Disco Gives Birth To House Music

Disco music gets a bad rap. People decry the genre as a plastic, soulless, producer-driven music fad that deserves scorn for being empty and unfulfilling. Many music fans were happy to see disco die in 1980, but the truth is that disco never passed on. It spawned a new generation of dance music that branched out and evolved into the global phenomenon known as house music. So how exactly did disco give birth to house music? Here's the story.

So a gay guy and a black dude walk into a warehouse....just kidding! Well, actually that's not too far off. Here's the short version.

• Larry Levan started spinning disco records together at those crazy Paradise Garage parties in New York.

• Soon after Disco Demolition Night (when white kids killed disco at a White Sox game), Chicago started developing a new, electronic, drum-machine happy sound.

• Frankie Kunckles brought his gay-friendly crate of thumping disco tracks to Chicago and the kids got into it. Stuff like "Let No Man Put Asunder" from First Choice rocked the Warehouse in 1983.

• Soulful, bangin' disco tracks collided with what-the-hell-sounding beats from Jesse Saunders, Farley Jackmaster Funk and a bunch of other DJs, remixers and record producer types in Chicago.

• All the kids wanted to buy the records that were playing at the Warehouse in Chicago, and after some abbreviating -- the house music label was born.

• In Detroit, Juan Atkins (/Cybotron), Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson originated a techno touch alongside the Chicago house music sound.

If you want to learn more, there's a video on it -- Pump Up the Volume. This documentary outlines the history of house music's muddied origins. From swinging disco tracks to squelching, experimental knob-turning, to the base kick of techno's first producers, this three-part video has it all.

Pump Up The Volume - History of House Music - Part 1

Part 1 starts with Larry Levan and the Paradise Garage and goes through the early house music scene in Chicago.

In Part 2, you can learn about how Brits got hold of the stuff and used their Northern Soul infrastructure and connections in Ibiza to club the music out to the Euro masses. Detroit's take on house also gets attention.

Part 3 takes you through some of the more recent house music scenes, you know -- all that splinter faction definition label stuff. Anything Goldie says is hilarious, and Armand Van Helden seems like a pretty chill dude.

Sure, these Google vids don't offer the best presentation. And yeah, some of the music you'll hear is a bit wack, but this documentary from 2001 is a bridge that connects the house music of today to the disco classics of yesteryear. Understanding the details of this evolution will give you a greater appreciation for the ever-evolving history of dance music.

Christopher Stout writes and manages Funk Deli, a funky lifestyle blog that delivers slices of funk on a daily basis. Visit Funk Deli to learn more about funk, disco, electro, soul, and hip hop music, and check out funky gear, events, clothes and kicks from all around the world.

Make your own house music - learn the secrets of house music production

Chicago House Music History 2

Chicago's second surge of house music was influenced by Curtis Jones aka Green Velvet, Roy Davis Jr, Chicago then, had not comprehended the potential of its new house sound until Farley Jack Master Funk, released Love Can't Turn Around, and he became an overnight sensation in the USA. Chicago house  forefather was recently nominated for a 1998 Grammy -- in the "new re mixer of the year" category other stars including The Chicago house  producer-re mixer-songwriter Steve Silk Hurley, went on to be a four-time Grammy nominee.

The Chicago House Music Association a non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding and developing house music. The Chicago House Music Association CHMA strives to preserve and inspire local and international awareness and appreciation of the origins, history, culture, and future of Chicago house and its artists, producers, and DJ's via the Internet, conferences, forums, and events.

At a time when the Chicago House music scene was on the verge of an international explosion, Terry debuted his first release, a House track entitled Madness. Meanwhile, the largest concert and dance party in the history of Chicago House  will take place on September 15th at the newly renovated Congress Theater in Chicago with 30 of the hottest artists and DJ's in the genre performing live sets for the first time ever.

By 1990, a lot of styles were seeping into the regional purity (odd term, that, since house was the result of such a melting pot to begin with) of pure Chicago house  and as the mixes after this cutoff point just went to all to hip-hop and other styles of dance music, house music evolved.

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House Music Is Fast Catching Music Lover's Fancy

The kind of music that refers to a style of electronics dance music is known as house music. The earliest form of house music was played in the early to mid 1980's. House music was developed by club DJs in the city of Chicago in United States. The influence of certain elements like the funk infused dance music style and disco style can be seen heavily in house music. The origin of the name house music is uncertain. Some suggest that the name is derived from the name of the club called The Warehouse. In the late 70's and early 80's warehouse parties that were held underground were very popular in the city of Chicago. Now one of these underground parties that were frequented mostly by Latino and black gay man was known as the warehouse.

The Dj at The Warehouse Frankie Knuckles mixed European synthpop music with mixed classic disco music, punk recordings, industrial music and the new wave music for people who were regulars there. Frequent clubbers referred this music as House Music and thus the name cam into being. But as mentioned earlier this is disputed. Musician Larry Heard claims that the term House Music comes from the fact that most of the Djs records the music at their house. Generally these Djs use drum machines and synthesizers to record the music at their house and hence the term House Music came in to being. Dj Chip E has another story to tell behind the popularity of the name House Music. Chip claims that the name came from the method of recording at a studio. However none of the claims are conclusive.

House music developed in houses, clubs and garages where mostly teenagers and local club goers used to assemble. The popularity of house music increased when the music was played in commercial radio. House music was much longer and conceptual then any other type of music and also this music was not meant for widespread commercial use. Basically house music combined the traditional elements of the musical instruments to give it a more humane touch. The house music scene is very popular worldwide even today as many musicians have made huge contributions towards this. Many new generation producers and Djs have emerged in the house music scene and their main purpose is to make House Music popular.

House Music is popular these days and this music can be seen to be catching up in Detroit, New York, Atlanta and some other cities in America where people of racially mixed origin reside. It is not only in USA that the music is catching up but also in several countries worldwide like Germany, Australia, Canada and Scandinavia. Recently the Mayor of Chicago proclaimed that 10th of August to be celebrated as house Unity Day in the city. The craze for House Music is one the rise and this is evident worldwide.

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Mixing House Music and Distinguishing the Breaks in the Music

When it comes to mixing house music it takes some experience of knowing how house music is created. This simply comes with listening to it over and over again. Most house music we listen to uses a 4/4 measure. That means for every measure there are four bars and for every bar there are four beats.

For example most house music starts on the one or the first kick drum sound. From there you would count 1, 2, 3, 4 in sync with the kick drum and then you would repeat the count again starting on 1. You do this one time and you just completed a bar. You do this four times and you just completed a measure. This is a good frame of reference in order to start.

5 quick and easy steps to begin mixing house music

1. Start mixing by using duplicate records. In other words get two of the same songs and try mixing. It is much easier to start with two of the same records rather than two different records.
2. When mixing two different records use the same or close to the same BPMs.
3. Use your favorite songs to mix when starting out.
4. Slow the tempo down if the song is too fast.
5. Mark the record with a piece of tape to indicate the beginning of the beat.

Think of house music as Hiphop music just a little faster. By slowing the house music down with your pitch adjustment on your turntable it will make mixing the music a little easier.

Why?

Because when the music is slower you brain has a chance to process the music easier which allows you to mix songs easier. Your ear will adapt to the slower tempo enabling you to match beats. If you were to try to mix house music for the first time at it is normal speed you could easily get frustrated because things could be going to fast for you.

Matching beats is probably the biggest hurdle to overcome when mixing any genre of music not just house music. A beat is equivalent to one kick of a kick drum. Being able to match beats doesn't start with house music it starts with a simple drum track. Just about any Hip Hop track that is about 90 BPM's with a simple 4 beat pattern will do.

Practice mixing with a pair of the same record trying to match beats. Always try to catch the beat on the "1" or the first drum kick at the beginning of the verse not the intro. On your right hand turntable cue the record at the beginning of the verse starting with the kick drum. You cue the record by placing your finger on the record at the point where you want the beat to come in. On your left hand turntable play the same record from the beginning.

The platter should still be spinning under the record. Why? Because when you release the record you want it to match beats with the song from the other turntable in time. If you press too hard on the record while cueing it, the song will drag and the song will not play in sync. One record will play behind the other and you'll get a weird echo effect or something worse.

When the song from the left hand turntable reaches the beginning of the verse (on the "1" or first kick drum) that is when you release the record from its cue point giving it a slight push so it does not drag. Continue to practice this method with your favorite records and you'll be mixing any type of music you can get your hands on not just house music.

