House music has been filling dance floors since the 1980s, and its influence stretches across every corner of modern music. The beauty of house is its simplicity — a solid groove, warm chords, and a bassline that moves. Here's how to make it.
The Foundation: Tempo and Kick
Set your tempo to 120–128 BPM. Classic house sits around 120–124. Tech house and modern club tracks push closer to 126–128. The tempo defines the energy, so pick one that matches the vibe you're going for.
The kick drum is everything in house. It's the heartbeat — a four-on-the-floor pattern, meaning one kick on every beat (1, 2, 3, 4). Choose a punchy, round kick with a solid low end but not overly long. The kick should feel like a steady pulse that drives the track forward without overpowering other elements.
Layer in open hi-hats on the off-beats (between each kick) and closed hi-hats on every sixteenth note for energy. Add a clap or snare on beats 2 and 4. These four elements — kick, open hat, closed hat, clap — are the rhythmic foundation of nearly every house track ever made.
The Bassline: Groove is Everything
House basslines are typically simple but rhythmically compelling. A common pattern plays on the off-beats between the kicks, creating a bouncing, interlocking groove with the four-on-the-floor pattern. Some sub-genres use a straight root-note bass that follows the chords, while others use funkier, more melodic bass patterns.
Sound-wise, house bass ranges from deep sub-bass (deep house) to round, warm bass (classic house) to punchy, gritty bass (tech house). A simple saw or square wave with a low-pass filter works for most styles. Sidechain compression from the kick is essential — it creates that classic pumping groove where the bass ducks on every kick hit and swells back up between them.
Chords and Harmony
House chords are warm, soulful, and often jazzy. Minor 7th chords, major 7th chords, and suspended chords appear constantly in the genre. A classic approach: play simple two- or three-chord progressions with extended chords (7ths, 9ths) using a warm pad, electric piano, or organ sound.
Stabs — short, rhythmic chord hits — are another house signature. Take your chord progression and play it as short, punchy stabs rather than sustained pads. Filter the stabs with a low-pass filter and automate the cutoff for movement. This rhythmic chord approach gives house tracks their distinctive energy.
For deep house, keep the chords lush and sustained. For tech house, keep them minimal and filtered. For classic/funky house, use piano or organ stabs with a funk-influenced rhythm.
Vocals and Samples
Vocals play a huge role in house music — from full vocal performances to chopped samples, vocal loops, and one-shot phrases. Even a single vocal phrase ("yeah," "feel the music," "let the music play") repeated and processed can define an entire house track.
If you don't have a vocalist, vocal samples and loops are perfectly acceptable — house has a long tradition of sampling. AI vocal tools like Suno can also generate vocal ideas that you can process and integrate into your production.
Arrangement
House arrangement follows a DJ-friendly structure: Intro (16–32 bars) with just drums building gradually, Build introducing bass, chords, and percussion, Main Section with all elements playing, Breakdown stripping back to chords and atmosphere, Second Build and Drop bringing everything back with more energy, and Outro (16–32 bars) winding down to just drums for DJ mixing.
The intro and outro should be long enough for DJs to mix in and out — 16 bars minimum of just drums. The breakdown is the emotional core, and the drop after it should feel like a release of tension. House tracks typically run 5–7 minutes.
Mixing for House
House mixes should sound warm, punchy, and spacious. Keep the low end tight — sidechain your bass to the kick, high-pass filter everything else above 100–150Hz. Use reverb generously on claps, vocals, and pads to create a sense of space, but keep the kick and bass dry. Pan percussion and melodic elements to create stereo width while keeping the kick, bass, and clap centred.
The Secret to Great House Music: Less is more. The best house tracks are built from a handful of well-chosen elements with space between them. Resist the urge to fill every gap — the groove comes from what you don't play as much as what you do.
🎵 Learn House Production Step by Step
Our Start to Finish tutorials walk you through making a complete track in your DAW — including Future House and other styles. Free sample lessons available for every course.
Need sounds? Our Vital Minimal House preset pack is designed specifically for house production.
All the best — the Born To Produce Team ✌️
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