How to make hard trance
Hard trance is trance at full force: faster tempos, harder kicks, acid and hoover sounds, and short breakdowns that snap straight back into the drive. Here's what makes it.
The numbers
The kick and drums
The kick is the loudest and hardest thing in the track, often distorted, with a long tail tuned to the key. Hats and rides drive the offbeats, and claps and snare rolls push the builds.
Bass
The bass is an offbeat or rolling pattern, kept short so it doesn't fight the long kick. Many hard trance tracks lean on the kick's own tail for the low end and keep the bass higher.
Keys and chords
Minor keys and tense, simple harmony: stabs, a short riff over one or two chords, or a melody that comes in at the breakdown. Energy matters more than clever chords.
Leads and sounds
Acid lines, hoovers and hard, detuned stabs carry the tracks, with plenty of distortion and filter movement. A supersaw melody can appear in the breakdown, then return harder over the drop.
Arrangement
Breakdowns are short and builds are fast, with snare rolls speeding up into the drop. The track keeps the energy up for most of its length, and still leaves beat-only intros and outros for DJs.
Artists to listen to
The Scot Project and Yoji Biomehanika are two of the best-known names in classic hard trance. Listen for the kick, and how fast the breakdowns get back to it.
Try it
The TranceTools app has a Hard Trance genre preset that sets the tempo, scale, progression, chord colour and every part's style for this sound in one click, then plays it on your own synths. The rest of the styles are compared in trance subgenres explained.
Questions
What BPM is hard trance?
Classic hard trance is usually 145 to 150 BPM, and many newer tracks run faster, up to around 160.
What's the difference between hard trance and hardstyle?
Hardstyle is slower, around 150 BPM, with a distinctive pitched, distorted kick that carries the melody. Hard trance keeps trance's offbeat bass, acid and builds.
Can I make hard trance in the TranceTools Studio?
The Studio tops out at 160 BPM, so you can sketch the chords, bass and gates at hard trance tempos, then add harder kicks in your DAW.
More guides
Getting started with the TranceTools app
Install it, open it in your DAW and write your first trance idea in five minutes.
How to make uplifting trance
Chords to drop in order: 138 BPM, minor keys, supersaws, gates, breakdown and build.
How to write trance chord progressions
Numerals, why trance lives in minor keys, the raised V and voice leading.
How to write a trance melody
Call and answer, chord tones on the beat, rhythm, range and the peak note.
Trance basslines
Offbeat, octave, galloping and rolling: the four patterns and the sound.
Trance arps and plucks
Arp patterns and rates, the pluck sound, the dotted delay and layering.
How to make an uplifting trance lead
Unison, the octave layer, filtering, delay and the mix tricks that make a lead huge.
How to make a trance pad
Slow attack, long release, width, chorus, reverb and movement.
Trancegate settings explained
Patterns, smoothing and where the reverb goes, for gates that chop cleanly.
Acid in trance
The 303 sound, accents and slides, and the filter movement that makes it talk.
Programming trance drums
Four to the floor, the offbeat hat, velocity, swing, fills and sounds.
Trance track structure
Section lengths, timings at your tempo, and why DJs need the first and last 32 bars.
The trance breakdown
What to strip away, revealing the melody, and keeping it moving without a kick.
How to make a trance build-up
Snare rolls, risers, filter sweeps and the gap before the drop.
Arrange trance from a reference track
Map a track you love into sections and bar counts, then write your own into the same layout.
Mixing kick and bass in trance
Tuning, timing and frequency: a low end that hits hard without fighting.
Sidechain settings for trance
Depth, release and what to duck, for a pump that breathes with the kick.
Mastering trance for the club
Loudness targets, true peak, the mastering chain and streaming.
Trance subgenres explained
Uplifting, progressive, psy, tech, vocal and hard trance compared at a glance.
How to make progressive trance
Rolling bass, plucks, evolving pads and builds that take their time.
How to make psytrance
The rolling kick and bass, acid and FM leads, low keys and 16-bar changes.
How to make tech trance
Driving bass, stabs and acid, heavy percussion and short breakdowns.
How to make vocal trance
Song structure, chords that leave room for the voice, and the doubled hook.
How to make hard trance
Hard kicks, faster tempos, acid and hoovers, and fast builds.
Mixing trance in key
The Camelot wheel, energy boosts, small tempo changes, phrasing and the bass swap.
Getting your trance track signed
Picking labels, sending demos, premasters and what happens when a label says yes.
Trance MIDI generator plugins compared
TranceEngine, Scaler 3, Cthulhu, Captain Plugins and TranceTools: what each writes and costs.