Realms blog

How electronic music is made

Plain guides to the techniques behind the sound, written so they are useful whichever tools you use.

• How to get the sidechain pumping sound, in any DAW

  What sidechaining is, why dance music pumps, and three ways to do it in Ableton Live, FL Studio and Logic Pro, with settings to start from.

• Granular synthesis explained: turning any sample into a texture

  What grains are, what each control does to the sound, and four recipes for pads, drones, stutters and texture beds.

• How to build a chord progression from a single sample

  Three ways to turn one chord into a full progression, and the semitone moves that keep it in key.