Music Education, A History of House Music & the Roland TR-909

At ANR we firmly believe in the short and long-term benefits music education can offer, at any level and for any genre.
This is why we are always eager to showcase the most inspiring approaches to teaching students the necessary tools and techniques, in particular to create contemporary electronic music.

Speaking of electronic and more specifically dance music, many of you will probably think of the seducing, repetitive four-on-the-floor pulse that defines the sound of nightclubs since decades.
If you love house and dance music, or you’re interested in knowing the secrets behind this fundamental area of electronic music, you should definitely check out this new video from Point Blank, the renowned music and creative media training school.

Point Blank visited the Brighton studio of F9 Audio founder and Freemasons member James Wiltshire to investigate the origins of dance music, explaining both who and what went into creating those early records, and how the scene and studios grew with the sound.
Needless to say, the Roland TR-909 played a big part in all this and the first part of the video shows you why and how the 909 became such an iconic instrument.

In the second episode of this series, James demonstrates how some of the classic house sounds created on hardware such as the TR-909 can be replicated with production techniques in Ableton Live.

Watch the full videos above and make sure you subscribe to Point Blank’s YouTube channel so you don’t miss future episodes in

If you are serious about learning more sound design, production, mixing, mastering and composition tips, you should also check out Point Blank’s Online Master Diploma course (20% off until August 31st!). It’s one of their most comprehensive courses and has been taken by the likes of Claude VonStroke, Plastician and Jon Rundell.