How to Make Tech House: Groove, Rolling Bass and Vocal Hooks

To make tech house, start at 126 BPM with a punchy four-on-the-floor kick, swung hats and shakers, a rolling 16th-note bassline locked to the kick, a short vocal or synth hook, and an arrangement built for DJs: long intro and outro, a breakdown and a drop. The bassline and the groove do most of the work.

1. The groove

• Kick on every beat, short and punchy, tuned to your key.
• Hats: closed on the 16ths with 10 to 20% swing, an open hat on every offbeat.
• Clap on 2 and 4, with a second, wider clap layered slightly late.
• Percussion: shakers, rimshots and toms in syncopated patterns that leave holes for the bass.

Thump has house and tech grooves with swing built in.

2. The rolling bassline

Play the root of your chord in 16th notes. Drop or soften the note that lands on the kick, accent the off-16ths, keep the decay short and add drive so it reads on small speakers. Sidechain it to the kick, or use a volume shaper like Pump, so the two never fight. Change the note every bar or two at most; tech house bass is about rhythm more than melody.

Afterhours plays this as its Rolling 16ths bass, with stabs and a lead on top, all from one held chord.

3. The hook

Tech house hooks are short and repeated: a two-to-four word vocal chop, a stab riff or a pitched percussion loop. Repeat it every bar or two, then filter it in and out to build energy.

4. Arrange for DJs

1. Intro (16–32 bars): drums only, easy to mix.
2. Groove (32 bars): bass and hook enter.
3. Breakdown (16 bars): drop the kick and bass, filter the hook, build tension.
4. Drop (32 bars): everything back, the hook at full width.
5. Outro (16–32 bars): back to drums for the next track.