How to write a trance melody

The four-phrase shape

Most trance hooks are four phrases long, one over each chord, and they talk to each other.

The first phrase is the call. The second answers it, often rising where the call fell. The third repeats the call, so it sticks. The fourth resolves, settling the tension so the loop can start again.

Chord tones on the strong beats

The notes that land on the beat are the ones the ear checks against the chord. Make those notes part of the chord underneath (A, C or E over A minor) and the melody sounds like it belongs. The notes between can step through the scale freely: they're passing notes, and they give the line its movement.

Rhythm first

A great rhythm with simple notes beats clever notes with a dull rhythm. Trance leans on syncopation, notes that land between the beats, and on the 3-3-2 pattern: notes three 16ths apart, three 16ths, then two (a dotted 8th, a dotted 8th and an 8th), repeated across the bar. Try tapping a rhythm before you choose any notes.

Range and the peak note

Keep most of the melody within about an octave; hooks that leap all over are hard to remember. Save the highest note for one special moment, usually late in the third or fourth phrase. Reaching it once gives the melody a climax; reaching it every bar wears it out.

Repeat, then vary

Repetition is what makes a hook stick, and variation is what keeps it interesting. Repeat the call, but change its last note or two the second time. Over a long track, keep the same hook and change the sound, the octave or the chords underneath instead: the familiar melody over new harmony is one of the most emotional moments in trance.

From MIDI to a lead

Load the melody onto a big supersaw with a dotted-1/8 delay and a long reverb, then layer a pluck an octave up for the attack. The uplifting lead guide walks through the sound step by step.