Meat and Potatoes
Written by Matthew Lokot   
Tuesday, 15 March 2005

I have a strong passion for music and have loved listening to all sorts of styles of music, mentally dissecting them for as long as I can remember. However, I’ve only been writing songs for a year or two now. The first song I ever completed and was proud to share with other people was my submission for the I See Grace remix competition through Demulcent records in early 2004. My aim with this article is to cover what I’ve learned in that time and to help out the other newbies out there in Tasty-land who are struggling to find their producing feet.

So what’s this dance music thing all about? It’s one thing to be able to put an ordered piece of music together, but is it actually something that works? Also, is it something that people can dance to or enjoy listening to? And if I decide to sit down and write a tune, where do I start? These things will be covered in the following article.

It should go without saying that in most cases you need an idea or at least be in the right frame of mind when you sit down to write a piece of music. Inspiration can come from a number of places and can happen in a number of ways. It could be a melody you hear in your head, an idea you have for a wicked break beat, or maybe even a technical trick you would like to exploit. If you only remember one thing from this article, it is this: Music inspiration takes effort and doesn’t usually come naturally. After having written fourteen tunes you may come up with all sorts of ideas that are purely the result of momentum, in a similar way that an author gets ideas for a new book as a result of writing about a related issue, but that first effort needs to be made to begin with. There are no real formulas or guaranteed quick fixes for inspiration, but there are two things I have been told repeatedly over the years whenever I’ve talked to people about how to write tunes. They are (1) to listen to as much music as possible, and (2) to always finish the tune.

The merit in listening to other people’s music isn’t so that you can copy their work and regurgitate something that’s already been done before, but rather to get ideas and inspiration for key musical elements and production techniques. Buying CD’s and downloading DJ mixes online will go a long way to giving you what you need. Immerse yourself in your chosen genre but really listen closely to what’s going on. It’s one thing to listen to a song and enjoy it, but another thing to really listen closely and pick apart what’s going on. Some songs are extremely complex, so you may chose to focus on only one trick you can emulate in your own work. Make sure you push yourself and learn something new with every new song you write. I’m finding the real merits of this now, especially listening to shows like Shiloh, Angus Robinson, and Elite Force to name a few (which consequently are all on Proton radio and can be streamed online). These people who are at the top of their field get sent promo’s sometimes months before they are publicly released so keeping up with the scene is as easy as clicking your mouse (and processing downloads for hours on end up for those of us on dialup). The best thing is that it’s free! To help you see why listening to other’s work is important to your music are best said by Rich the Tweakmeister from tweakheadz.com in his article on musical inspiration.

“…You are working on a massive orchestral piece with a great melody and all the sudden you think, this needs "a hot rhythm". Suddenly, you think you need an Afro-Cuban bongo track and you try it and it rocks! …If you never in your life heard an Afro-Cuban beat you could not have come upon this solution.” — Rich the TweakMeister

The other common advice I get is to always finish the song. Don’t give up half way because it doesn’t work, because, quite simply, you’ll never grow if you don’t have to put in any effort, right? The times when it’s most difficult are often the times when you have the most growth. Finishing the tune is more valuable than finding the ‘right’ hook and the right sound you’re looking for. Those things come naturally as your sound matures. Who knows, maybe it’ll turn out better than you thought, but you’ll never know if you drop it half way through.

The following section is a guide to the basic elements of a dance track for all the newbies who are struggling (or a refresher to the disillusioned). The structure to any dance track, or any other style for that matter, is the same (to make a point, I’m using “Toxic” by Britney Spears as a reference here). It goes like this: intro, verse 1, chorus, verse 2, chorus, breakdown, chorus, bridge, outtro. Translated into the dance realm where vocals don’t necessarily define the structure, the principle is the same: intro, build up, minor breakdown, main section, major breakdown, peak section, bridge, outtro. The intro is there mostly for smooth mixing into a live set, but it helps if it’s interesting to listen to as it perks interest in what’s to come. This will go for a minimum of 32 or 64 bars, and quite often is a minute or two long, depending mostly on the style. Then the song begins to build and elements are added and developed. The breakdown pauses and prepares for the musical onslaught that is about to come, and then the song builds and grooves along until the breakdown. The main breakdown exists for the people on the dance floor to catch their breath for a minute, but most importantly, it builds tension like a spring being pulled back. Then the song comes back in and the song is at its peak. The song will then have a bit more variation in a bridge and settle down nicely to a conclusion where the beat carries on for a little while to allow transition to the next song. If you’re not familiar with what I’m talking about listen to any song, even pop tunes on the radio (if anybody knows musical formulas it is pop producers), and listen closely to the structure of the song.

I’ve come to the understanding recently that it’s not the music that makes a good dance track; it’s the whole package. It’s about how it all flows and rises and falls, and some great hooks and musical ability merely add to the core elements that should already be there. To illustrate I’ve asked a couple of people to write what is commonly called the “meat and potatoes” of dance music, which is the beat and the bass line. To write a song that really hits you MUST have a good beat and a good bass line. Everything else is the icing on the cake, but not the cake itself; the gravy on the steak, but not the meat; or the batter on the potatoes, but it doesn’t make it a bag of fries (is anyone else getting hungry?). These two elements are core to what really makes or breaks the track. The following short examples were written by myself, Gerwin Koudijs, and Joel Armstrong. It’s interesting to see how three people have such varying expressions of these elements, but the elements are the same.

Further reading about song structure and creation are recommended below:


For all the beginners out there, good luck with developing your skills and we all look forward to an explosion of quality tunes to come in the near future.

Reference Tracks:

Additional Reading: