Arrangement Planner
Lay out a whole trance track: how long the intro runs, when the breakdown hits, how long the build-up lasts and where the drop lands. Fill it with a Studio idea and export the full arrangement as MIDI.
The track
Click a section to edit it and to play from there. Click a lit or dark cell to switch a part on or off in that section.
Checks
Sounds to load your MIDI into
Supersaw Essentials: 25 free trance presets for Vital, the free synth. Leads, plucks, pads and gated stabs, voiced for every tool on this site.
How trance tracks are arranged
Trance is built in phrases of 8, 16 and 32 bars, and listeners (and DJs) feel those boundaries even if they never count them. Something should change at every 16 or 32 bars: a new part comes in, one drops out, or the track moves into a new section.
A typical extended mix runs like this. The intro is 32 bars of kick, bass and drums, so DJs have something to mix over. The main section brings in the arp, the gate and the hook's first hints. The breakdown drops the kick and lets the chords and lead melody breathe, often for 32 bars or more. The build-up brings the tension back with a snare roll and a riser, usually over 8 or 16 bars. Then the drop brings everything back at once. The outro strips back down to the drums so the next track can come in.
Radio edits squeeze the same story into about three and a half minutes: a short intro, an early breakdown and a single drop.
Using the export
The zip has one MIDI file with every part on its own track and a marker at each section, plus a text sheet of the arrangement with bar numbers and timings. If you filled it with a Studio idea, each track repeats that idea's part wherever it's switched on, and build-up sections get a snare roll. With no idea chosen you get the markers and long placeholder notes showing where each part plays. Logic Pro, Cubase, Reaper and Studio One show the markers on import; in Ableton Live and FL Studio, use the text sheet to place locators.
Questions
How long is a typical trance track?
Extended or club mixes run 6 to 9 minutes at 136 to 140 BPM, which is about 200 to 300 bars. Radio edits are usually 3 to 4 minutes.
How long should the breakdown be?
Usually 16 or 32 bars, sometimes 64 in big uplifting tracks. Long enough for the melody to land, short enough that the floor doesn't lose patience.
Why 32-bar intros?
DJs mix trance over long blends. A 32-bar intro of drums and bass gives them about a minute to bring the track in without the melodies clashing with the record that's playing.
Where's my Studio idea from?
The Studio keeps your ideas in this browser. Spark or save one there, come back, and it appears under "Fill with".