House and techno are two genres that many dance music fans appreciate in equal measures, although sometimes distinguishing between the two may prove challenging depending on your context.
Frankie Knuckles of Chicago is widely recognized as the pioneer of House music, adding drum machines to traditional disco and soul songs to create his trademark four-beat House style.
Rhythm
Electronic Dance Music (EDM) stands out as being unlike most genres, offering a diverse array of styles and subgenres that can make it difficult for novice musicians to differentiate between certain styles – especially house and techno which are two popular genres in EDM. This article will help them distinguish between them both.
Rhythm is one of the hallmarks of all music, including electronica. Both house and techno feature strong rhythms that get people dancing. There are some differences between their respective genres’ rhythms – house music typically employs a four-on-the-floor beat while techno tracks typically emphasize second and fourth beats more, often with bass drum hits or snare drum hits adding emphasis. Techno songs also usually boast higher tempos ranging between 120 to 150 beats per minute than house songs.
House and techno music may differ rhythmically, but both genres utilize various sounds and instruments to add variety and make their music truly distinctive. Techno music may incorporate sound effects like phasers and tremolo which alter note pitches by emphasizing or de-emphasizing frequency components of notes; other EDM sounds commonly include bleeps, bloops, and snares that layer to create more complex tones.
Electro music utilizes synthesizers and electronic sounds, but additionally features distorted drum machines to give its signature sound. This adds an aggressive, hard, aggressive quality similar to industrial music. Furthermore, electro has an unmistakably feminine quality which appeals to women audiences.
Daft Punk and Martin Garrix are two of the world’s best-known electro artists, boasting hits that have reached number one on charts worldwide and even featured in movies and video games. Other electro artists like Porter Robinson, Skrillex, and KURA have incorporated elements of electronic music into their own compositions as well.
Synths
Synthesizers are one of the mainstays in electronic music. Their versatility enables them to produce a vast array of sounds that span across various genres including EDM, techno, house, trap and dubstep as well as more niche genres like funk fusion and rock.
Synths produce an unforgettable sound and can add an unmistakable signature to any track. They can be played manually or controlled using a keyboard, and some even use them in live performances to add power and energy.
If you want to produce electronic music of your own, synths should certainly be explored further. There are numerous tutorials both online and in books to get you started with this exciting and versatile instrument, making your options almost limitless once you know how they operate.
Synths can help create everything from atmospheric pads to mesmerizing lead lines. Although they can initially seem intimidating, once you understand how they function properly they become an invaluable asset for any producer or musician.
Early synthesizers were predominantly analogue. These required extensive circuitry to produce one sound, as well as being often expensive. Since the 1990s however, digital synthesizers have become much cheaper and user-friendly alternatives compared to their analogue counterparts; nowadays many recording studios utilize both.
Synths work by producing an electrical signal which is then transformed into sound using oscillators inside. These oscillators produce various waveforms such as sine, sawtooth, triangle and pulse that are then passed through a filter for shaping tone and giving each instrument its signature sound.
Once the output from a filter has passed through an envelope, it can then be processed through an ADSR module that controls attack, decay and sustain of each note played back by it.
Bass
Electronic music’s beat is created through manipulating various audio frequencies with various software and hardware instruments, from computers to traditional electrical or electromechanical equipment such as drum machines, sequencers and samplers – some digital, others analogue or electromechanical; controlled manually or computerized; also including circuitry-based sound technologies like synthesizers and theremins.
While most people associate electronic music with synthesizers, this isn’t always true. Some musicians will create electronic sounds using conventional instruments such as guitar or piano and then add effects like delay, reverb and compression for added dimension – often leading to very different results than would otherwise have been possible without these extra effects.
Techno, Trance and Dubstep are three of the most well-known electronic genres. These genres typically feature fast tempos with deep bass sounds; synthesizers often create melodies for these genres which also contain tapping beats often enhanced by clicks or hi-hat percussion.
Acid house is another popular form of electronic music, combining elements from techno with the vocals and chord progressions found in house. This genre produces highly energetic danceable beats reminiscent of old school hip hop that feature synthesizers to produce its sounds while remaining harmonious and melodic in tone.
Other less commonly seen genres of electronic music are IDM, glitch, and ambient. These genres tend to focus more on experimentation than any particular genre and are usually labeled ‘art music’ rather than dance music. Some notable artists associated with these genres include Aphex Twin, Autechre and Squarepusher.
Future bass is an increasingly popular electronic music genre. Influenced heavily by trap and dubstep music, but with much cleaner production. Combining bass music’s screeches and womps with high-energy beats from trap and house for a unique dancefloor sound.
Vocals
Electronic music makes vocals an integral part of its sound, with their presence being especially essential when creating songs without live recordings – this means vocal quality becomes even more crucial to producing EDM songs. Selecting an ideal microphone is key for great vocal recordings; pop or electronic vocalists might find condensers ideal due to their ability to capture high frequencies that highlight vocal clarity while dynamic or ribbon mics could provide extra texture by picking up low frequencies that add warmth to their vocal soundscapes.
In the late 1960s, electronic music witnessed further advances when notable musicians like the Silver Apples or Beach Boys began using electronic instruments as part of their sound, marking an ongoing trend across many popular genres that included electronic elements – thus giving rise to brand new genres.
Techno is one of the best-known examples of dance music that first emerged in the UK during the early 90s. Techno’s unique aesthetic consists of looped sounds lasting seconds to several minutes long with little variation in pitch or tempo over that time, often featuring rhythm with kick drums playing off every beat and hi-hats or handclaps for added percussion effects. Unfortunately, its BPM range can stretch from 120-1440+ which makes defining this particular genre difficult.
More recently, an EDM subgenre known as big room house has begun to gain prominence, which can be broadly classified as electro house. Characterized by drop sounds and minimalist percussion, big room house tracks typically have a BPM between 120 to 130 and four square drum patterns that emphasize beats two and four, plus synth-driven breakdowns.