New to Trance?
Check out a couple of my recs below to grow acquainted with the genre:
(All links keep you within this webpage)
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1. Beautiful, Energizing, & Repetitive: • Angel (Eteson&Nicky Dub)
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2. Uplifting Symphonic Trance (Hard, Repetitive-yet-Beautiful) • Everlasting (Original Mix) [Skips intro (Skips first 2:32)] • Everlasting (Original
Mix) [Don't Skip Intro (long version)]
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3. Uplifting Symphonic: • Amnesia (SoundLift Remix)
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4. Video of a Concert (Song is an Electro-y Hard Electronica Anthem): • Elements of Life
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5. Yet More Anthem Trance:
5a. Old-School Soothing-yet -Energizing Anthem: • Airwave
5b. Frenzied Euphoric Fast Old-School (1990s) Intense Uplifting Anthem: • Walhalla
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6. Uplifting Vocal Trance: • Just Be (Antillas Mix)
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7. Balearic Vocal Trance (Sad/Reaffirming) • Lost (Original Chill Mix)
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8. Progressive Trance (Harder, Multi-tempo Chill-Out): • Fake Awake (Blizzard Remix)
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9. Uplifting Trance (Electro-y & Latin-y): • Sounds Rushing (David West Remix)
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10. Vocal Progressive Trance (Laid-Back): • Punta Del Este (Beach Mix)
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11. Vocal Trance (Midtempo Melancholy): • Miracle
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12. Vocal Trance (Harder):
• Falling • Everything (Cosmic Gate Remix) Concert Video
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13. Progressive (fast & uplifting) :
(Wonderful Video of Penguins) • Make This Your Day (Gareth Emery Dub Rmx)
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14. Vocal Anthem: • Nothing But You
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15. Brief Transitions:
• Blossom (Lounge Mix) • In the Past
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16. Chill-Out Balearic Trance:
• Sunny Tales (Original)
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17. Trance Downtempo • God Surrounds Us
What is Progressive Trance?
Progressive trance is defined by its progressive structure, where elements of the song incrementally progress in
& out, weaving together, with the power of 2 rule (see the Trance Overview page). Musically, the numbers of bars
in a phrase can be any power of 2 (not just 4).
Almost
always occurs the
pattern 1)
build-up, 2)
breakdown, &
3) climax. Transitions & introductions of new elements can be very subtle, and often you don’t notice a new
element until some bars after it always started; looking out for these subtle transitions can create suspense.
Progressive trance is also sometimes intended as background music.
As Wikipedia says, "Subtle incremental/decremental acoustic variations (i.e., gradual addition/subtraction of
instruments) anticipate the transition to each subsequent structural element of the track. The initial build-up
and the final break-down are generally very similar, adding a feel of symmetry to the general structure of the
melody."
To quote www.wikihow.com, "This subgenre defined the popular "build-up and breakdown" themes that are often
associated with trance. By slowly building up a progression of melodies and creating a pseudo "tension", an
outburst of emotional bliss results at the peak of the melody as it "releases". These releases are often
done by creating a brief lull in the melody before quickly returning to the main theme. Other common
techniques include pausing, using rests, rapidly speeding up the BPM, and using progressing kicks from
quarter- to eighth- to sixteenth-, note kicks, and so on."
Progressive trance (which began in 1996) is often called just "progressive" because since 2000 progressive house and
progressive trance
have converged, although prog house remains darker & more minimal and prog trance more melodic and uplifting and
richer in texture.
The left & below links show 4 trance genres:
- Uplifting/Anthem Tr.
- Progressive Trance - Vocal Trance - Balearic Trance
(Within these, trance producers
often merge trance with house,
jazz, ambient, classical, indie,
electro, psy-trance, pop, hip-
hop, techno, alt., Euro/HiNRG,
Latin, chill-out, or downtempo.)
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In case you like a couple of my recommendations at left, below (random order), are
more of
my all-time favorites:
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Concert Video: Classical-Based Distorted-Sounds Anthem:
• Adagio For Strings
