A new way to write Synth Arps

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Learn more about writing linear chord progressions that you can use to make your arps more interesting➡bit.ly/FREEcompositionguide

[@AurumNoise]

It would be awesome if you had some vids on writing piano music in the style of Nils, Olafur and the like.

[@ShadeCandle]

This is such good advice. I find that with a lot of producers who lack classical training or a background in songwriting, their tracks may have some good ideas in them, but they don't GO anywhere. I want music to take me somewhere - to tell a story. If it's just one arpeggio or sample repeating over and over again, it gets old really fast. And I do love a lot of repetitive, hypnotic music, but it has to evolve in a compelling way.

[@GrannyGreymatter]

Great lesson. My favourite composers to play when I was a student (a long time ago) were Bach, Mozart and Liszt, Bach used to be required study for any keyboard player, not only for the arps but also integration of melodic movement by simple changes within them. Teach 'em theory and classical techniques without 'em realising (clever). Wendy Carlos was the perfect example of this with "Switched on Bach"

[@retrobots_music]

Thank you. I keep an eye on your channel. Only good stuff to find here 👌

[@jeremythornton433]

Once upon a time i too took classical piano lessons. I even went to university for a year for music. Didn't have enough money to go further so I joined a rock band and toured Ontario and later Europe. The thing is, some things you never forget but this is one of the things that fell by the wayside. Now I don't gig but I play, write and record in my studio. This is exciting and great information. Thank you for making me remember some things that I'd forgotten. I love playing electronic music on my synths!

[@norakat]

Sometimes you can have a chord progression that doesn’t sound very special when played as block chords especially when played at regular intervals, but if you did something with them - meaning play them in a particular rhythmic way and not as blocks but doing something with the chord tones, it can sound special.

[@alexgrunde6682]

A great arp technique that Bach (and others) used was alternating his voices between longer staccato notes and shorter legato notes. So a half bar of the melody voice playing legato sixteenth notes and the bass/harmony voice playing staccato eighth notes, then swap for the next half bar.

[@doyourownwaves4214]

Hi, a question: the lack of sync in the arpegio in minute 8+- is because the arpegio notes are recorded in a sequencer? Thanks

[@ShadeCandle]

Yeah, the thing with arpeggiators changing pattern when you switch chords/voicings can be challenging. Sometimes it can work to your advantage, but it makes me avoid using arpeggiators live for a lot of uses.

[@mmypainting]

Melody and arps, a marriage made in heaven.

[@vicsol75]

Thanks! Very good lesson!

[@nathanbryers]

Ooh! Thankyou for the book - I signed up for your 5 day also. How amazing Thankyou very much

[@intheblink]

Good video. These are things I “know”, but it’s nice to be reminded to implement that knowledge. Inspiring and good for generating new ideas.

[@loganboland]

This is what I’m hear for on KZbin. Phenomenal chord progression that first pass thru on piano

[@dedicatedspuddler7641]

Another truly excellent and helpful video. I enjoy and appreciate your bringing your classical piano background into the synthesizer world for composition.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Thank you kindly!

[@andreasoberg2021]

Woha. A Moog Muse. I did not know you got one.

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Yes!!! Just yes. Cheers, Daniel

[@ulrichgamingandmusic]

That piano sounds lovely

[@wirebaby_official]

Thank you for this useful advice. Subbed.

[@mugwood]

This was Vince Clarke's genius in Yazoo... when you only have monophonic synths, chords have to be arpeggiated!

[@sanderverhofstadt126]

Hell yeah vince clarke the goat of yazoo,depeche mode and erasure 🤘😍

[@CatCat-m3j]

Great Mr James! Big hug from Portugal!

[@hoshimarumusic1704]

That's how I used to write arpeggios before I found out about arpeggiators!

[@samprock]

Hmmm, the only arp button I started use on hardware synth is Muse 😎 Will need to throw it away now LOL Second funny fact, just yesterday, my honey shown me "you need to learn this cool popular tune" (idea 10). I listen and say, wait it is arping honey I do it all day long. Anticipating her finally appreciate my music, I turned on my new creation on OP-XY. It was arping with melodic embellishment and induced melody on top. She goes, no. I ask why. She saying you do boom-boom (i had some bass and groove), and you play this weird sound (I played pretty synth .... but it was NOT a piano) 🤣 I guess it takes to make even more disguise on top of what you greatly describe! Cheers!

[@russ254]

learn that cool popular tune then hit the hay early my friend!

[@samprock]

@@russ254 I burn the hay and stick to making my own hits, succeed or not. Rebel! LOL Cheers mate!

[@jerrybot3000]

Very helpful concepts.

[@AndrewColyerMusic]

AWESOMENESS!! DUDE DUDE DUDE !!!! FANTASTIC!! LOVE IT!! SO GOOD.❤🎉😀🎹🎵

[@WAROVART]

Lovely stuff

[@timdanyo898]

Thanks man. This was super helpful! I love at the end the mix of programmed and free form.

[@Raumfalle]

Hi Nate, I love your videos 🙏🏻 I’ve been waiting for months for you to share why you chose the Muse and how satisfied you are with it. Thanks in advance!

[@rozaymiller2143]

Ur getting every feel out every chord I love it

[@puffinwrangler7557]

Gorgeous chord progression, thanks for sharing.

[@this.is.shashwat]

Cool and helpful. Thanks

[@bricelory9534]

I also really love playing around with the arpeggiator on my Osmose, which because of how unique the Osmose plays already, leads to some really unique and fluid arrangements. I've yet to play with it enough to feel I've tamed it well enough to record, but it's a joy to grow familiar with. It so naturally leads to some of the elements you describe - especially the emphasis of different voices. In fact, you can create an entire movement of the music simply by emphasizing different notes - and it does so incredibly fluidly!

[@jaygregory8219]

Great video! I really appreciate these music concepts. Thank you for sharing this! Ohh and the track you built up then played over at the end is soooo beautiful

[@ICKXBerlin]

You're doing a really good job with those videos, always teaching me some neat little tricks! Thanks for that! :)

[@BassBusMusic]

I did this in a piece I recorded late in '24. Took a nice chord progression and applied it to an arp. It took some practicing to get the timing right to fit the notes in with the arp but worked in the end. I like the way the arp can be used to make a little tune but timing is critical.

[@troyjlandry]

I really appreciate your ability to help me understand music theory. Long time subscriber and will continue to be a patreon.

[@lummsmusik3219]

I love playing around with my Midicake Arp. It creates amazing modulated arpeggios instantly.

[@Jeremyelrick]

great video mate. subbed!

[@alotohjuice]

Lets go Muse! So glad they fixed the velocity control, as a classical player myself that was a game changer.

[@waltersir7306]

Great lesson good sir

[@MikkelGrumBovin]

Your such a fine musician,-🥹🙏

[@mauchkimberly]

Appreciate you sharing your knowledte. This was quite interesting.

[@thebreathalyzer]

Great video, thank you for sharing!

[@WhistlebirdInfinity]

Great video! I have been going hog wild with soft synths after many years of only playing acoustic instruments. That phenomenon of shifting time has been something I really like because it's a new thing coming out of something old I have been playing on piano...I recently got the Lunacy Audio Cube and that program is really inspiring as far as new dimensions of sound over old technique I have been learning.

[@ChromeArray]

Arps have always been something of an afterthought for me. I think it's time to start giving them some attention! Thanks for the ideas!

[@candoraudio3159]

Love it

[@UtopiaFade]

You bridge a Major (not minor) gap between your training and experience and electronic music making - Bravo Nathan, for a fantastic encouraging video for 2025. Thank you for teach us in the cold world of electrons, that there is warmth to be found!

[@thomp9054]

The hydrasynth is nice with it's polyphonic aftertouch... You can faux arp the filters or whatever other parameters while sustaining the chord.

[@kaislate]

Instead of sample and hold you could utilize functions to get a less random chance of accenting. You could also tie it into velocity using mpe modulation even if the hardware you have doesnt support mpe. Of course something like Pigments for example allows to do this fairly easily and since it can send midi its possible to use it to play outboard synths or an internal patch of its own.

[@DEADLINETV]

Great and interesting video! Brilliant! Yes, that bass video would be great too! I once saw a video of a bass player saying how he more or less controls the vibe or chording of the song. Like when playing, say, a standard major chord, by dropping the bass or root note by 3 semitones, the would turn that major chord into a minor 7th! Awesome.

