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.

[@MS-Patriot2]

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!

[@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 😊

[@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.

[@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.

[@BorisBidjanSaberi11]

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

[@Σατανας666]

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

[@laHagans]

This is fantastic! Thank you for sharing!!

[@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 ❤️

[@lukepayton2669]

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

[@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.

[@mindphaser23]

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

[@nerolifong1824]

love the 80s music

[@AllanGildea]

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

[@micha4431]

Lovely! Gonna have fun with these progressions!

[@EJBarrois]

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

[@ernemorphs]

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

[@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!

[@ilovecody7514]

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

[@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!

[@Ocho213k]

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

[@id_avalon3451]

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

[@forgottensectors4807]

I love your videos! always well put together!

[@privatetransfer]

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

[@cloud-pants]

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

[@trackartproductions9647]

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

[@asecretturning]

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

[@jmoody3]

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

[@Benheartsart]

The vibes you have are ✨immaculate✨

[@vocalizingdreams]

Awesome! Love the simple explanation. Super helpful

[@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

[@estelasanchez.]

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

[@Lexohhbeats]

this is one of the best youtube tutorials i’ve ever seen

[@sethdusith6093]

Amazing video, thank you for it

[@anniealarie7147]

Really like this video. Learning all those interesting possibilities in music. Also revision is good too. Really well explained. Thanx Eliana.

[@UserName________]

So amazing! this just perfection.

[@paulyberry]

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

[@nabilchokhman3329]

very smooth and clear explanation, Merci

[@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!

[@NugGarou]

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

[@54LZ]

Thanks Eliana for sharing your knowledge!

[@southeastgasservices]

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

[@mylawinter6666]

You are what I've been looking for, for so long. Thank you for this, my keytar is happy

[@dwhutto]

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

[@elizulie]

really nice video, i enjoyed it a lot

[@Meeyatchimoto]

I loved this

[@mitchpattimusic]

Love this lesson!

[@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!!

[@natevizzi2901]

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

[@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

[@RandomRetr0]

Great tutorial! Thank you!!!

[@harem137]

Amazing Video!!

[@CNTRRNDM]

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

[@goldbluetears]

wow this is gold with a platinum delivery!

[@nickskywalker2568]

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

[@crazykong5246]

This is the fantastic for the guitar as well. Nice job.

[@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

[@iamtuku1169]

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

[@itstommy135]

this is amazing

[@Makoto03]

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

[@usaroman]

Will be coming back to learn these wonderful chords 🎉 Thanks for sharing ❤

[@FutureFolk1985]

Great video, thanks! This will help me greatly in my quest for the ultimate 80’s chord, love your style!

[@ChristianThoresen]

Thanks for this video! Cool chords!

[@AaronBaldes]

Love it! Great video! Beautiful!

[@dizfoster8726]

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

[@DETERMINOLOGY]

Eliana is one of the top producers ive heard when it comes to producing with a DAW. Her music has feeling groove and she knows what she's doing. Much respect.

[@natevizzi2901]

yeah she is like outstanding

[@78thandSynth]

Very helpful- great way to present and explain. 🤘

[@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.

[@Xeranxies]

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

[@sct777]

This is really helpful and well explained. Thank you!

[@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.

[@SalmiaKira]

Happy youtube recommended me this ^^ was very informative and fun~

[@Q-BOT]

I respect your demands. Nice video!

[@leor.111]

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 :)

[@JackAcid]

This is great!

[@pat_butcher]

Such a great tutorial!! I love how you break down an 80s sound without it sounding jokey

[@ababc5]

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

[@finbarcordell1466]

Love this, very dreamy sound choice

[@kaib5048]

Instant like and subscribe. Thanks so much for taking the time to make this and share your knowledge!!

[@eleele8254]

As always, thanks for your excellent work. :)

[@gummishepardtones]

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

[@dianaswan778]

thanks for everything you doing!!!!!

[@noahpettibon]

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

[@trblmkr5139]

very clearly explained!

[@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.❤

[@Pyroific]

this is the best video explaining this topic i've come across! thank you so much :D

[@christianyellic3394]

Great tips!! ♥️ 🎹 🎼

[@gbo-gr-cy]

Indeed sounds very 80s! Very inspiring

[@TheNeatwork]

Welcome back! THIS SLAPS!!!

[@ChickyNYC]

Excellent video

[@produccionmusical946]

You are my go-to yt Channel to learn how to get that great 80's sound ❤️

[@williamdawson6037]

She knows her stuff! This is super helpful thanks!!!!!!