Point Blank Tutorial: Easy Hooks and Melodies with Broken Chords and Arpeggios

In this tutorial, Point Blank’s Course Content Developer, Chris Martin, demonstrates how you can use broken chords and arpeggios to write catchy hooks and basslines.

This technique can be used across a range of genres from trap to techno when writing catchy melodic hooks or basslines. Taking inspiration from Maya Jane Coles’ 2011 track, ‘What They Say‘, Chris shows how you can create great loops in no time. This video was taken from one of Point Blank’s Music Production and Sound Engineering Intro to Production (Ableton) modules. To find out more about their music production and sound engineering courses, head here. Plus, they’re currently offering 15% off their Professional London, LA, Online and Ibiza courses until 18th April using the code EASTER15.

During the video, Chris cites Maya Jane Cole’s infectious track, ‘What They Say’, showing how to create your own hooky melodies using broken chords. He fires up Ableton Live and creates a basic idea using a TR-909 plugin and a Roland Cloud Juno 106. To build a bassline, he uses a C Minor chord progression and punches in some corresponding bass notes with an ascending and descending pattern. He then repeats the process using more complex chords to show how you can further this technique.