5 Things You Need To Know About Making Retro Music

Howdy! Today we're going to make some sweet cinematic retro synth soundtrack stuff, and more importantly talk about what makes 'retro' stuff sound so retro.
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▼▼▼TIMESTAMPZ:▼▼▼
0:00 Howdy
0:49 What We're Using
1:14 Some 80s History
2:30 My New Favorite Way To Write Themes
2:49 The Sonic Palette
5:33 The Core Idea
6:41 An Important Note On Arrangement
7:16 The John Carpenter Effect
8:23 What Makes 80s Chords Sound 80s?
10:56 Chords And Finishing Touches
14:59 Mixing Authentically
15:57 Quick Recap
16:22 The Final Result
18:08 Closing Thoughts
Stay classy!
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#musicproduction #musicproducer #retro #musician #music

[@VenusTheory]

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[@0x0777]

The Stranger Things theme is to synth nerds on KZbin is what Stairway to Heaven is to guitarists at Guitar Center.

[@VenusTheory]

I'd argue that it's probably the intro to Jump actually, but maybe a close second.

[@oisinmcphillips2090]

@@VenusTheory Jump feels like a 'Smoke on the Water' type thing to me

[@bengsynthmusic]

I'd argue Beverly Hills Cop theme.

[@dox1755]

@@oisinmcphillips2090 they got the same energy

[@MrCowfood]

Ya, before stranger things, it would arguably be the theme to blade runner, after all it was partially made on the most expensive of analog polys one can buy. Ye ole Yamaha CS-80.

[@thefamiliars]

Hey just thanks. Your vids have been a a way to open the doors into more complex sound design for this obsessive amateur. Your vids strike a balance between accessible without ever being patronizing. Really appreciate it. I’ll keep doing my homework.

[@VenusTheory]

Ayyyy really glad to hear that! Exactly what I want to hear - a TON of work goes into these videos to make sure things are digestible and sorta skill level agnostic so they're accessible to everyone.

[@BRIGGS2710]

For me, sticking to minimal arrangements keeps things clean, and more manageable.

[@agentooe33AD]

I'm guilty of doing the exact opposite. So I'm training myself to operate on the less is more philosophy.

[@CODENAMECRISISOFFICIAL]

Not even going to lie your string packs for decent sampler are literally the most perfect ones ive ever downloaded. Thank you Mr. Venus Theory

[@fawltytenor]

Definitely adding suspended notes or chord extensions was a big thing in the 1980s. Not just a keyboard thing. If you look at what guitar players were doing you hear a ton of added 6ths and 2nds/9ths in the chord voicing. Maybe some of that was players being influenced by earlier styles like jazz-rock fusion which had a lot of harmonic complexity. Really liked what you were doing with the leads there. and the echo cha cha cha (e.g. Friday the 13th), lol. Classic.

[@OgamiItto70]

Absolutely true about analog still being in wide use in the Eighties. It used to be when you bought a cassette or CD there would probably be a little label on it somewhere that read "AAA" or "AAD" or "ADD" or "DDD." And those 3 letters stood for how the music was recorded, mixed and mastered: all analog; analog recording and mixing with digital mastering; analog recording with digital mixing and mastering; or all-digital.

[@hackapump]

You're absolutely right. But it wasn't just a mix in regards to recording tech, the synthesizers too came from both domains, which is one of the things that made the sound of the 80s so unique, I think. But to keep it on topic: I distinctly remember my stepfather bringing home an album with Thelma Houston (Whitney’s aunt), featuring the creme de la creme of LA’s session musicians, and it was all recorded live directly onto the engraved master disc from which the vinyl was produced. These were the challenges they fought in the analog era: Every step in the signal chain degraded the end result to some extent, because of the laws of physics. Obviously very few had the chops (and balls) to afford these few steps though. But what a cool concept.

[@OgamiItto70]

@@hackapump Now that's *_seriously_* Old School! Like Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson kinda Old School.

[@hackapump]

@@OgamiItto70 True that. But in hifi. ;)

[@hackapump]

@@OgamiItto70 BTW, it features the arguably best cover of "Got To Get You Into My Life" ever attempted.

