Hard trance

History and character

Hard trance born in the early '90s across Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, from the community of breakbeat hardcore producers, with influences from hard house, new beat, happy hardcore and jungle; in Belgium it was also marketed as “maximaal.” It was popular in continental Europe roughly between 1993 and 1997, with its greatest mainstream success in the late '90s, and declined in the mid-2000s. It sets the breakdown–build–anthem scheme that later trance would inherit.

Belgian classics on Bonzai Records: Jones & Stephenson — The First Rebirth (1993), Yves Deruyter — Rave City (1993), Belgica Wave Party — The Wave (1993), Dream Your Dream — Belgium Jump (1993), Cherrymoon Trax — Let There Be House (1994), Phrenetic System — Back to Reality (1994). In Germany and beyond: Scot Project (U (I Got a Feeling), 1995; O – Overdrive, 2001), and in Italy Mauro Picotto (Lizard, 1998; Iguana, 1999; Komodo, 2000). In the United Kingdom it arrived through the techno underground (clubs such as Heaven, Trade, Club UK) without reaching the commercial peaks of the continent; Mixmag cites the Resonate compilation series (2002–2006) as representative of British hard trance. Hardstyle, jumpstyle, mainstream gabber and (with happy hardcore) makina derive from hard trance.

Aesthetic: speed, power, rave euphoria; heavy kick, resonant basses, sharp leads and “ringing” riffs.

Scales and keys

Convention: Roman numerals refer to the major scale on the same root (uppercase = major, lowercase = minor, ° diminished, ø half-diminished, + augmented; b/# = scale degree lowered/raised relative to major: in A minor F = bVI, G = bVII). Notes and chords below are calculated exactly from the formula.

Aeolian

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 — steps: T S T T S T T
• On A: A B C D E F G
• Diatonic triads: Am i · Bdim ii° · C bIII · Dm iv · Em v · F bVI · G bVII
• Seventh chords: Am7 i7 · Bm7b5 iiø7 · Cmaj7 bIIImaj7 · Dm7 iv7 · Em7 v7 · Fmaj7 bVImaj7 · G7 bVII7
• Characteristic note: the b6 (F): the epic quality of riffs and anthems.
• Use: sixteenth-note lead riffs on A with C, E, F, G; i–bVI–bVII progressions.
• Common mistakes: riffs that are too long at 145 BPM.

Harmonic minor

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 — steps: T S T T S T+S S
• On A: A B C D E F G#
• Diatonic triads: Am i · Bdim ii° · Caug bIII+ · Dm iv · E V · F bVI · G#dim vii°
• Seventh chords: Am(maj7) i(maj7) · Bm7b5 iiø7 · Cmaj7#5 bIII+maj7 · Dm7 iv7 · E7 V7 · Fmaj7 bVImaj7 · G#dim7 vii°7
• Characteristic note: leading tone G#, major V (E): the “epic rave” color.
• Use: Am–F–G–E, riffs with G# as a passing tone.
• Common mistakes: G# over the G.

Phrygian

• Formula: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 — steps: S T T T S T T
• On E: E F G A B C D
• Diatonic triads: Em i · F bII · G bIII · Am iv · Bdim v° · C bVI · Dm bvii
• Seventh chords: Em7 i7 · Fmaj7 bIImaj7 · G7 bIII7 · Am7 iv7 · Bm7b5 vø7 · Cmaj7 bVImaj7 · Dm7 bvii7
• Characteristic note: the b2 (F): aggressiveness, closeness to hard techno.
• Use: E–F riffs and basses, i–bII stabs.
• Common mistakes: too dark for a euphoric anthem.

Minor pentatonic

• Formula: 1 b3 4 5 b7 — steps: T+S T T T+S T
• On A: A C D E G
• Characteristic note: simplicity: memorable “ringing” riffs.
• Use: lead and hoover riffs.
• Common mistakes: no rhythmic accents.

How to choose between scales

Riffs in pentatonic/Aeolian, cadences in harmonic minor, darker variants in Phrygian. The bass stays on the root on the offbeat.

Harmony

Function

Riff-centered: a lead riff (often monophonic, in sixteenth notes) over a pedal or over 2–4 chords; in the breakdowns pads and minor chords.

Techniques

• Pedal with riff.
• i–bVI–bVII–i, i–bVI–bVII–V.
• Distorted power chords (fifths).
• Riffs that “imply” the harmony by arpeggiating.

Harmonic rhythm

1 chord per bar or pedal.

Examples

• Am pedal + riff.
• Am–F–G–E.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

• Feel: straight, 140–150 BPM, swing 0.
• Bass offbeat or rolling; ride in eighth notes; clap+snare on 2 and 4.
• Build with an accelerating snare roll and rising pitch; drop with a crash.

Drums

Kick

On the quarter notes, long, heavy and often downpitched, with plenty of reverb or rumble on the hit; distorted in late-'90s productions; fundamental 45–55 Hz.

