This is a stupid question more than likely but im new to producing and im just trying to get the gist of what these parts play in a Trance track for example??
I take is the Melody is the part you generally hum along to but im just looking for a general description of what all these parts play;)
sorry for such a crap question but if you dont know ask 
A Riff - a short musical phrase normally containing some melody. in terms of trance its normally the top musical bit running up to the breakdown but not the full main melody.
Melody - yeah basically the bit you hum along too. normally find this in the break down… its IMO the most important bit of the track.
Chords - any 2 or more notes played together. chords are the bedrock of the track… its what creates the emotional style - moody, happy, scary, euphoric etc.
the melody normally gets its notes from the scale which is based on the chords.
the scale can usually be found by getting the root note (the note that when played on top sounds like it fits the best) from the first chord and then deciding if its happy or sad (major or minor).
if you havnt seen it the trance tutorial has some good starting explanations and examples
http://www.sonicacademy.com/site/newsItem.aspx?id=319
Dear Phil,
further to above is it possible to provide some tutorials on basics
of music synthesis or is it too much…
for example to show some basic scales and how we develop our melodies on them
just the basics if possible…
thanks for the speedy reply:cool:i dunno i sat n though jesus i dont actually know which bit its which,thanks again
In terms of a basic understanding of music theory goes im actually not formally trained… any of the knowledge i have is just from dissecting tracks.
secondly there are no hard and fast rules as to what melodies work with what chords.
every style of music has its own styles or scales that define it eg the difference between blues or thrash metal.
dance music borrows from so many different styles that it would be impossible to really say use these chords with this scale.
the Examples in the trance tutorial are just me borrowing some popular chord sequences from tracks i know are big.
Maybe it would be an idea for you to pick a few songs and try to figure out:
a. What key its in.
b. what chords are being used
c. what scale works over the top
If you post links to the tracks i can help you on your way.
If this is a popular thread we could turn it into a tutorial.
Phil,
Am i right in saying you can only use notes from the scale your song is in.
Like if your song is in Cmajor you can not use any black notes when creating a riff, chords or melody?