Trance Definition - Step I -

[samer]

trance [ traanss ] noun
1. dazed state: a state in which somebody is dazed or stunned or in some other way unaware of the environment and unable to respond to stimuli.
2. electronic dance music: a type of electronic dance music with a repetative hypnotic beat.

dance [ daanss ] verb
1. rhythmical body movements to music.
2. music for dancing: a piece of music in the rhythm of a particular type of dance.

Trance music is a subgenre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.

Perhaps the most ambiguous genre in the realm of electronic dance music (EDM), trance could be described as a melodic, more-or-less freeform style of music derived from techno. Or house. Maybe both. Regardless, to many club-goers, party-throwers, and EDM adherents, trance is held as a significant development within the greater sphere of (post-)modern dance music.

Trance songs are usually characterized as being accessible and having "anthemic" qualities. Using that as a starting point, a basic trance track could then be described as being comprised of a particular melodic and/or vocal hook which is given presence over an uncomplicated bassline, a simple drum pattern (which often includes snare and/or kick drum rolls to mark "big moments"), and perhaps one or two other semi-quantified aural elements to provide texture and enhance the rhythm. However, not all trance fits that profile for the fact that Trance has so much evolved in the last couple of years and has many sub-genres like:



GOA/Psytrance (Psychedelic Trance)
dates back in the early 90s, derived from Techno and House but adds an even more trippy psychedelic feel to trance, plus some middle-eastern and south-asian influences. Name comes from Goa, a resort town on the west coast of India, a popular attraction for European tourists, where it was popularized; most of the music itself comes from the UK. Goa Trance is most often distributed on DAT or MP3; this tradition is supposed to have started because vinyl would melt in the hot temperatures in Goa. Goa tends to make use of a more diverse range of beats than other styles of trance, and tends to frequently forgoe any sense of melody, favouring instead a more cacophonous feelin.. (Yahel, Astral Projection, Infected Mushroom, Man with no name..)

Melodic Trance
Trance that's based more on the melody, was the first type of trance that started back in the mid 90s and was the most popular up till 2000.. also called Uplifting Trance when having more energetic instruments, faster beats and tougher production ..(usually in both styles the songs tend to have a specific pattern of peeks and lows.. with a buildup in the middle of the song till it reaches it's peek again..)
unlike what's known to most people that can't diffrentiate between Trance and House or Techno.. this sub-genre sets the difference since usually this style of music is not easy to dance to.. thus it differs from House/Club Music which is more Dance oriented.. (Ferry Corsten/System F, Cosmicman, Lange, Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren)

Progressive Trance
A more Danceable style of Trance, more bass/beat based than melody.. where the song is divided into layers where each layer add up to its precedant thus the name progressive.. this style of Trance took where the Melodic Trance left off in the 2000. Most Trance DJ shifted to Progressive Trance in the 2000 and 2001 and exploded the dance floors all over the world... (MIKE/PUSH, Three Drives, Yoji Biomehanika, Marco V, Kai Tracid)


Also more sub-genres of Trance do exist like:
Tribal Trance
Hard Trance (Cosmic Gate, Dirt Devils)
Vocal Trance (Motorcycle, Andain, 4 Strings)
Acid Trance (Kai Tracid)




As a genre, trance is said to have begun as an off-shoot of techno in German clubs during the early 1990s. The name derived in 1991 from a project of Dag Lerner (DJ Dag) and Rolf Ellmer (Jam El Mar) called Dance2Trance. Their song "We Came In Peace" also set the original definition of trance music, a drawn out and monotonous pattern with a short but repeating voicesample. The sound was meant to work hypnotic to the listeners. Arguably a fusion of techno and house, early trance shared much with techno in terms of the tempo and rhythmic structures but also added more melodic overtones which were appropriated from the style of house popular in Europe's club scene at that time. (Interestingly enough, that style of house was referred to as "club" or "Euro.") However, the melodies in trance differed from Euro/club in that although they tended to be emotional and uplifting, they did not "bounce around" in the same way that house did. This early trance tended to be characterized by the anthemic qualities described above, and typically involved a break-down portion of the song in which the beat was dropped for a few bars to focus on the melody before bringing the beat back with a renewed intensity. The sounds used in trance tended to be produced by analog synthesizers (or recently, digital simulations of analog synthesizers, often called virtual analog synthesizers), with lush "strings" providing the basis for the melodies and pads, while similar analog equipment was used to produce basic bass notes and the regimented "four-on-the-floor" drum loops. This style became instantly popular in Europe and spread very quickly.
By the mid-1990s, trance had emerged commercially as one of the dominant genres of EDM. Immensely popular, trance found itself filling a niche as edgier than house, more soothing than drum-n-bass, and more accessible than techno.

[samer]

ok guys this is my own interpretation about trance with some deep research through the net... feel free to comment

[Dreamboy]

very nice & clear decription ... but i think it needs examples for each sub-genre

[samer]

ya i was thinking about it.. but wouldnt it be too long?!

[bxtreme]

perhaps just add a couple of examples of artists... or tracks... 2-3 max i guess

[samer]

ok now some examples were added.. hope it's more informative now..

[bxtreme]

thats great man.. thanks for the huge contribution...

wanted to ask... where would "CRW - I Feel Love" fall into?

i have it on a hard trance cd, but it aint really hard dontcha think?

[samer]

nahhhhhh.. not the original at least.. it's pure melodic..
btw, just for the record.. CRW is Mauro Picotto.. before he went all techish!!

[DIONYSOS]

such a nostalgic track this 1! it was 1 of my earilest trance tracks...99 i presume? another quality Picotto production is Back To Cali b sure 2 check it out bxtreme

[Dreamboy]

i have back to cali (push remix) only ...but i presume its far much better than the original ...
"Old but 24k gold"

[Thirix]

[MalcomX]

[Thirix]

[MalcomX]

I mean all guys need to know more about Trance, definitions,biographics..etc all theses stuff is a must for our web.. is that make sense Djthirix >?

[Thirix]

yep.u sound mad tho.chill man..chill,i just didnt understand the 1st time.