How to make progressive trance
Progressive trance is the slower, deeper side of trance: a rolling groove, hypnotic plucks and pads that change slowly, and builds that take their time. Here's what goes into it.
The numbers
Keys and chords
Progressive trance is almost always in a minor key, and it changes chord less often than uplifting trance. Two chords swapping every two or four bars, or a long i–VI–VII, is plenty. The hypnotic feel comes from repetition, with the movement in the sound rather than the harmony.
Bass: rolling and groovy
The bass usually rolls: notes on the three 16ths between each kick, or an offbeat pattern with a little swing and some notes left out. It sits lower and softer than in uplifting trance, with a filter that opens slowly over a section.
Leads and pads
Instead of one huge supersaw lead, progressive trance uses plucks, arps and short filtered riffs that repeat and evolve. Pads are long and wide, with slow filter and volume movement, and they carry the breakdown. Delay and reverb do a lot of the work.
Drums
The kick is round rather than punchy, with shuffled hats, shakers and percussion giving the groove. Claps or snares on 2 and 4 are often quiet or missing, and percussion comes and goes to mark phrases.
Arrangement
Progressive tracks build slowly over 7 or 8 minutes, adding and removing one element per phrase. Breakdowns are shorter and less dramatic than in uplifting trance, and the drop is a return of the groove rather than a big moment. DJ-friendly intros and outros of 32 bars are standard.
Artists to listen to
Above & Beyond, Andrew Bayer and Jerome Isma-Ae are good places to start. Listen for how little the chords change, and how much the sounds move instead.
Try it
The TranceTools app has a Progressive 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 progressive trance?
Usually 128 to 134 BPM, often around 132. It's slower than uplifting trance, which sits near 138.
What's the difference between progressive trance and progressive house?
They overlap a lot. Progressive trance tends to keep trance's minor-key melodies, arps and breakdowns, while progressive house leans more on groove and is often a little slower.
Do I need a supersaw for progressive trance?
Not really. Plucks, arps and pads matter more. A supersaw can still help in the main breakdown or under the final drop.
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.