Take On Me - A-ha - Synth Intro Reconstruction - One Man Band

Take On Me — A-ha

The signature synth arpeggio played on a Roland Juno-60 is one of the most instantly recognisable keyboard riffs in pop music — the song is virtually defined by it. Here's my one-man-band reconstruction.

🇪🇸 Versión en español

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🇬🇧 English

🎵 The Song

• Artist: A-ha
• Year: 1985
• Album: Hunting High and Low
• Fun Fact: Magne Furuholmen wrote the arpeggio riff at age 15, originally titling it "Miss Eerie" — it sat in a drawer for years before becoming the backbone of A-ha's global breakthrough.

🎹 The Challenge

The signature synth arpeggio played on a Roland Juno-60 is one of the most instantly recognisable keyboard riffs in pop music — the song is virtually defined by it.

The 1985 hit version was built around Furuholmen's Roland Juno-60 for the lead arpeggio, PPG Wave for shimmering pad layers, and a Yamaha DX7 for bass and percussive textures — all driven by Alan Tarney's UMI MIDI sequencer for metronomic precision.

🛠️ Recording Notes

• Type: Synth Intro
• BPM: ~169 · Key: A major · Time Signature: 4/4
• Short Duration: ~0:40

This recording uses 5 instruments: Drums, Bass, J60 Piano (stack: 5-5 + 5-5 B) entering at bar 4 (m.4–24), Synths entering at bar 8 (m.8–24) and Vocals.

#	Instrument	Type	Role	Bars
1	Millenium Electronic Drum Kit	Electronic Drum Kit	Drums	—
2	Harley Benton JB-75MN Black Vintage Series	Electric Bass	Bass	—
3	Roland JU-06A×3	Analog-style Polyphonic Synthesizer	J60 Piano (stack: 5-5 + 5-5 B)	m.4–24
4	Yamaha MODX8×2	Digital Synthesizer Workstation	Synths	m.8–24
5	Voz		Vocals	—

🎙 REAPER — TRACK VIEW

Synth Intro  ·  BPM ~169  ·  A major  ·  4/4  ·  ~0:40

Reverb

OrilRiver

Drums

Millenium Electronic Drum Kit

BASS1

Harley Benton JB-75MN Black Vintage Series

B1 MMIDIp10c0m.8–24

J60 Piano

5-5m.4–14

Roland JU-06A

5-5MMIDIp8c4m.4–13

5-5 Bm.4–8

Roland JU-06A

5-5 B MMIDIp8c4m.4–9

Clav

Yamaha MODX8

Pad

Yamaha MODX8

Y PADm.8–24

Yamaha MODX8

Y Pad MMIDIp10c0m.8–24

5-1m.8–24

Roland JU-06A

Pad MMIDIp8c0m.8–24

Voice

Voz

Lead

5-2m.13–24

Roland JU-06A

5-2 HIGHm.13–24

Roland JU-06A

7-7m.13–24

Roland JU-06A

📺 Watch the Short

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🇪🇸 Español

🎵 La Canción

• Artista: A-ha
• Año: 1985
• Álbum: Hunting High and Low
• Dato curioso: La exitosa versión de 1985 se construyó alrededor del Roland Juno-60 de Furuholmen para el arpegio solista, PPG Wave para capas de pads brillantes y un Yamaha DX7 para bajos y texturas de percusión, todo impulsado por el secuenciador MIDI UMI de Alan Tarney para precisión metronómica.

🎹 El Reto

El arpegio de sintetizador característico que se toca en un Roland Juno-60 es uno de los riffs de teclado más reconocibles al instante en la música pop: la canción queda prácticamente definida por él.

La exitosa versión de 1985 se construyó alrededor del Roland Juno-60 de Furuholmen para el arpegio solista, PPG Wave para capas de pads brillantes y un Yamaha DX7 para bajos y texturas de percusión, todo impulsado por el secuenciador MIDI UMI de Alan Tarney para precisión metronómica.

🛠️ La Grabación

• Tipo: Synth Intro
• BPM: ~169 · Tonalidad: A major · Compás: 4/4
• Duración del Short: ~0:40

Esta grabación utiliza 5 instrumentos: Drums, Bass, J60 Piano (stack: 5-5 + 5-5 B) entrando en el compás 4 (m.4–24), Synths entrando en el compás 8 (m.8–24) y Vocals.

#	Instrumento	Tipo	Rol	Compases
1	Millenium Electronic Drum Kit	Electronic Drum Kit	Drums	—
2	Harley Benton JB-75MN Black Vintage Series	Electric Bass	Bass	—
3	Roland JU-06A×3	Analog-style Polyphonic Synthesizer	J60 Piano (stack: 5-5 + 5-5 B)	m.4–24
4	Yamaha MODX8×2	Digital Synthesizer Workstation	Synths	m.8–24
5	Voz		Vocals	—

🎙 REAPER — TRACK VIEW

Synth Intro  ·  BPM ~169  ·  A major  ·  4/4  ·  ~0:40

Reverb

OrilRiver

Drums

Millenium Electronic Drum Kit

BASS1

Harley Benton JB-75MN Black Vintage Series

B1 MMIDIp10c0m.8–24

J60 Piano

5-5m.4–14

Roland JU-06A

5-5MMIDIp8c4m.4–13

5-5 Bm.4–8

Roland JU-06A

5-5 B MMIDIp8c4m.4–9

Clav

Yamaha MODX8

Pad

Yamaha MODX8

Y PADm.8–24

Yamaha MODX8

Y Pad MMIDIp10c0m.8–24

5-1m.8–24

Roland JU-06A

Pad MMIDIp8c0m.8–24

Voice

Voz

Lead

5-2m.13–24

Roland JU-06A

5-2 HIGHm.13–24

Roland JU-06A

7-7m.13–24

Roland JU-06A

📺 Ver el Short

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