[@theacochrane5441]

If you got a CD that said AAA then something was wrong somewhere :)

[@mrkd4del]

Loved this one! I've always been a big fan of Carpenter's dark synth tracks of the 80's!

[@VenusTheory]

Great stuff for sure - been binging it ever since making this video after researching a bunch of old soundtracks haha

[@deadmassesmusic]

I binged the ost for Halloween Kills the other day and I’d consider it some of his best work. The movie was…meh

[@ComposerMichaelDow]

@@VenusTheory sound track to The Thing is just incredible! Nice work here too!

[@Sleipnirrob]

When I was 10, I snuck into the theater to watch Assault on Precinct 13. Yeah, the movie was fun, but the soundtrack broke me - I was obsessed with synths ever since.

[@EoinKeithBoyle65536]

I wouldn't sweat that 16 track issue: group those stray risers and hits and add some tape sat and compression, so that it sounds like you bounced multiple tracks down to stereo... Like we used to do with those portastudios

[@NathanPatton]

Yes to this! 🙌

[@SynthApprentice]

Absolutely. I was thinking the same thing. They just need to be their own sub-mix.

[@ChrisStarkGtr]

These types of soundtracks for TV and movies in the 80s were really a driving force behind what got me interested in music in the first place way back when. You may not have even been born when these things first made their appearance but you really nailed the vibe, and your thought process behind your showcase piece and your execution were spot on. Your channel is one of my favorites because of the great content like this and your always humorous delivery. It's always a good day when a new video from your channel pops up on my feed! :-)

[@ptkelly80]

The music for Nightrider and Airwolf had a huge impact on me as a kid in the 80s.

[@ChrisStarkGtr]

@@ptkelly80 Oh man, those soundtracks were the BEST! I also loved Jan Hammer's work on Miami Vice.

[@andreholzmann4532]

That was great! Would really appreciate a video about creating sounds from scratch on analog synth plugins.

[@ogasi1798]

analogue plugins don't exist

[@danieklerr]

@@ogasi1798 .. You're right, of course. Analog plugins do not exist. "Analog synth" plugins, however, do exist.

[@NigelMerrick]

Much appreciated, Cameron, you never fail to deliver something interesting, entertaining, and valuable in your videos. As a lifelong fan of the Berlin School music of Tangerine Dream and the like from the early 1970's, this was definitely a nice surprise from you, and quite masterfully realized, too. Great job, and all the best to you from down the road in Memphis TN 🙂

[@AbstractCatsMedia]

TD, indeed. Tangerine Dream's Sorcerer soundtrack, in particular. I've been a TD fan since about 1985.

[@NigelMerrick]

@@AbstractCatsMedia Loved that soundtrack. I first heard TD in 1978 (Phaedra, Cyclone, Stratosfear, and Rubycon), saw them in concert many times, and still enjoy them today (although not so much some of the post Edgar Froese material).

[@AbstractCatsMedia]

@@NigelMerrick Mid 70s- mid 80s, probably my favorite period. I agree about the post Frose, work. I've never seen them, sadly.

[@schniggedagges74]

Thanks for that video. It is really helpful. I would love to see a tutorial like that for music in the style of Jean Michel Jarre!

[@phyllis79]

😅 I’ve been listening to you as a podcast in the car but half way through this video I feel like I need to watch exactly what you are doing! It just sounds so nice and intriguing ! I shall rewatch and start putting the work in! Thank you for doing what you do 😊

[@peter_gagliardi]

Awesome video - and awesome track to go along with it. Thank you, grumpy mustache! I've been slowly trying to write more of this genre, since I enjoy it so much, and I will definitely be incorporating these ideas going forward.

[@darpsyxer]

Great video man! love how you approached every segment on detail, retro synths 80's feeling on point !

[@MR1337SKI]

This type of music is my Jam. Thanks for all the ideas. I definitely like all the attention 80s stuff is getting lately. Abletons Analog Lab is sooooo good for sounds like this, it's my foundation go to.

