How Music Theory Can Make You a Better DJ/Producer
Eric Hitchens of Jumpstart EDM LLC has some tips and a free PDF on music theory for beginner producers and music educators alike!
By Eric Hitchens, Jumpstart EDM LLC
Most young producers start making beats because they love their favorite artists, want to be like them, and/or want to have a similar lifestyle.
A common question is: “How can I sound just like this producer?” or “How can I become the next hit DJ?”
The first answers they might look for are usually technology or gear related – what DAW, plug-ins, synths, audio interfaces, microphones, sample packs, etc. to use. And while high-quality sound design, mixing, and mastering are absolutely essential for creating a professional track, there is a more fundamental truth that is often missed:
The average listener, if they aren’t a producer, probably won’t be thinking about the mix. They may not even know what mixing and mastering are.
But here’s what they will think about...
How relatable the lyrics are
How catchy the melody and the beat are
How epic the buildups, breakdowns, and choruses/drops feel
How the sounds and lyrics make them feel
The experiences they had while listening to it
The people they listened to it with
You see, most people listen to music because of how it makes them feel. It's the emotion, the story, the people, the experience of the music that matters. And no matter how well the track is produced, no matter how clean the mix is... if people can't feel something for it, they won't remember it.
And it can be really difficult to create impactful music if you don’t understand its basic building blocks. That’s why learning music theory is so important for new artists.
Many initially resist learning music theory because they think it might restrict their creativity. But music theory shouldn’t be thought of as a set of stringent rules. It’s more like a guiding framework, blueprint, or launching pad to build from.
An example of what a melodic minor looks like in a DAW
As an example, Avicii was once quoted in an interview saying he locked himself in his studio doing nothing but learning theory for 6 months. He was widely considered to be a melodic genius and one of the most innovative electronic producers in the world.
So, if you want to sound like your favorite artists, you should focus not only on their sound design, but also to their arrangements, chord progressions, drum rhythms, and melodies.
And that’s exactly what we at Jumpstart EDM are here to help you with. We’ve put together a free 150+ page PDF called Easy Theory for Music Producers that’s specifically designed to help you learn fundamental concepts of music as quickly and easily as possible.
The book takes a unique approach to teaching theory. Everything is taught using basic numbers and pictures, without having to use score notation (i.e., you don’t need to read sheet music).
Here are some of the topics you’ll learn about in the book:
Exactly what pitch, frequency, and notes are (page 18).
An easy explanation for intervals (page 35).
Instant formulas for creating any major or minor scale you want from scratch (page 38).
What musical modes are, and how one pattern makes everything work behind the scenes (page 44).
How to make all pentatonic scales (page 100).
How all musical keys are related to each other via the circle of fifths (page 107).
How to change between different keys (modulation) effortlessly in the same song (page 113).
Blank piano keyboard worksheets you can use for practice (Appendix C)
Tables of all the major and minor scales (Appendix D)
If you’re interested and want to step up your music game, you download the free PDF here.
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Be sure to check out our Building Beats Toolbox, full of music-making tools that demonstrate music theory in fun and intuitive ways!