Dubstep Music Theory?

[S1lent]

I was wondering if their is any kind of technique that is used to produce a stable yet professional composed piece of dubstep?
I know a little about octave and note sync and the 4-16 bar rule. I just need to find a way to always have a good state of mind when i want to compose a nice piece of dubstep. Rusko, to me, issues the fundamentals and roots of dubstep, but after the new age of sounds (I.E Double step, Skrillex <--- LOL). If anyone can give me some advice or something worth hearing, that would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Artie_Fufkin]

wtf is double step?

Music theory applies to all music. Look up some videos on music theory for piano/keyboard playing and you'll be good.

And learn tetrachords. Bitches love tetrachords.

[S1lent]

Double-step is apparently a new drum beat, for dubstep. That is usually compared to Mode step drums and the new stlye of drums. That's what i've heard. And can explain briefly what a tetra chord is? Thanks mate.

[lyons238]

just start making tunes man. try not to worry about much at first and just experiment. there are NO rules in music

there are guidelines, and for rhythm purposes you might want your kick and snare to always remain on the grid, but certainly dont be afraid to throw your high hats off kilter to give a more human feel.

also try and work your bass lines around your kick and snare. otherwise your bass line will be fighting your groove

[S1lent]

just start making tunes man. try not to worry about much at first and just experiment. there are NO rules in music

there are guidelines, and for rhythm purposes you might want your kick and snare to always remain on the grid, but certainly dont be afraid to throw your high hats off kilter to give a more human feel.

also try and work your bass lines around your kick and snare. otherwise your bass line will be fighting your groove

See i really don't understand to have the kick and snare revolve around the synth and bassline? A quick lesson would be much appreciated. and thanks for the enthusiasm!

[lyons238]

just start making tunes man. try not to worry about much at first and just experiment. there are NO rules in music

there are guidelines, and for rhythm purposes you might want your kick and snare to always remain on the grid, but certainly dont be afraid to throw your high hats off kilter to give a more human feel.

also try and work your bass lines around your kick and snare. otherwise your bass line will be fighting your groove

See i really don't understand to have the kick and snare revolve around the synth and bassline? A quick lesson would be much appreciated. and thanks for the enthusiasm!

this isn't definate by any means but usually you will have your bass line start on the kick so you hear the boom of the kick and it goes right into the bass like one fluid motion. many times when switching notes or changing up the bass patch you will want to try and introduce this different note or bass patch starting at the kick or snare. i hope that helps a little. there are many ways of matching a bass line to your drum pattern. youll get the hang of it eventually. also keep in mind you want to try and write bass lines that are good without an lfo or wobble. then once you come up with something you like use the wobbling technique to add rhythm to the song. im still practicing all this myself. im just passing info i have learned from here on...

now remember like i said this is not a rule and theres different methods to keeping a groove and sometimes you may even want your bass line to just be wobbling and modulating all over the place, so keep an open mind.

oh and btw regarding your comment on revolving the kick and snare around the bass line. really it depends on the way you work. some people will design the drums around the melody or basses. personally i start out with a simple drum pattern then make a bass line that fits within that. then if i come up with something that doesnt quite fit it but sounds good ill change up the beat a little to fit the bass pattern. hope im not confusing you.

[KaliLTD]

compose in minor scales and use a lot of nonstandard chord voicings, e.g. not just triads. to put that simpler, if you have a C Major, and you put it C-E-G, it still sounds good... but if you put it in as C-G-C-E-C it sounds a lot fuller even though its the same chord. look up stuff about jazz chords too, 7ths never fail. ive found you can get some intense stuff playing in harmonic minor scales. a good resource for scales on keyboard is http://www.apassion4jazz.net/keys.html

the most important thing about music theory, though, is knowing when to throw it all out the window and just go with your ear. thats something i wish someone told me when i was still playing classical music

[tripwire22]

if you wanna know anything music theory related ask Kaiori Breathe mates

[Zkeeto]

I was wondering if their is any kind of technique that is used to produce a stable yet professional composed piece of dubstep?
I know a little about octave and note sync and the 4-16 bar rule. I just need to find a way to always have a good state of mind when i want to compose a nice piece of dubstep. Rusko, to me, issues the fundamentals and roots of dubstep, but after the new age of sounds (I.E Double step, Skrillex <--- LOL). If anyone can give me some advice or something worth hearing, that would be much appreciated. Thanks!