[@carbonvibes]

Grumpy mustache, Wins! Great content as always and track to boot. Thanks for sharing. 🔥

[@Daueraka]

I just finished season 4 one minute ago and devastated that I had nothing more to watch, I found your new video which gave me hope and so many smiles that I am just back at the daw

[@Anitajohnson69]

That gave me chills. Beautiful work!

[@ephjaymusic]

I love your videos so much! They're so well presented and well articulated. Sorry I can't keep commenting on all of them! Much love! 💜

[@jaredstanfield267]

The thought and time you invest into your videos is so impressive and makes for such an entertaining watch. Awesome breakdown of this sound. Looking forward to using these techniques in my own productions!

[@P5SFX]

Really really loved this video, thank you so much for this. Actually I really enjoy most of your videos and have learnt a lot. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge, it's incredibly helpful.

[@feralfoods]

that's a badass piece, nice 80s track and great video throughout. also, you got me into modular via Cardinal, and i've got VCV Rack now and totally dig it, i'd love to see some patching videos if you are ever so inspired. great channel and amazing work over the years, thank you!

[@dakotadalton2536]

This was a cool vid. It'd be neat to see similar historic context for other iconic electronic music.

[@rebelinc]

Great Stuff and very inspirering as always. Thank you.

[@Lazernaut]

I'm working on my 2nd EP and this video is exactly what I needed. Thank you so much.

[@jordanbenson2980]

Just discovered your channel mate. You've been a big help getting my studio at home sorted. Downloaded some amazing plugins to go along nicely with my hardware synths. Just wanted to say, I checked your name on Spotify, your music is excellent mate.

[@Aceofspades737]

yo i appreciate your level of detail you put in to these videos.

[@latenightluke]

Great video! I haven't subscribed to any new music KZbinrs in a minute, but I really like your style and delivery.

[@Gnurklesquimp2]

I LOVE the ''add one note to the triad'' approach, it sounds great, but there's another benefit. All these intervals can be daunting, so just changing this one thing makes it easier to remember what you did and how it changed things. I'd also make use of omission, to a very simple degree. Even beginners probably run into that situation where neither the major nor minor third are what you want, maybe just stacking two fifths for root, 5th and 9th is actually the sound you want, that one can work well to keep rock or synthwave etc. a bit less sentimental and a bit more cool. I still return to these kinda chords frequently, even just diatonic, no matter if I'm confident enough to pick intervals in a completely free-form way or have every chord in a different key etc.

[@SisterIndica]

Please do a whole album like this! Love this.

[@VenomRaven]

Hell yes!! This is exactly the video I've been looking for recently

[@mikemmartin]

Superb explanation and great piece at the end.

[@mattwatsonthesecrethelicopters]

Utterly brilliant! Loved this.

[@GODANMEDIA]

I’m really glad I found your channel. I find your work exceptionally educational. In my work I find it there is something missing. As I have Evolved with better plug-ins over the years. I still feel that there is some sort of layer of richness or layer of depth I am missing. I feel like my instrument choices orchestration is on track. But I think by not deeply going into the sound design or mixing of each patch might be crippling my potential . My mixing is very basic at best. I start all my levels -18 and bring them up from there without trying to clip to match. I do concentrate a lot on volume Crossfades and panning when needed. I am child of the 70s and 80s. I’m now 50 years old and I have three decades of music that I loved and springs out I spirit. I took music theory in college. At the end of the day I’m a musician that writes from the heart and what feels good coming out of my soul. Now I’m trying to catch up with all the technical aspects of mixing. it really has me frustrated. Thank you again for this video it is very informative. I know that you’re a very busy and you probably get 1 million people asking you to take a look at they’re work. If you click on my name you’ll see my latest video. I drive semi truck down the road earning a living for my family while producing music and video on my small portable studio in my truck. I currently use logic as a DAW coming out of DP 10. After beating myself up with logic loops I finally upgraded to Arturia V9 and mkIi key lab 49. If you can suggest anything that would help me fill the void in my soundscape I would really appreciate it sir. Thank you. I’ll be watching and learning more from what you have on your KZbin channel library.

[@tactikzzF1R3]

This is truly outstanding!!

[@LTLBIGMAN2]

This is like a mini master's thesis in why we get all misty-eyed hearing arpeggiated sawtooth waves through reverb. Bravo.

