How to Make Wake Me Up Chords in FL Studio (Avicii)

Wake Me Up (2013) was a turning point in EDM. Avicii took acoustic guitar, a soulful gospel-influenced vocal from Aloe Blacc, and a bluegrass fiddle — and turned it into one of the best-selling singles in streaming history.

The chords themselves are simple. The production philosophy behind them is what made the track revolutionary.

Here's how to recreate the core elements in FL Studio.

Step 1: Project Setup

• BPM: 124
• Key: G major (but the chord progression starts on Am)
• Time signature: 4/4

Set your Piano Roll scale to G major. You'll notice most notes in the progression fall within this scale — the track rarely leaves it.

Step 2: The Chord Progression

The main 4-chord loop that drives Wake Me Up:

Bar 1: Am  (A - C - E)
Bar 2: C   (C - E - G)
Bar 3: G   (G - B - D)
Bar 4: Em  (E - G - B)

This is the ii - IV - I - vi pattern relative to G major, but because it starts on Am rather than G, it has a melancholic, searching quality despite being in a major key. The resolution to G in bar 3 feels like a breath of air — but the Em in bar 4 pulls you back into tension before the loop restarts.

In the Piano Roll:

• 4 beats per chord (whole notes)
• Velocity: 85–95, with bar 3 (G major) slightly higher for natural emphasis
• Use close voicings in the mid-range — avoid wide open chord voicings for the main loop

Step 3: The Acoustic Guitar Sound

The acoustic guitar is the sonic identity of Wake Me Up. You can approach this two ways:

Option A: Sample-Based (Recommended for Accuracy)

Use a strumming acoustic guitar loop from Splice or Loopmasters. Search for "acoustic guitar strum" in G or Am. A strummed pattern works better than single-note picking for this track's energy.

Key processing:

• High-pass filter: Cut below 150 Hz (bass guitar and kick need that space)
• Gentle compression: 4:1 ratio, slow attack (50ms), medium release (200ms)
• Room reverb: Small-medium room, 0.8–1.2s decay, 15–20% wet
• EQ cut at 2kHz: Acoustic guitars can sound harsh here; a 2–3 dB cut smooths it out

Option B: VST Plugin

Plugins like Ample Guitar M Lite (free) or Shreddage 3 give you a strumming guitar with velocity sensitivity. Program the strum pattern in the Piano Roll:

• Downstrokes on beats 1 and 3 (strong)
• Upstrokes on the "and" of 2 and 4 (lighter)
• Add slight humanization with velocity variation (±10%)

The strumming pattern has a folk/country feel — it's not a straight-ahead 8th note strum. Listen to the original and map out the down/up pattern.

Step 4: The Bass Line

The bass in Wake Me Up follows the root notes of the chord progression, mostly on beat 1 with some movement:

Am → A (bass note)
C  → C (bass note)
G  → G (bass note, often drops an octave for weight)
Em → E (bass note)

For the bass sound:

• Use a picked bass sample or a simple bass synth (sine or triangle wave)
• Low-pass filter: 600–800 Hz cutoff (keep it clean, no growl needed)
• Apply sidechaining from the kick for the classic pumping EDM feel
• The bass sits at about -8 to -10 dBFS in the mix

Step 5: The EDM Drop Elements

Wake Me Up has a full EDM drop with supersaw leads, despite the acoustic intro. The key is that the chord progression doesn't change — the same Am - C - G - Em loop runs under everything.

For the drop synthesizer:

1. Supersaw lead (same principle as Levels but tuned to G major chords)
2. Slightly warmer timbre than Levels — less high-end harshness
3. Filter the supersaw harder at the high end (low-pass at 10kHz vs 14kHz for Levels)
4. Sidechain from the kick — the pumping effect is more noticeable in Wake Me Up's mix

Drum pattern for the drop:

• Kick: Four-on-the-floor (beats 1, 2, 3, 4) at 124 BPM
• Clap: Beats 2 and 4
• Hi-hat: 8th notes with velocity variation
• The percussion is minimal — the acoustic guitar and fiddle carry the rhythm, not the drums

Step 6: The Breakdown and Build

The acoustic section (verse/pre-chorus) uses:

• Acoustic guitar strumming
• Light drums (shaker, tambourine, soft kick)
• Aloe Blacc's vocal (or a vocal sample in this style)
• Subtle string pads underneath

The build to the drop:

• Strip down to just kick + rising noise synth
• Automate a low-pass filter opening over 8 bars
• Add a noise sweep (white noise pitched up) in the last 2 bars
• Classic reverse cymbal crash on the downbeat of the drop

Step 7: The Folk EDM Philosophy

The most important lesson from Wake Me Up isn't technical — it's philosophical.

Avicii didn't just add an acoustic guitar to an EDM track. He built the whole production around the acoustic element. The acoustic guitar isn't a garnish; it IS the track. The EDM drop is the contrast, not the foundation.

When applying this to your own productions:

• Choose your "unlikely" element first (acoustic instrument, vintage sample, live recording)
• Build the chord progression around that element's natural feel
• Let the electronic elements serve the organic core
• Don't compromise the organic element's quality — use real-sounding acoustic samples, not cheap presets

This is why Avicii's genre-blending worked and so many imitators fell flat. Most producers add an acoustic guitar layer on top of an EDM track. Avicii started with the acoustic guitar and built the EDM layer around it.

Step 8: Mixing the Acoustic-EDM Hybrid

Mixing Wake Me Up-style productions is trickier than pure EDM because you have two sonic worlds colliding:

The key is leaving space. The acoustic guitar occupies the mids very naturally. Don't fight it with synth layers in the same frequency range. Push the synths wider stereo and brighter to occupy different space.

Related Avicii Production Breakdowns

• How to Make Levels in FL Studio — The supersaw blueprint
• How to Make The Nights Chord Progression in FL Studio — Another Avicii chord study
• Applying Avicii's Production Secrets — The principles behind his whole sound
• Music Theory Part 1: Chord Progressions — Understanding why these progressions work emotionally