ya man theres no certain musical theory that is specific to a certain genre. music theory is a very broad subject but it is applied to all music. I love dubstep (hate skrillex) and personally i wish it was still like the good ole rusko days where dubstep was bassed on the wobble throughout the song. nowadays its all aboout the grime(which can be effin amazing depending on who it is) but i miss the good older dubstep that has been washing away over the years. That is the kinda dubstep i make is the old skool type but have done a few grimey ones. but to each his own man. dont think of it like "oh, well this artist made it big so i should do what he does". its all about you man, do what sounds good to you and yyoull be pumpin out tunes and makin yur speakers yur bitch

[brettheaslewood]

anyone in here on a triplestep vibe? hit me up for collab on dubturbo

DOUBLESTEP?! ohgushh

[Zkeeto]

dude, dubturbo sucks if yur looking to be serious in music production. It doesnt even give you synth options and only 16 track lanes. if thats what you like then stick with it but im a former dubturbo user and i will never use it or recommend it to anyone. dont mean to come off rude if thats how its sounding

[Zkeeto]

anyone in here on a triplestep vibe? hit me up for collab on dubturbo

DOUBLESTEP?! ohgushh

dude, dubturbo sucks if yur looking to be serious in music production. It doesnt even give you synth options and only 16 track lanes. if thats what you like then stick with it but im a former dubturbo user and i will never use it or recommend it to anyone. dont mean to come off rude if thats how its sounding

[brettheaslewood]

bruv, you really think i use that?!?!

hahaha
gutted at you for being a former user!

[Anne Droid]

idk id read up on different scales and learnign chord progressions and practicing that, while also learning as much as you can about percussion, specifially how you can work with kick/snare 140bpm because theres a lot to learn and a million ways to do it!

[scubacell]

i've been reading 'the idiot's guide to music theory' in my spare time recently, it's taught me a lot and i'd definitely recommend it, though it can be difficult to self-teach yourself at times it IS pretty all inclusive and covers deeper topics like accompaniment and chord phrasing. i feel the same way as you though OP. YES music is creative, you can do 'whatever' you want, but it's never a bad thing to have more tools in your toolbox. if learning some theory doesn't inspire new, more complex ideas then at the very least it'll help you get what's in your head to your DAW quicker.

going back to what was said about kick/snares matching the melody of your synths

oh and btw regarding your comment on revolving the kick and snare around the bass line. really it depends on the way you work. some people will design the drums around the melody or basses. personally i start out with a simple drum pattern then make a bass line that fits within that. then if i come up with something that doesnt quite fit it but sounds good ill change up the beat a little to fit the bass pattern. hope im not confusing you.

is pretty well put, also some examples are if a drum doesn't hit on a beat or there's silence in your drums it's more dramatic to silence your bassline, or more importantly another example is say you've got a lfo at 3/16 on your synth, it may not sound that great if you've got your drums hitting on beats that the synth isn't or visa versa you may have 'groove' clashes. think of your kick/snare/sometimes other perc as one groove, and your bassline as another. in most cases they should be grooving with eachother, but you know how music is, there are always exceptions.

[Turnipish_Thoughts]

get and read this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Theory-Computer ... 1598635034

seriously. It covers everything. Once you've finished that book, get the next one in the series, than after that the last one.

Go through each book in a methodical manner, forget about 'making music' for the time being and actually 'teach yourself music theory" by following the lessons in these books in each chapter, studying each chapter, taking notes, testing yourself, making little practice sessions in your daw, refining techniques, getting better and more learned in the whole thing.

That is by far the best advice i could give you. Those books are course material for degree level computer music production education. They're made in such a way that you can teach yourself, from the books, at your own pace, provided you use them how they are intended. You might know some of what they are on about, but don't skip past the bits you do, go through them like a curriculum and don't move on until you are very comfortable with the information in each chapter.

serious ting. I'm doing just that at the moment (having read them through once already) and i have to say its the best thing i ever did in regard to learning music theory.

[Zkeeto]

bruv, you really think i use that?!?!

hahaha
gutted at you for being a former user!

HAHAHA good on ya! I walked straight into that one

[Genevieve]

Apply LFO to cut-off!

[Dystinkt]

get high, then slap your dick on the keyboard a few times. industry standard technique.

[wub]

We have several threads on music theory already. Check the advanced Search function in the top right, search for 'music theory' in Production group only, and only through thread titles.

This one is quite good as a starter;

http://www.dubstepforum.com/viewtopic.p ... ry#p764607

Hope that helps