Waves is a slow-tempo track built around a steady 75 BPM pulse.
I wanted this song to feel relaxed, intimate, and atmospheric, drawing from the kinds of moods often found in downtempo, chill-out, ambient-leaning electronica, and soul-influenced productions.
Rather than letting genre define the tempo, the goal here was emotional pacing—creating space, warmth, and subtle movement.
Starting with tempo and groove
For groove-driven and electronic-leaning music, it’s very common to begin by locking in the tempo and feel before writing melodies or harmony.
After settling on 75 BPM, I built a core foundation made from:
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a simple drum pattern, and
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a supporting synthesizer part.
This groove acts as the backbone of the entire track and is repeated throughout almost the whole song, with only a brief break in the middle from:
1:29 – 1:42
Instead of constantly changing the groove, variation is created later through layering and arrangement.
Song structure
I chose a very simple overall structure:
A – B – A – B
Where:
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A = verse
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B = chorus
For this track, the form is intentionally straightforward. Because the song uses a fairly dense arrangement—ten instruments in total (including vocals)—a simpler structure helps keep the song clear and focused.
This is not a universal songwriting rule, but rather a practical production choice:
when many layers are active, a clean structure makes it easier for each part to be heard and understood.
How the sections are defined
In Waves, the verse and chorus are not separated by new chord progressions or large melodic changes.
They are defined almost entirely through instrumentation and density.
Verse
The verse is shaped by a gradual build:
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it begins with the core groove,
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a new instrument is added every two bars,
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the verse ends when all instruments are playing together.
You can hear the full build complete at:
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0:51 and 2:33
Chorus
The chorus is defined by:
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full instrumentation right away, and
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the entrance of the vocal line.
The end of the chorus is marked when the bass drops out and plays alone, which you can hear at:
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1:29 and 3:11
Rather than using harmonic contrast, the song relies on textural contrast—how many elements are playing, and how they interact.
A note on the outro
There is a short outro at the end of the track.
I still describe the song as ABAB, rather than something like ABABA, because the outro is brief and does not function as a full structural section.
In practical analysis, short intros and outros usually do not need their own formal label unless they play a significant structural role.
Lyrics and imagery
Lyrics
Idealistic, utopian dream
The sun and the moon blend into
Pools of emotion, a feeling waves
Can’t you see everything I do?
My goal with these lyrics was to paint a visual scene in the listener’s mind.
For example, the line:
“The sun and the moon blend into pools of emotion”
combines concrete imagery (“sun,” “moon,” “pools”) with emotional language.
This allows the listener to picture a setting while still interpreting what that image represents emotionally.
The title Waves reflects both:
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the visual idea of blending and motion, and
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the emotional movement suggested by the lyrics.
Final thought
Waves is built around a small number of simple ideas:
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a fixed tempo and groove,
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a stable foundation loop,
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and gradual changes in texture and density.
Rather than relying on complex harmony or frequent structural changes, the song uses arrangement and layering to create contrast and shape.
For this track, letting the instruments slowly evolve over time was the most effective way to support the calm, immersive mood I wanted to create.