[@Stue007]

Super interesting, thanks a lot!

[@patrick5645]

I love the arp and sequencer on the muse.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Same

[@InnerVisions68]

I’m in Atlanta. I really wish, Jameson, that we lived close, so I could take piano/keyboard lessons from you, and maybe track some stuff through all this Neve, SSL, Manley, etc. gear sometime(s). I think you’re exactly the type of piano/keyboard teacher I’m looking for.

[@fewunderstandthis7355]

Your dry humor reminds me of my favorite professor 😂 he also taught composition and theory (plus conducting) Great content, thank you!!

[@chambre466]

thanks teach

[@chambre466]

yes, cool video to show off your gorgeous melodies

[@ashikabbasali1836]

Timing can influence how a piece sounds

[@elementlab41]

SO great! Especially that first chord progression. Would any of you who can read music know what chords he's playing in the notation above?

[@LordoftheBadgers]

I like playing arps based around chords but broken across the keybed - many ppl lock themselves into playing triads etc on the upper part of the keyboard and bass being the root... But yea I would take the F and C of Fm and play the A as a bass note. Mess with inversions. As Jameson says you can really mess with bass notes. Like the first thing I learnt was that play A with a Cmaj chord gives you am7. Really good to experiment with these. If you start to step away from fixating on playing all the notes in a chord and let the gaps "suggest" the chord then this is why having huge polyphony in a synth isn't always needed. In fact a mono will still play a chord that way! I was thinking applying keyboard tracking on the filter would be a more boring way of accenting but could be a fun cheat for some.

[@noiseinthewires]

So I have a moog grandmother which requires you to input a sequence prior to using the arpeggiator. How would this idea fit into that workflow? Would I sequence the notes of the chord and play single keys or sequence just a single note and play the chord shapes?

[@ForenaamAkternaam]

Kinda sad how arpeggiators are often used exclusively for just rolling bass and static arpegs following the chord being played. A few other interesting uses I like are a very slow random arp with pad sounds and arps where you adjust the decay and release to turn them into big soundscapes then back to arpeggio.

[@macronencer]

I recommend seeking out Debussy's "Doctor Gradus Ad Parnassum" and playing the final section as block chords instead of the written arpeggios. In my opinion it's one of the most beautiful chord sequences ever written.

[@russ254]

no idea if that’s true, but thanks for bringing that piece to my attention ❤

[@infn8loopmusic]

Did anyone else feel personally attacked by the thumbnail text: "turn off the arpeggiator" 🤣

[@infinitesize116]

Que buen descubrimiento, y creo que voy a intentar aplicar el acento con LFO random para mi entorno eurorack¡ Muchas gracias, a sido un gran descubrimiento este canal. SUSCRITO¡¡

[@cappiels]

What was the Bach song you were playing ?

[@Arhidilius]

bwv 846

[@stephenbaldassarre2289]

I never actually used the arpeggiators on my synths but cool!

[@lrgstmrg]

Nate, I want that bass video. Should I be approaching basslines in a fundamentally different way than my melodies? I've noticed a lot of bass lines tend to include big jumps between notes; is there a rule of thumb for making this work? Looking for ways to spice up basslines while keeping them simple and unobtrusive.

[@husssamo]

Thank you, this is really helpful and educational. (Internal thought: $4.5K Moog synth with no polyphonic aftertouch!)

[@watchaddicts1213]

You're back!!! Yea! I see you've still got that photoshop'd MUSE. Cool.

[@JamesonNathanJones]

Sounds surprisingly good for a png

[@petersirca223]

Bravo. Chapeau. You're getting to the core of the issue as I see it now. Look forward to see where you go next..

[@PGHFilter]

Cool thumbnail bro

[@voidofwoid]

5:02 is my favourite version.

[@ashikabbasali1836]

Yes arpeggios are cords ora single note that is embellished im self taught i use linear Melody all the time love feedback on my original guitar compositions

[@sailence5757]

Waiting for bass video

[@bricelory9534]

To answer your question: no, I'll never get tired of ripping off Stranger Things. Seriously though, great thoughts and processes. It also helps move one's mind out of the idea of simply blocking different loops together and calling it an arrangement - which is a valid way to do it, but there is value in having the skills for a through-composed arrangement as well. I appreciate it!

