quote:

Originally posted by assadk within this forum i know that there are many trance veterans that possess a refined taste and id like to direct this question at them. what qualities distinguish a good trance tune from a poor one? or is this solely opinionated matter to which there is no fixed answer?

of course it's all a matter of taste and opinion but of all the people I've came across on TA those who I easily can see have a more "refined" taste are those with a longer experience in the scene. So yeah I would say experience plays a big role.

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quote:

Originally posted by assadk within this forum i know that there are many trance veterans that possess a refined taste and id like to direct this question at them. what qualities distinguish a good trance tune from a poor one? or is this solely opinionated matter to which there is no fixed answer?

This really does depend on opinion and a straight answer is almost impossible. Even if everyone held to my opinion that it has to sound interesting, they'd bring up completely different tunes, including a few that I think are completely shit.

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the opinionated argument aside, are there no factual benchmarks which can be used to ascertain the quality of a tune?

i.e. quality of production etc.

quote:

Originally posted by assadk the opinionated argument aside, are there no factual benchmarks which can be used to ascertain the quality of a tune? i.e. quality of production etc.

quality of production in itself is hard to define, and IMO, equates with sounding good or interesting. Look at Digital Blonde's productions. The mixing is raw. Most of the sounds are way too wet. Sounds bleed together left and right. Compare to an Andromeda track, where pretty much every sounds is at just the right level. No more effects than are needed are used. Every sound is wrapped in its own specialized plastic wrap EQ. Both projects are well liked, and both sound good. In fact, most of the "refined" tastes on the board will say they're both good producers.

When trying to find a good definition of "good music," you'll always, without fail, run into the wall of subjectivity.

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quote:

Originally posted by thoughtlessjex quality of production in itself is hard to define, and IMO, equates with sounding good or interesting. Look at Digital Blonde's productions. The mixing is raw. Most of the sounds are way too wet. Sounds bleed together left and right. Compare to an Andromeda track, where pretty much every sounds is at just the right level. No more effects than are needed are used. Every sound is wrapped in its own specialized plastic wrap EQ. Both projects are well liked, and both sound good. In fact, most of the "refined" tastes on the board will say they're both good producers. When trying to find a good definition of "good music," you'll always, without fail, run into the wall of subjectivity.

yeah I agree. alot of the old Fluid stuff I have on vinyl sounds very raw and dirty. The production style is very different from the one which is dominating today. Still I would say that these tunes have something special, a soul which often lacks in modern day trance tunes.

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quote:

Originally posted by assadk within this forum i know that there are many trance veterans that possess a refined taste and id like to direct this question at them. what qualities distinguish a good trance tune from a poor one? or is this solely opinionated matter to which there is no fixed answer?

Im no veteran, but I like trance tracks that sounds special, with loads of energy.. and most important of all, a hookline that is memoriable, catchy, and unforgetable.

And not the recirculated garbage that is flowing around these days.

Also, a good trance tune should include elements that you may notice like the 10th time you hear it.

Trance is a special genre, meaning all tracks should have a special and unique sound.

Also, as Rebel mentioned, soul .. it may be the same as believing in god, but im convinced a track can have soul, I find myself digging up productions that are 5-10 years old, with simple sounds, simple hooks, simple production, but yet I seem to love those tracks, and that cant have anything with nostalgi or memories.. because i havent heard the track before. But it has soul, sounds special.. cant quite explain it.

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it all depends within the content and the producer, how well its been written (chord structure, melody, atmosphere etc) i reckon, there is no fixed answer to this question.

but what i believe in a good track is that it contains all of the above, but its definately more of a melodic thing for me though. tracks that dont have that melodic arpeggio or some sort of lead kinda drives me away from trance, as i grew up listening to the late 90s kinda stuff and (for example - less melodic stuff) like tech-trance didnt really exist back then, it would of simply been thrown under the techno genre or something.

ive kinda gone off from the point here but the first paragraph of what ive written seems relevant to this particular topic.

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quote:

Originally posted by Subtle Also, as Rebel mentioned, soul .. it may be the same as believing in god, but im convinced a track can have soul, I find myself digging up productions that are 5-10 years old, with simple sounds, simple hooks, simple production, but yet I seem to love those tracks, and that cant have anything with nostalgi or memories.. because i havent heard the track before. But it has soul, sounds special.. cant quite explain it.

If you think 5 year old tunes have soul, try digging down 15 years.

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quote:

Originally posted by Project-K If you think 5 year old tunes have soul, try digging down 15 years.

Yeah, well.. thats way before my time..

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quote:

Originally posted by Subtle Also, a good trance tune should include elements that you may notice like the 10th time you hear it.

i love when this happens

In all honesty, my favourite trance is the stuff that entrances me.

So, any trance song that disrupts that is no good.