[@llll-lk2mm]

dude this is amazing, great John wick cosplay too

[@oldschooljohnny]

I love your videos! always entertaining AND educational.

[@JimmerJamesKM]

I'm a drummer and singer.. I dig tech stuff a lot! This really made for a nice few moments of my day! I've done huge audio events in my days but not this kind of work and I find what you have demonstrated here just fantastic and more! My two children are boom operators in the movie segment of audio, and also work with sounds in many other ways. I know they'll really like what you've recorded here for sure. We are all musicians as well... Thanks for such a well-explained video for me and my son and daughter. We'll all learn from it and its straightforward presentation! You rock my good man! Thank You!

[@awakeFromNib]

This really inspires to jump into sound desing

[@ChrisRalph007]

I've filed under this my X-files, for my wonder years of exploring these strange thingy soundings to take it to the next generation of star treekking...seriously, this is super cool stuff - I'm very much an amateur musician who picked up a midi keyboard this year and have downloaded many plugins (many of your recommendations). In these past months I've always gravitated to anything that produces 80s tones. Keep doing what you're doing - mucho gratitude! (super therapeutic as a release from my day job as a palliative care practitioner). 🖖

[@RogueTransformations]

I just wanted to thank you for helping me 'see' a bit more authentic synthwave sounds. It has really helped! 😀👍

[@dynamiketiger]

This is so rad. Saving this vid:)

[@nicoantuna1454]

Great historical context here! I love how you point out the new access to increased polyphony and how that affected the writing process in the 80s. Limitations define creativity.

[@presentalinkwalterbak2426]

Made me smile. Partly because I don't know why, and somewhat because whenever I fiddled around with different synth plugins, this kind of stuff was just making itself under my hands. Well, I am from the eighties, and I was quite active as a keyboard player ever since I was a kid in grade six - yes, I was one of the lucky ones to have the opportunity to have access to some cool stuff at the time. My band buddies and I always dreamed of making it big, which never came to be. We always thought that what we did was never good enough, not realizing that we were just engulfed in the awesomeness of times. Thank you for this video. Cheers man! :)

[@MrLarsDF]

You are a gift to the community🙏😊. Thank you🙏

[@dmitripopov8570]

Bravo! It sounds wonderful! Very 80's! Thank you!

[@lilybeejones]

Lovely video! I think I'm gonna try this for a guitar piece. I think enough effects pedals would do it. Also the hooktheory key cheat is so nice! I'm gonna share that with some friends who want to write but need a little more info.

[@jordanrush1988]

This is absolutely fantastic! Hope you get to do some retro type music for an upcoming project! This was absolutely inspiring but…I’m feeling inclined to lay some guitar down over your track (only if you gave me the go ahead) but either way, always looking forward to your videos my dude!

[@floatinganarchychannel3204]

All is so epic but the pad with spaced out is what melted me ;)

[@theadhdmind]

Beautiful retro walk through! Thanks!

[@VenusTheory]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@AceFaceRecords]

Thank you so much for this man!

[@dawud7791]

So Rad! Kinda reminded me of kick bong, Some of the textures Nice work man!!!

[@spiralnet]

Thanks for another inspirational video. Even though my music is a bit different there are certainly some ideas and approaches that I can try and put to use.

[@MCWolf14]

Really like how you used gate lab. It fit super well in this track.

[@agapeleone5847]

DOPE!!!!! GREAT WORK!!!!!

[@DaKingof]

Epic sounds as usual. Thanks for the cool tuts. Bitwig 4 lyfe

[@lokelosk]

This was a very, very informational video with a cool example and final result.

[@JudgeFredd]

Great stuff !

[@ksmit]

Outstanding!!!

[@datoysn3917]

Awesome! Beautiful!

[@CNTRRNDM]

Yeeeesssss! Thanks for sharing this!!!

[@ndwknss]

This is amazing dude wow.

[@Keroser1983]

WOW Sounds amazing!!!

[@chinor3999]

Very nice. Thank you very much man keep doing what you're doing 👍.

