Hi i seen some banks with presets including both chords, and pads

whats the difference between chords and pads i thought they were same thing almost?

I know what chords are from a music theory point of view...

can u explain? thank you

 

chords categories are actually chords that you can trigger with one key. Like some chord patches will play, lets say a minor7 chord across all keys (1,b3,5,b7). Sometimes a preset will reference the chord type it's playing within it's name (7th, m7b9, maj7 etcetc)

Very popular in house/techno music. ex:

A pad is a thick, lush sound that is great to play chords with, or maybe even big enough to create a rich sound with only one note. They play the standard 1 note at a time, not creating a chord like something in the chord category of a soundbank would do.

 

Last edited: Dec 17, 2015

Sometimes I use 2 notes for the pads, e.g. (1,1) (1,5) (1,4) etc., as 3 notes can be a bit much with some pad sounds.

 

Last edited: Dec 17, 2015

Sometimes I turn up the (amp) attack, sustain and release on a chord/CH and use it as a pad/PD.

 

Last edited: Dec 17, 2015

Chords are a patch that are not monophonic, even when played by one note. Basically you just select the root key and the other intervals that form the chords are already blended/combined into that patch. Kind of like arpeggio patches, except they're intervals played simultaneously instead of scales/intervals being played over time (a chord/scale broken apart by time is all that an arpeggio is).

Pads are just that. Sounds used to thicken up or "pad" out the sound. It's like a gap filler. Usually pads have a slow attack and some sort of evolving texture to keep them interesting as they are sustained, since they're designed to sustain a long time. Something really percussive with a fast attack would typically suck as a pad. Leads and pads are in two opposite directions, more-or-less. Leads should cut through the mix and be prominent, pads should take a backseat and just act as a "thickener" to make a more complete sound.

Strings (usually synthetic) are often used for pads, so there's a lot of overlap there. But some strings (violin pizzicato, for instance) are more percussive, so not all strings are pads, and not all pads are strings.

 

thank you for the replies so far! very helpful

Now makes more sense...

One more question...

But where is the note of the pad most usually placed?

Is it more common for the pad note to be below the chord notes or above it or one of the chord notes?

 

That's a matter of artistic taste, of course.

In general though, I'd say something like this:

If you have a chord instrument in your song (guitar, piano) then usually the bass line is using/mirroring the root notes of the chords. A pad would typically use the root note of whatever chord is on the 1 beat of a measure and sustaining for a half-note, whole note or even multiple measures.

That's just one approach of a million, and everyone probably has a technique they favor or multiple techniques they love to combine, but I think my example will illustrate how it works a bit.

So let's say your piano is playing C–G–Am–F. Have the pad play a low C through the measure, and the bass play C,G,A,F.

Probably as boring as it gets, but it will be musically sound.

 

You should study a bit further on what constitutes a chord. I think that you're suffering a bit from the "shapist view" that guitarists often have regarding chords and that might be influencing your understanding of what chords and progressions really are.. otherwise, I don't think you would have these questions, at least you wouldn't write them this way.

Good luck

 

Unfortunately, most audiosex members are asking questions that mostly producers ask. Is there a real composer here except two members that I know them? Right that this section is for the sounds but in the other threads, people are acting similarly. People saying sounds good or bad. No one says composed good or bad. Do you know from where these low level questions arise? Is there any problem with the education system or what?

I think composing for most people is like trying to think like Einstein that they like to simply avoid it. (3 likes in one sentence)

 

Last edited by a moderator: Dec 18, 2015