3.1 chord basics
Chords give a song its feelings. When you know how to use them just right, you can make anyone listening to your music feel happy, sad, excited, or any other emotion you want! Learn how to add chords to your music using Soundtrap’s chord trigger feature to make a connection with your audience.
Terms
Chord Quality: The character of a chord. Major chord qualities are often heard as happy or bright, while minor chord qualities are often heard as sad or dark.
Chord Progression: A repeated sequence of chords.
1 | Experiment With Chords
Click on the chord tab and experiment with different sounds using the triggers. Take note of what the different root notes and chord qualities sound like next to each other.
2 | Write A Progression
Figure out which chords you want to use in your progression and put them in the timeline. Keep the first four measures similar to the second four to make the progression symmetrical.
3 | Add Complexity
Experiment with the different voicings in the EDM and Hip Hop sets. Use your ears to the find the best combination of sounds.
4 | Merge The Clips
Highlight the separate chord in your progression and merge them into one clip.
5 | Layer Sounds
Duplicate the track and change the sound to create layers. Change the sounds of the layered instrument to add to the original sound. Layer up to three additional instruments.