[@DixonBeats]

Amazing mate! 👏🏻

[@KeebCR]

You are one of the single most underrated composers and musicians. Also, My wife likes your voice haha

[@philipsnettleton]

Cameron, I signed up for HookPad some time back. Not only does it keep you honest, but it teaches you about what music is all about. Plus, you can sequence and compose entire songs on it with lyrics. Thanks.

[@adamtaborowski]

I love this video ! You are the best Venus! Greetings from PSPaudioware

[@nathanksimpson]

I just finished working on a lo-fi track chill track. So this video is perfect timing. I'm thankful for the homework assignment from this video to try on my next project. So far I am able to make a track in one week. Hopefully as I learn I will be able to go faster. We'll see how fast I can make something in this genre (a genre that really inspired me to learn music production).

[@AndreaGiordaniComposer]

Great stuff, mate 👌

[@TheClassicalSauce]

You've earned a sub dude. Your videos get me thinking.

[@hammerofgodminiatures]

Great job and enjoyed the video

[@_Toxxi_]

Incredibly valuable information! Btw I would love to see the track released :D

[@ingarhunskaar9601]

Great! Thanks! 🙂

[@ricardogdnb]

very cool video, thanks for this amazing content

[@she3po945]

Very very awesome!! ✊🔥🙌

[@mescalinum]

Very cool soundscapes! This is almost a psychedelic ambient track

[@MusicianParadise]

A great, expertly produced video, a joy to watch! May I ask, what kind of midi visualizer you're using at 9:05? There are plenty of them, but this one looks really nice and clean!

[@IanWillett-kr6uo]

Very inspiring dude! I just picked up an Oxygen Pro 49 for my first crack at all this, and have always leaned towards 80s soundtrack music. So excited to learn and produce!!!

[@VenusTheory]

Ayyyyyyyy well glad to be of service. Let me know how it turns out, happy noisemaking!

[@Grant82gc]

I have only just got into this series, the soundtrack was an unexpected surprise!!

[@mordekaihorowitz]

Love the final result

[@boxerfan7949]

“Praise Mary and pass the butter; that’s juicy” - subscribed! 😂

[@oschu7820]

I have no idea how i passed this video… This tune is absolutely fantastic! Also very inspiring and you sell me some new plugins 😁 So to answer your question: This turns out stunning! I like stuff like this quite alot and will try to build such a track by my own! Thanks for this!

[@LFOVCF]

I was back in the 80s with all those classic carpenter horrors. great job!

[@smalltown2223]

To make Retro music I’m fortunate enough to have a Time Machine that can also miniaturise me too. This way I can travel back in time and be small enough to be inside Toto’s keyboard rig in 1982 and take samples of sounds to use at home. Although one time the part of the machine that miniaturises me ran out of battery power and I immediately became full size again. This happened at a live show at Madison Square Garden as they were performing Rosanna. I literally exploded out of Prophet 5 and stopped the gig. The gig was filmed that night but the funny thing is, the recording shows none of what I describe.

[@marcuswerker]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@barrytune7098]

Thank you. Your videos are a constant source of inspiration. When you say you've been using clips, I actually don't know what that means, and don't recognise the DAW, unless it was Maschine or something along those lines.

[@Terre-Sauvage-Music]

Merci pour ce décryptage, le morceau est excellent 👍

[@Squidy666]

OK, that sounds amazing

[@itdreamsme]

Simply badass! 😎

[@Caldoric]

that second transition-y '82 immediately had me thinking "Dr. Who", because that's a very similar "whoosh" to the start of that show's theme song...

[@OzricTentaclesRule]

excellent!!

[@daviddechamps8840]

Super Nice! Like it à lot!

[@MrPeter924]

Great video great music song audio sounds

[@IMForeman27]

Thanks!

[@DavidMejias]

Fantastic! Great video, congrats! You should do a video of Board of Canada sounds!

[@DaveWrightKB9MNM]

I had a CZ-101 and the RZ-1 drum machine. Wish I hadnt sold those! Also, another good soundtrack from the '80's for me anyway was from the movie Cat People.

[@MarvelJAM]

I use a bunch of Softube plugins. You are helping me to move the synths to a must have. Thank you :)