The Chords

As said before, the majority of Eurodance songs are written in minor keys. When it comes to chord progressions there are some popular progressions available, but again, this is not a strict rule! The following chart shouldn't be followed exactly everytime.

Let's take for example the key of A minor: Am F Dm Em (I-VI-IV-V)

The Steps For Making Your First Eurodance Song

Here I'm presenting 3 variants for making your first Eurodance song:


VARIANT 1

1. Hum a dance melody - keep humming until you find that special melody - this is usually the refrain

2. Put the melody on chords and rhythm

3. Build a riff/hook based on your melody or your melody's chords

4. Build the verses and bridge

5. Put them all together and give your song a form

6. Record your song

7. Mix and master it.


VARIANT 2

1. Build a nice dance music chord progression (bass and rhythm) - use a minor key (Am or Dm for example)

2. Try humming over and find a great melody

3. Build a riff/hook based on your melody or your melody's chords

4. Build the verses and bridge

5. Put them all together and give your song a form

6. Record your song

7. Mix and master it.



VARIANT 3

1. Create a nice refrain melody on your keyboard - use a minor key (Am or Dm for example)

2. Put the melody on chords and rhythm

3. Build a riff/hook based on your melody or your melody's chords

4. Build the verses and bridge

5. Put them all together and give your song a form

6. Record your song

7. Mix and master it.



You can choose any of the variants above or even start with the lyrics first. There is no special recipe, it only has to sound good to your ears!

The Riff

You can build the riff around the melody of your song. Or you can build the riff around the chords. However you do it, the riff is the part of the song that should be memorable to your listener. Also called the hook, it is the part that highlights the chorus.

Famous riff examples:



Now let's try to make a simple riff based on the chords below. We will be using the notes of the chords to build this riff. You can also use the notes around the chords in the given scale.


Am F Am G

The Melody

The melody is the soul of your song. Probably the most interesting melody to the ears is the chorus. 
There are many ways to come up with a melody, this also applies for Eurodance music.

A simple way to come with the melody is to listen the chords and rhythm / bass and rhythm and just hum along. Or you can do vice-versa, start with a melody and build the chords around it. Another method is to just start playing the keyboard.

Whatever method you choose, melodies should be catchy and interesting. It can give your song that special flavour.

The Bassline

The bass and drums have a strong connection and Eurodance music makes no exception.

The bassline in Eurodance music follows some typical patterns, but feel free to experiment. I will show below some examples so you can get an idea about how it works.

The bassline outlines the notes of the chords. So you will build your bassline around the chords of your song.

Am  F Am G

Tips: use chord inversions to smooth the bassline and avoid jumping basslines! (first inversion chords are the most commonly used). Use the "contrary motion" in relation to the melody. If the melody goes up, then the bass line goes down, and vice versa.

The Drums

Alright, let's start studying the drums in Eurodance music!

As said, the Eurodance music is 4/4, so we have 4 beats per bar.

Now let's listen how it sounds:

The Instruments

The instruments you can use in a Eurodance track are infinite, however there are some which can be found in every track. Let's see which are those.

 1. Drums (synthesizers 4/4, kick bassdrum)

 2. Bass (synth bass)

 3. Lead synth (riff/hook)

 4. Strings (chords)

 And of course, don't forget the melody (vocals)!

We will start studying each of the instruments above and the way these are used in Eurodance music.

The Main Elements Of The Eurodance Music

Like any other songs, the main elements of the Eurodance music are:

1. the melody

The melodies are positive and upbeat. The Eurodance songs are mostly written in minor keys. This blends very well with the positive lyrics creating a very emotional sound. The songs also include rap sections (but there are cases when these ones are missing).

2. the chords

Some popular chord progressions are VI-IV-I-V, I-V-VI-IV, I-VI-IV-V,  I-VI-IV-V7

remember: the big three chords are I, IV and V; III and VI are substitues for the I chord, while II is substitute for the IV chord;

3. the beat (rhythm)

The Eurodance music is 4/4, and the bpm rate is between 110 and 150 bpm (usually 140 bpm)

4. the hook

This is the most memorable part of the song. It's a short riff or phrase that makes the song memorable for the listener. The hook is often found (or it consists of) in the chorus

5. the lyrics

The lyrics are positive and promote things like love, peace, fun. The lyrics are usually in English language.

6. the song sections

A typical Eurodance section contains: intro (chorus) - lyrics (rap)- chorus - lyrics (rap) - chorus - bridge - chorus

Let's study the main elements of the Eurodance songs in this famous song of the 90s: Dreams by 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor.

Welcome!

Eurodance is the famous music style of the 90s. Since I'm a fan of this genre and I couldn't find too many Web resources related to making Eurodance music, I've decided to start this blog. On this blog we will learn together. We will study the famous Eurodance songs and we will explain how a Eurodance song is created. We will put them all together. Every lesson will get you closer to making Eurodance music. Enjoy!