• How to get it: a 909 kick pitched down 2–5 semitones (longer, lower tail), saturated, with a short, dense reverb (room/plate 0.6–1 s) only on the hit, then gate or sidechain to close the tail before the offbeat bass. At 145 BPM an eighth note lasts 207 ms: the strong part of the tail must fit in this space.
• Tuning: tail tuned to the root (A1 = 55 Hz) or to the fifth.

Clap and snare

Clap and snare layered on 2 and 4; crescendo rolls in the builds.

Hi-hat and ride

Open hat on the offbeat, sixteenth-note hats, eighth-note ride in the main section.

Percussion

Crash on the 1 of every 8, toms, rave FX.

Dynamics and ghost notes

Fixed.

Interaction with the bass

Full, resonant bass on the offbeat; kick and bass “pump” together.

Sections

Intro, main with riff, breakdown with pad, build, anthem, outro.

Fills and transitions

Snare roll, double kick on the last quarter note, stops.

Sound choice

Distorted 909, long kicks with reverb.

Typical mistakes

Long kick covering the bass without sidechain; riffs that are too complex.

Bass

• Sound: full, resonant bass (saw with a resonant filter), offbeat or rolling.
• Register: A1–A2.
• With the kick: offbeat; sidechain 8–12 dB (in later productions, sidechaining borrowed from progressive trance).
• Notes: root.

Harmonic instruments

Pads, stabs, distorted power chords; supersaws and hoovers from the late '90s.

Melody and vocals

• Lead: monophonic sixteenth-note riffs, “ringing,” often with high resonance; hoover (Roland Alpha Juno) and acid leads.
• Vocals: rave samples, short phrases, sometimes female voices.
• Effects: delay, reverb, distortion.

Instruments

Roland TR-909, TB-303, Alpha Juno (hoover), JP-8000, Virus, samplers, distortion units.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Korg MS-20 V — Sharp riffs and leads: High resonance and overdrive for the “ringing” riffs.
• Jup-8 V — Supersaw and pad: Unison and detune for the anthem wall.
• Mini V — Resonant bass: Saw with 40–50% resonance and short decay for the “full” offbeat bass.
• ARP 2600 V — Rave FX: Noise and S&H for sirens and FX.
• Jun-6 V — Alternative hoover: Pulse with fast PWM and chorus for a sound close to the hoover (approximation).

Song structure

5–7 minutes.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Powerful and “big”: enormous kick with controlled tail/reverb, resonant bass, riff that cuts through. References: Jones & Stephenson — The First Rebirth, Mauro Picotto — Komodo, Scot Project — U (I Got a Feeling).

Kick

HP 25 Hz; +2 dB 50 Hz; −4 dB 300 Hz; distortion; short reverb on the hit with gate; clipper; mono.

Bass

HP 30 Hz; LP 2–3 kHz; dynamic EQ on the resonance peak; mono; sidechain 8–12 dB.

Clap/snare

HP 200 Hz; plate 1.5 s; center.

Hi-hat and ride

HP 500 Hz; dynamic EQ 8 kHz; panning 15%.

Riff and lead

HP 200 Hz; dynamic EQ 2–4 kHz; light distortion; dotted-eighth delay; reverb 2 s; center with wide delays.

Pad/supersaw

HP 250 Hz; hall 3 s; wide; sidechain 8 dB.

Balance

Kick 0 dB, bass −3/−5, clap/snare −5/−7, riff −4/−6 (it must be the second loudest element), ride −12, pad −10/−12. The riff should be checked in mono: it is often center and “dry,” with wide delays at the sides.

Buses and groups

Drum bus (glue 4:1 attack 30 ms, GR 2 dB, then clipper), mono low-end bus with a light limiter, synth bus with tape saturation, sidechained FX bus.

Sidechain

Bass 8–12 dB (release 120–180 ms at 145 BPM), pad 8 dB, reverbs 6 dB; in older productions the “pumping” also came from group compression.

Typical automation

Riff cutoff and resonance in the build (opening over 8–16 bars), snare roll pitch (+12 semitones in the last 4 bars), reverb send on the kick in the breakdown (huge tail with no kick, then a clean cut at the drop).

Master

EQ → compressor 1–2 dB → clipper → limiter. Target −7/−6 LUFS integrated, true peak −0.5/−1 dBTP, crest factor 6–7 dB.

Common mistakes

Kick reverb that muddies the mix; bass resonance out of control; harsh riff.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Jones & Stephenson — The First Rebirth (1993)
• Scot Project — U (I Got a Feeling) (1995)
• Mauro Picotto — Komodo (2000)

Reference listening

• Jones & Stephenson — The First Rebirth (1993)
• Yves Deruyter — Rave City (1993)
• Cherrymoon Trax — Let There Be House (1994)
• Phrenetic System — Back to Reality (1994)
• Scot Project — U (I Got a Feeling) (1995)
• Mauro Picotto — Lizard (Gonna Get You) (1998)
• Mauro Picotto — Komodo (2000)