo1142]

At first I didn't think this would interest me but when I saw the key roll and what you were doing, just playing around, I was hooked. Subbed and grateful.

[@HaloAdmiral]

So glad to come across your channel!!!

[@christianyellic3394]

Great tips!! ♥️ 🎹 🎼

[@DCronk-qc6sn]

Love the DX patch....great lesson!

[@trackartproductions9647]

Honestly eyes are more open and inspired some amazing sounding progressions .. Thank you so much ,.. I needed that today

[@natevizzi2901]

hey welcome back ! your videos are the best .... keep posting

[@floatinganarchychannel3204]

thanks a lot!! super helpful video!

[@PulpFreePress]

Awesome tutorial!

[@garygood6593]

I love your presentation so much!

[@dianaswan778]

thanks for everything you doing!!!!!

[@randymoss7908]

I loved this

[@DRUMXRZ]

Great explanation.. nicely done!

[@synthetic144]

Nicely done and much appreciated, glad I came across ur channel

[@gbo-gr-cy]

Indeed sounds very 80s! Very inspiring

[@therealmorganofficial]

The algorithm brought me here. Happy it did

[@southeastgasservices]

Beautiful Chords, going to spend some time working on these. thank you.