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Originally posted by wayfinder (Un)fortunately, music is not just about what works on paper. It's very much a hands-on art and that extends to all aspects of it. In music, the best way to learn is to do. So just try it out! Make your own experiences as to what sounds good and what doesn't. I know, you want a formula or a recipe, but trust me, there is none.

Actually I find that suspended chords, Simple 2 tone Chords and of course Minor chords work best. The balance between Major/minor is key but of course don't be about any formula.

I also don't believe in relying on arpeggiators to make arps with. Make your own and they will sound more creative and natural. Arps are usually made of just the 1, 3, 5 of either a minor/major chord. I like to use 1,2,5 1, 3,5 1,4,5 in rolling succession which is hard to do with auto synth arps. If you would like to compose melodies within an arp this is a must. Listen to Airbase stuff and you will hear this.

WOW thanks JP8000Lover! I learn a lot!

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Originally posted by JP8000Lover Some interesting information from ..messytechie & JP8000Lover. Although I don't have the slightest idea what any of it means. I'm interested in finding out. Do you have any links that you can recommend to learn these things? I don't know what minor keys mean, or major keys, or d-minor, or c-minor, sharpened 7ths? E-flat? all that Vii Vi stuff. Neapolitan 6ths? Are you guys just making this stuff up j/k. Phrygian mode Dorian Mode Aeolian Mode what are modes? Actually this is where it gets really bad... what are chords? lol. If you have a few minutes, you can learn answers to all your questions here: http://www.musictheory.net/ That site also has a great chord calculator (too bad it doesn't have inversions). Go to the chord calculator and select: C, Major, and I. That will show you I chord of C Major. Now select N6. That's a Neapolitan 6th. Play that chord change on your keyboard, then listen to Paul Oakenfold - Southern Sun (Tiesto Remix). That type of chord change isn't typical in trance, but it was done beautifully by Oakie. A good page for understanding the names of notes. Look in Scale Degrees: http://www.mibac.com/Pages/Theory/Main_Theory.htm Chord stuff: A chord is a combination of at least three distinct notes. Chord notation (all that viio, VI, V6/4, etc.) is how we represent chords. The numbers correspond to the root of the chord i.e. if you are in the key of C, a I chord's root is C, a ii chord's root is D, etc. Uppercase means the chord is a Major chord (a happy-sounding chord) Lowercase means the chord is a minor chord (a sad-sounding chord) Those are just the basics... Here's a link to explain modes: http://www.8notes.com/articles/modes/ One thing though. For all modes (in my example Aeolian Mode), when they say that the mode starts on those white keys, that is not the whole picture. Any mode can start on any key, just as long as it fits. Modes are made by a combination of whole steps and half steps. Half steps are made when you go from one key to the key's neighbor i.e. c->c#. Whole steps are made when you go to the neighbor's neighbor i.e. c->d. The Aeolian Mode consists of whwwhww where w=whole step and h=half step. Go to a keyboard and pick any key. Follow the pattern and you have the Aeolian Mode for that key. And for those interested in every conceivable mode: http://www.xs4all.nl/~huygensf/doc/modename.html Cheers! JP8000Lover