Proppa

Proper Serum Presets - Week 88 | ANCHORS (+read for a lil lesson)

Added 2024-10-02 08:25:15 +0000 UTC

I used to talk about ANCHORS all the time but haven't mentioned it much recenty.

If you haven't heard me talk about it, an ANCHOR is a sound that holds the whole song together. A sound that the entire song could be recognized by. A sound that could drive the idea and writing behind the whole track.

I'd say about 95% of great dance tracks have an identifiable anchor synth. Most commonly it's the lead. But it could also be a specific bass layer, or a weird sequence or percussion, or a vocal loop/chop, an arp, or many more things. Often times you write an anchor into your music without knowing it.

Some examples of anchors in my music:

The rave lead synth in my Led Zeppelin remix is very obviously a HUGE anchor

Steppin' Out is an example where a vocal loop is the anchor. This is probably the most I've ever used a vocal on a song because the hook was SO catchy and held it down

In my Waka Remix, there's a dance between 2 anchors. The most promiment by a small margain is the "Yeeeaahhhhh" vocal stutter. Then the second being the FM bass jumping and swelling over the main bass. Take either one of those two elements out and the track falls apart.

Some examples of anchors in other songs:

The big synth brass stab in Losing Control By Odd Nom is a great anchor

The vocal loop/stutter in Taka by Sidepiece x San Pacho is obviously the anchor

This Zhu x Wax Motif collab has the exact type of anchor I spent a lot of time on in early 2024

Here are some things to think about

Starting your track with the anchor could often times be easier. You don't have to start every track like that. But if you're ever in a dry spell, try just messing around with leads and synths and what not until you land on something that makes you say "I need this on a beat".
With that said, sometimes the anchor has to reveal itself. You have to be looking out for the sound that's really driving your track
You don't always have to stick to the same sound, i like to try to find ways to switch up the sound with the same melody or sequence

i've already made so many sounds I would consider to be easy anchors but why not have 10 more. Enjoy!