Why Making Electronic Dance Music Is Not As Easy As Pushing A Button

Today, when some people picture how electronic dance music is made, they see it as a simple process that takes little effort to perfect. Many even consider making quality electronic dance music (EDM for short) as simple as pressing a button. This belief degrades the electronic dance production community greatly, because it makes EDM producers look like talentless individuals who use computers to make music for them. In reality, EDM producers have a vast, expert knowledge of various computer programs that require extensive parameter inputs and a talent of knowing what will sound good vs. what will not- EDM production is not pressing a button that makes music, it is a complex process that is half sound engineering, and half musical talent.

There is no easy way to make a good EDM song. Even today’s mainstream EDM producers, names like Afrojack and Swedish House Mafia, personally construct their unique sounds on their computers through complex programs that generate sound and allow, among countless other processes, an individual to physically change the sound wave that will come out of the speaker. These people are experts at what they do and have an extensive knowledge of sound and how it can be manipulated. If you or a friend has the production software “Logic”, I challenge you to open it up and make a song that EDM fans would enjoy. If you do not have an extensive knowledge of Logic, drums, bass, synthesizers, and musical talent, I can guarantee that you will fail.

Making EDM requires skill. Knowing what type and how much of an effect to add to a certain synthesizer, how much compression you must add to the sound wave of the drum snare, and figuring out how many bars the intro should develop over time is a knowledge that takes a large amount of effort and time to perfect. EDM producers have spent massive amounts of time and effort to fully understand these practices and techniques. One cannot simply record a kick drum and put it into a song, its sound must be properly altered so that it blends properly with the specific track, or else it will sound bad. In EDM Production, the more you understand sound and music, the better off you are. That is why so many EDM producers have come from musical backgrounds other than electronic music. Skrillex was originally the singer for the Metal-Screamo band “From First To Last”, where he honed his musical skills in drums, guitar, and vocals. Bassnectar, a Santa Cruz native and UCSC alumni, lists rock metal as one of his major influences.

But while many producers have extensive prior knowledge of music, some also have perfected their sound without any prior musical practice. These individuals have spent countless hours to understand computer music software, and are able to start a new track that will hit the dance floor a few hours later. As with anything, if you spend enough time practicing and understanding music-making software, you will get good at it. You can get this software and try making electronic music too, and with enough practice, you can get very good at it. But Electronic Dance Music is not a simple thing to create; it takes time, effort, skill, and trial and error to get right.