Point Blank are back with another deconstruction, this time with David Harrow – a music industry legend and lead Point Blank LA instructor.
For this deconstruction, they pulled back the curtain on Justin Bieber’s track “Intentions.” “Intentions” was released as the second single from his fifth studio album Changes and features Migos’ Quavo. The track itself was produced by Poo Bear and The Audibles and is a stripped-back melodic trap beat which revolves around a hooky arp. “Intentions” peaked at no.1 in Bieber’s home country Canada as well as no.8 in the UK Singles Chart.
If you’re new here and not familiar with what a deconstruction entails, it’s where Point Blank take a well-known track, break it down to its core elements and recreate it before your very eyes. Want to learn how to deconstruct tracks yourself as well as anything and everything music-making related? Then check out their courses in London, LA and Online. Plus, they’re currently offering 25% off their selected online and LA courses until December 31st using the codes ONLINE25 and LA25 when enrolling.
To kick off the deconstruction, David Harrow runs through some of the song’s music theory noting that ‘Intentions’ features a three-chord pattern in A major. He then lays down the drums for the track punching in a simplistic beat consisting of hi-hats, a snare and a bass drum. To play in the arpeggiated melody, he slows down the track before showing how you can find any melody using Ableton’s “Convert Melody to MIDI Track” function. Last but not least, he beefs up the track with an 808 bass shot.