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4 Ingredients For Producing Great Soulful House Music

House music has always been about the crowd and for the crowd. House music producers, since the very first embryonic sounds spilled out of the Warehouse club in Chicago, have done their best to build a solid, organic connection with dancers and listeners. As times and trends have changed, so have the tunes, but one genre of house that has remained fairly prominent is soulful house. This style combines elements from vocal, funky and disco house, but also adds some distinguishing characteristics of its own. Like funky house, soulful house music has ties to the early masters of R&B, but instead of following the funkier sounds that emerged in the 1970's, soulful house went in a more emotional direction. Let's examine some of the ingredients that can help define a soulful house track.

1. A powerful, resonant vocal. In soulful house music, the vocal is often the key building block around which the rest of the track is arranged. A singer's performance in this genre is often more textured and subtle than in vocal house, where power usually rules the day. This calls for production that can reveal the texture of a singer's voice, highlighting the many payers of a performance. The goal is to capture the same aesthetic as is found in down-tempo, popular soul music and combine it with a house groove.

2. Mellower disco samples. While disco house as a genre is usually open to a wide variety of different disco sounds, soulful house usually restricts itself to mellower grooves, preferring to let the vocal take center stage and have the bassline and strings act as supporting players rather than in-your-face leads. Muted guitars and electric pianos are much more common than blaring horns and big drums.

3. Deeper lyrics. Soulful house music tends to take a more in-depth look at the stories that are told through its lyrics. These tales are usually quite emotional or personal, giving listeners the feeling that they are hearing the singer's deepest confessions. Some soulful house, particularly if it samples from or is modeled after the 1960's might even contain a social message beyond the more common peace and unity feel of standard house. Soulful house often leaves listeners feeling as though they have replenished their inner being.

4. A chill vibe. Out of all the house genres, soulful house might come closest to resembling pop music, thanks to its combination of non-aggressive sounds and more complete lyrical content. An overriding 'chill' feeling permeates most examples of this genre of house, which has lead to its great popularity in lounges and other relaxed bar environments.

For more articles on house music visit http://www.onlinehousemusic.com/

In Da Clubs - Creating Your First House Track

When you hit the clubs at the weekend, there's a high chance you'll be dancing to a genre of house music. Originating from Chicago in the eighties, it has taken over clubland in the last few decades.

House music has numerous subcategories, for example from electro house to drum and base or soulful house, but it is essentially the art of combining beats in to a more up tempo tune that features a base of drum and percussion sounds. House music is frequently known as dance which covers a whole range of styles too diverse to go into here. The bpm rate of house music tend be between 120 to 140. Some other sub genres are faster.

Learning how to produce your very own house music requires an understanding of basic beat structure and a flair for combining electronic tunes as well as having some equipment that will help you translate your ingenuity into a floor-filling track. If you wish to create your own house track, take a look at the tips below:

When it comes to selecting software applications for producing your track, you need to bear in mind the learning curve involved and select something that is easy to grasp. There is the hardware route and the software route. The former is probably out of most people's financial resources as building a studio is not for the faint hearted. However with current technologies available it's now possible to have a near professional quality sequencer and drum machine on your laptop. Numerous beat maker programs are now viable and I suggest this is the best route to take. These programs lets you build tracks visually hence much easier for the novice user. Some come with detailed how to videos so you can build a track right away and experiment with different samples and breaks.

Here are some of the features of a typical house composition. You'll need to have an understanding of the basics before constructing your first track.

• Four on the floor, Basic 4/4 beats in bar
• Snares
• Bass line
• Percussion 
• Vocals (depending on style of music)

The baseline is the most important part of the tune as this is where the rest of the elements will hang off. Listen to your favourite tracks and try to pick this out for yourself. Next up is the loops. This need to complement rather than drown out the baseline. House tracks commonly have high hats and snares that follow the 4/4 beat. Your track will be coming together but it may sound monotonous so you need to add some chorus or builds to add some variety and get the crowds going.

Just follow these basic guidelines as a starting point and the next track the DJ puts on can well be yours.

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The History of House Music

Every time you walk into a popular club, there is a good chance that music will be blasting through the sound system. When people go to the clubs, they want to dance and have a good time - house music provides the perfect atmosphere for this. But, where did it get its start, and how did it become so popular?