[@GregorPQ]

I need the Bassline for my song - or rather I have a melodic bassline and will use the 'bassline' for the upper part:).

[@swanofnutella4734]

Did you get rid of the PEK? I noticed it's no longer visually featured.

[@j-julien]

Can't wait for "your basses are boring" 😉

[@silentman-ze3gu]

I have a synth arp at the end of TDNs Destiny, could you check it out

[@gemini62167]

Arps actually used to be very interesting way back in the day, largely because they were simple and served more as a repeating background element in a novel and very interesting manner, and not just a way of playing chord changes. Sort of like a wash in a painting. It's there, it's noticable, and it adds highly to the overall effect of the painting, but it doesn't dominate nor become monotonous. Today the capacity to make them highly complicated has made them boring. It doesn't help that music has changed greatly as well in that so much of it really hasn't any other structure than one repeating element without significant changes in a song anymore. Whereas you had an intro, some verses, chorus, bridges, etc., all of which differed greatly within a song, today its more about rhythm and dance and high predictability in chord changes and nothing more. That and originality has taken a far back seat in the bus as well. The idea of a song having a unique and catchy melody began to be demonized at some point as being gimicky and the mark of "unskilled" musicians. To me that was just the ridiculousness of highly skilled technical musicians being put off who couldn't do much more than that, not having that creative uniquenes to come up with someting original and catchy. In other words, they could read sheet music backwards, forewards, upsideown, have the chops to cut down a forest of trees, but that's it. There is and always has been more to creating music (or anything for that matter) than technical skill. You can have that, but must have taht creative side as well to come up with something people will remember the first time they hear it infectiously. Otherwise, its just mechanics. Which is what a lot arping is today.

[@infn8loopmusic]

Tells us not to use the arpeggiator @7:59 uses the arpeggiator 😂

[@Ijustforgot-x8k]

Explains how Chris Martin wrote “Clocks”.

[@StratosWave]

You mentioned the term blocking a lot. Can you explain what you mean by that or point me to a video you or someone else has made?

[@sederquest]

Wow I thought that was obvious and I haven’t a clue about music theory 🤷‍♂️ I would have created a chord progression then broke it down into an arp

[@GrootsieTheDog]

I like arps BECAUSE they are NOT CHORD PROGRESSIONS! I treat them like drones ( contrary to popular belief, one of the most famous drones, the tampura drone, is a series of strumed notes - not a continuous chord). Its the repetitive rhythmic, non progression, quality that makes them so wonderful and hypnotic. Its kinda what makes electronic music so cool man 🙄

[@rozaymiller2143]

I have a new song that I will love for some to play

[@danbient]

Pretty changes...

[@peteblues72]

your piano hammers are hitting some kind of felt in front of the strings. Is this some kind of silent piano system? What piano is this?

[@LordoftheBadgers]

Yes this is what a felt piano is :) very popular sound! Can be applied to any acoustic piano - so no it's not a specific piano or system... Just actual felt! You could go the other way and put thumb tacks in all the hammers for that old bar piano sound

[@Nenko_Music]

Man you legit make me laugh each time. informative vid yes. Humor yes...."bad at KZbin"....y....i mean no !

[@deepsea313]

New? I thought everyone knew this. I made a track based on that with poly-rhythm and poly-meter a couple of years ago. Using arps as chord progressions is so much fun! kzbin.info/www/bejne/m32To6Cua6iKfMksi=yID9FYBmNH8w55bW

[@andrew-no2ti]

Fascinating concept well presented. Sorry to add marred for me by naked blue and white lights shining in my eyes (boo hoo ..)

[@watchaddicts1213]

Thought you might enjoy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnWlcp16bZZ2otEsi=wqpRexBKwOg1gCSt

[@ptah23]

doesn't everybody do it like this? i thought it was standard practice

[@EminoMeneko]

2:12 Bad at YT. Good at sharing.

[@dodgingrain3695]

ugh.... synth arpeggios are chords just broken up.

[@johnrichardson3297]

Is the bass register interchangeable (lower voicing?)

[@05degrees]

Each time I watch you I find a mix of very reasonable ideas that are still new to me as well 🎛🎹