Making Trap - Just What Exactly Makes A Track Trap? This Video Tells All

It's a trap! Well, it's definitely Trap - a hard-edged blend of electronics, dance and hip hop that has taken on a life of its own via artists like Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane and many others. But what exactly makes this style unique among the many splintered genres of EDM? In this short video from the course Dance Music Styles 101: Trap, Adam Pollard breaks down the kinds of instruments, programming tricks and arrangement techniques you need to know to make good Trap music. 

Did you know for example that long, 808-style kick notes are crucial to making Trap, or that there's usually a lot of space left in the middle of the mix for vocals and other lead elements? A lot of the samples used, especially for beats, are taken from electronic hip hop but it's also informed by a real mish mash of other styles. Watch the other videos to find out everything you need to know about making cool-sounding Trap tracks!

Dance Music Styles 101: Trap

What makes Trap... Trap? Well, it's a bunch of things. You've got to have right tempo and understand this genre's defining features. Next are the specific timbres of the kick, bass, snare and lead sounds. Then there's the production techniques other more subtle, sonic ingredients that are unique to this particular style of dance music

Dance music expert, Adam Pollard, reveals everything that a Trap track must have. He explains all of the techniques, with detailed examples, as he sculpts a Trap track right before your eyes. If that isn't enough, Adam proceeds even further into this Trap expose'. You learn all kinds of tips to on how to make an authentic sounding 808 track. You see Adam design some of the "weird" sounds that are essential to Trap. He even goes over some common mistakes and pitfalls that you may encounter during production.

So join Adam Pollard, in this first of series of Dance Music Styles courses, and learn everything there is to know about making Trap!