It made its arrival on the club scene sometime during the early 1980's in Chicago. The DJs at these clubs got tired of playing the same songs over and over again, and wanted to try and put their personal spin on some of these songs. They started mixing them together and adding in other instrumental tracks to make the songs their own. The people in the club loved it! Before anyone knew what was going on, DJs were releasing completely original music that they composed themselves through the combination of other artist's beats.

As time went on and house music spread to different parts of the country and the world, different DJs from different cultures put their own spin on this musical genre, introducing distinctive sounds and instruments from their local area. House music spread from Chicago to Detroit, and then made the jump over the pond to the UK. This all happened before the 1990's. House music had become an international phenomena.

One thing that has been true of it all throughout it's history is the fact that it mirrors the current music style that is popular with the general population. As rap and hip-hop started to become more popular in the early 1990's in the United States, DJs started incorporating more hip-hop style beats into their house mixes. The same thing happened when pop was the predominate musical genre in the late 1990's.

As the 21st century came around, the popularity of it was at an all time high. DJs began touring like rock stars or traditional musical artists, performing in different clubs all around the world and getting paid quite a bit of money for it. Now, they are commonly accepted as traditional musicians - but instead of playing the drums, the guitar or the bass, they play with turntables and electronic mixers.

In a relatively short period of time, it has gone from an underground genre of music to one of the most popular forms of music around the world, both inside and outside of dance clubs. No one knows what the future holds, but one thing is certain - house music will be one of the most popular musical genres for generations to come.

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History of DJs music, Information on Music DJs.

In the past, Mobile DJs utilized vinyl records or cassettes. During the Disco era of the 1970s, demand for Mobile DJs soared, and top Disc Jockeys travelled with hundreds of vinyl records and cassette tapes. The heavy equipment required roadies to set up. While many Club Disc Jockeys still use vinyl, most Mobile DJs currently use Compact discs, computer-based files named mp3, or a combination of sources. In addition, professional-grade equipment created by a variety of companies expressly for Mobile DJ has allowed for faster step-up and break-down, as well as improved quality of performance.

Bands had long dominated the wedding entertainment industry, but with the advent of the less expensive and more versatile Mobile DJ, their market share dwindled. Mobile DJs offer the advantage of being able to play music in a wide variety of styles by a wide range of artists, as they use the artists’ own original recordings. In addition, audiences or planners that formerly could not afford music for their event are now able to hire a Mobile DJ while still staying within their budget.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Mobile DJs began to appearance and develop associations and create trained business network, which now include annual trade shows and Internet discussion forums. Today, many Mobile DJs also promote themselves as an event’s planner, organizer, and Master of Ceremonies. Working closely with their customers, their guests, and other vendors such as videographers, today’s professional Mobile DJs strive to provide excellence entertainment that fits the occasion in question in terms of style and performance. And spread the word about the emerging technologies Mobile Disc Jockey.

Birth day of djs

In 1934, American commentator Walter Winchell coined the term “disc jockey” (the combination of “disc”, referring to the disc records, and “jockey”, which is an operator of a machine) as a description of radio announcer Martin Block, the first announcer to become a star. While his audience was awaiting developments in the Lindbergh kidnapping, Block played records and created the illusion that he was broadcasting from a ballroom, with the nation’s top dance bands performing live. The show, which he called Make Believe Ballroom, was an instant hit. In the 1940s, Musique concrete composers used portions of sound recordings to create new compositions. This is the first occurrence of sampling.

Source: http://www.wiredforsound-dj.com/History.php

House Music Production - Producing House Music Tips

This house music production article is written for the same reason you are reading it, and that is to take my skills to another level and get even better at what I do best, producing house music. With this guide I want to help you learn how to get your producing skills sound really bona fide. It may sound very simple in theory but it can be a pain to make a dope house track, and as always, in order to understand it you need to listen to it.

The favorite kick drum for house music production is the Roland TR-909. The main reason would be that, it has got a great low end power. The pattern for the kick is mostly a 4/4 beat, but you don't have to leave them straight because they will sound robotic. Propellerhead Reason 4 has got a new feature called the Re-Groove to steer clear of that.

You can even do this manually by shifting individual notes (in your software midi editor) and changing the level of certain notes. Another way is to apply a 16th note swing quantization. If you are producing your tracks digitally, you must make sure that you give them a human feel and soul to you track, make it sound as if it was performed by a live band.

House music uses a lot of synthetic sounds such as the Omnisphere by Spectrasonics, Jupiter-8V by Arturia, Massive by Native Instruments, Sylenth1 and many more. The Arturia MiniMoog is my favorite VST instrument for bass sounds.

The Hi-Hats patterns are mostly on the eighth-note and open hats on the offbeat pattern. For percussion, most producers use loops, but you are more than welcome to program your own. Playing the riffs and chords with a midi controller is better than programming them using a mouse. You can double your chords with another instrument to have enough body, if needed.

If you have a vocal feel free to play around with it, chop it or even create great effects from it. Try not to make the track repetitive, your song needs to have dynamics (loud and soft parts). Always keep in mind that house music is all about making people dance. You can also use automation to keep the song moving, automate the vst instrument knobs (especially the filter) to create a sweep sound.

This can also work well with effects such as delay and reverb to make the chorus part sound bigger than the verse. The snare and claps must be punchy with a short reverb (preferably room reverb) and mostly on an offbeat pattern.

I hope you learnt something from these house music production tips. You can visit my blog for more producing tips and grab yourself a free music production mini course http://cubase5tutorial.blogspot.com.

Easy Steps to Becoming a Top Producer

When it comes to music producers, Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles - known as the godfathers of House music - brought about a near-revolution into the world of Dance music. Over the years, the music they evolved has grown and newer themes have formed and spawned new genres in music. It brought hope for many enthusiasts who always wanted to create a little Dance music for fun and more so for those professionally inclined.

Are you among the enthusiasts that who would like to be a music producer? These days, it's incredibly easy to get into producing Dance music in your own home and it isn't all that expensive.

It's pretty simple!

These days, the entire Dance music evolution is packed into one incredible piece of software. All you have to do to learn how to make music like a pro is install a good piece of music production software, or DAW (digital audio workstation), on your home computer or laptop.

With the help of a good music program, getting started with making Dance music is definitely a great deal easier than jumping in at the deep end - probably a lot easier than you may have ever imagined it. You do not need to know much about music theory and you do not have to be a technical expert. All you need is a home computer and a passion for dance music to create a good dance track.

To become a professional Dance music producer you need to identify what type of music you would like to specialise in. This should be the style you are most passionate about and want to get to grips with. You could choose from drum-n-bass, synth-pop, electropop, electronica, house, trance, electro... the list goes on. With a little research, you will find a host of options you could experiment with and you can take inspiration from other artists, both new and old, as well as growing trends to hone in on your style and work out what makes a good Dance production, in terms of arrangement, mood and instrumentation.

The opportunities

As a dance music producer, you can either write your own music and market it or collaborate with other artists in remixing. You could also work as freelance music producer. Another option is to write music for media and jingles for advertising agencies.

One can expect a decent salary as a dance music producer though it is difficult to find such jobs. There are, however, many an opportunity for freelancers and there are limitless returns if you are willing to put in a bit of hard work to establish yourself as a music producer.

What it takes?

With some dedicated work and good music sense, it is possible to create some excellent sounding tracks sitting right in your house and with the help of minimal instruments. To be able to reach a stature whereby you can deliver a decent track and quality sounding mix of a professional level, you need to invest some time and some concentrated effort. As the quality of work improves, you need to start looking into the marketing aspects of your career. This can be done through researching promotional websites, playing at parties and other gatherings, press releases, etc. and may even entail hiring a marketing company to get your name out there.

First Step - Take a crash course!

There are a number of dance music tutorials are available, which will help you initially to get going. Listening to music of popular artists that interests you will also help. The top favorites include the likes of Deep Dish, Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buuren etc.

Be inspired!

DJ Jack Smooth is an example of a successful dance music producer. He was working as a DJ of a pirate station when he got addicted to house music. He got himself a set of decks and started to work. After getting into music production, by the time he was 23 years old he had put out over 250 records.

Jack Smooth's music stands out because he makes his own music rather than remixing other peoples music. This should be an inspiration for anyone who dreams of making it big in the field of dance music production.

Ashley Mason.

As an established Dance music producer I know how hard it can be to get started and even harder to get your foot in the door. That is why I've created a lens on becoming a Dance music producer which tells you everything you need to know about making Dance music, from what you need to get started, the software you can use to create music down to recommended tutorials and, of course, the wages.

The Secrets of House Music Production