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thanx merryxmas
DISCLAIMER: The following
article tackles DnB from a dancefloor perspective. The internet has
spawned a strange culture of producers who have never SEEN a dancefloor yet
struggle to make their tracks sound like the latest Digital release (which
is designed for a DJ to use to get people all hot and sweaty). If your
making tracks only for other producers to download on MP3 or for kids to
listen to in their bedrooms, you have the freedom to do whatever the hell
you want. Take it already.
Also, none of the
following is meant to be dogmatic in any way; DnB is always evolving and
nothing is set in stone. Notice I made up terms for the different
parts of a track and the different sonic elements; youre not obligated to
use these in your everyday speech. Take a chill pill if you need
one...
HOW TO MAKE A DRUM N BASS TRACK
By Demon Seed
This article doesnt deal with the specifics of how to make bass
sounds, program breaks, or purchasing/using gear. There are already a
million other sources for that stuff on the web. This is for those
cats who can program a phat break, know how to work their synth, but when it
comes time to lay down 6 minutes of funk, they get stuck.
THE THREE
FUNCTIONS OF PRODUCTION
Producing a track involves three basic
functions. Put your heart and soul into every part, focusing your
energies on each, so that when put together, the final product is absolutely
mindblowing. Well actually you don't have to work THAT hard- as long
as you know the rule of Where The Work Goes..
The Rule Of
Where The Work Goes
In DnB production, originality and innovation is
a prime concern. However, the law of "Where The Work Goes"
lets you chill out a bit and enjoy using those things that we already know
and love. The law is as follows: Its OK to occasionally use a
"standard " element ( a sine wave for a bass, a basic two step or
amen break, etc), as long as you do something really dope elsewhere to pick
up the slack. For example, there are still people making smooth
"intelligent" style tracks using the "think"
break. They can get away with it too. Why? Well, if
you just spent 10+ hours crafting a georgeous symphony of pads and fx, you
can use "funky drummer" for all I care.
That said,
lets check out the different functions that go into producing a track.
A good way to work is to handle each task one by one, in order.
This is just a guideline, of course- even then you'll still find
yourself jumping back and forth a bit from job to job as your work
progresses and you go back and change things.
FUNCTION ONE:
SOUND DESIGN/SAMPLING
Here's where you make or find some kick-ass
sounds. Check out other sources for how to make your soft synth go
baaaarooom or how to compress your drums for punchiness. Some
things to remember though:
Drums: Make sure your kit
"works" together, that the different sounds complement each other.
Bass: Best to create a new one in your synth or softsynth than to
sample one off your favorite Photek record. DnB heads dig those
oh-so-fresh-and-new bass sounds...
FX: Get alot of these, you'll
need them. Bleeps, noises, wierd swooshes, whatever. Don't sweat
them too much- if it sounds cool, grab it. These arent meant to be the focus
of your track (keep reading).
Sound design is the cornerstone of
great DnB. The more you can learn about how to manipulate sound- how to make
interesting bass noises, how to get that kick to "punch" just
right, how to create twisted sound FX, the better. The best producers
(DnB or otherwise) are obsessive creators, manipulators, and collectors of
sound- they spend hours twisting the shit out of their synths to create new
patches, they hunt used record bins for that old Prince album just to sample
the dope snare on it. Do the same.
FUNCTION TWO: WRITING/PROGRAMMING
Again, check out other sources (like Spinwarp) for how to do this
well. Here's where you build your basic hooks and phrases, using the
pieces you found or made during sound design/sampling.
Some
thoughts:
1. The search for new and creative programming (like
new break patterns) may take you into wierd territory. Dont make
that shit too tweaky unless you want your stuff to be listened to primarily
in the dorms of nerdy college students (yes, Plug rocks).
2.
As always, the best way to learn is to LISTEN. Jock that break
pattern off your favorite track, using different drums. Copy that
bassline off the anthem of the moment, using a different bass sound
and moving the notes around a bit to make it new and unrecognizable.
From the old comes the new.
Now as you start programming, keep
in mind not all the elements of your track are created equal. Each of
your ideas will fall into a different category based on what role it's meant
to play:
HOOKS: These are your main ideas- the heart of your track.
Breaks, basslines, synth lines, percussion patterns, all that dope
shit. Again, originality is generally the key, but keeping in mind
"Where The Work Goes", feel free to lets say, have your bassline
be really simple if you found or synthesized a hot new bass sound that
noones ever used before.
PHRASES: These are minor hooks that
"play off" of your main hooks, providing countermelody and all
that other musical mumbo-jumbo. Examples would be a little 2
note-bassline that plays at the end of every 8 bars of your main bassline ,
a little synth or piano tinkle that appears here and there, whatever.
Things like drum fills (like maybe a 1 bar amen that comes in and out)
might fit the bill too.
FX: These are "ambient"
(meaning background) sounds- they add atmosphere, flavor, and mood, but they
are not the focus of your track. They are there to break the monotony,
giving the dancers some stimulation for the brain while the bassline and
beat shakes their asses. You dont have to write patterns or lines for all of
these. As a matter of fact, during arrangement you'll make special
effort not to make their pattern too repetitious or noticable,
otherwise it falls into the category of a hook.
CHANGE-UPS: These are your secret weapons to keep your track
rolling- these aren't sounds, just ideas for cool stuff you can do to the
samples and loops you're already using. Dropping a kick drum out for a beat,
drum shuffling, filtering your bassline in and out (or your break), doing a
sudden flange or other effect on a sample or break, whatever.
Generally it's it's a good idea to wait until after youv'e already
arranged your track to worry about these (do what ya like though).
These categories are FAR from rigid. For example, an FX played
reguarly enough becomes a hook of sorts. If you put a droning bass
note after every 16 bars of your main bassline, is that a phrase or an FX?
Isnt it really just part of a long, 16-bar hook? Who knows and
who cares. The point of all this isn't to obsessively label all your
ideas. Its just about understanding that not every element in your
track is meant to play a starring role. Try to give every element top
billing and youll end up making something that sounds like a '92 rave anthem
(yes, Acen rules).
FUNCTION THREE: ARRANGEMENT.
Now
it's time to fire up your sequencer. Here's where you put everything
together, giving each element in it's proper place loopwise. Your
hooks are just that -HOOKS- mean to be noticed and remembered, so they are
heard (looped) the most. Your phrases play off the main hooks and
accentuate them, but generally take a back seat and so repeat much less.
Your FX are there to add atmosphere- you don't need to make a
recognizable pattern or put much logic or reasoning into their arrangement-
just put-em in prime spots where they sound cool. (you dont even need to
repeat all of them).
A good way to work is to build a
"skeleton" arrangement with your hooks and phrases, getting
down the basic structure. After that you can go in and flesh out the
track with your FX and add variation to your loops with some change-ups.
BASIC DANCEFLOOR DNB STRUCTURE
I'll start by clearing
up a big misconception about producing dance music and dnb in particular.
Im sure you all know about the "breakdown" (where your beat
drops out and the bass kicks in)-- how it comes in the middle part of a
track. WRONG. Well, kind of wrong.
THE BREAKDOWN IS THE
NOT THE MIDDLE OF YOUR TRACK, ITS THE BEGINNING.
You see,
there's a reason why dance music tracks are 5-7 minutes long while most
other (less repetitous) music clocks in like 3 or 4 minutes. Dance
music is meant to be played by DJs for people to DANCE to (see the
connection?). The first minute or so of your track is designed for a
DJ to be able to match it up with another record.- it's just mixing space.
Your core audience won't really hear it except chopped up between
another track or fading in under it. This doesn't mean you have
permission to make it weak, especially since DJs and other producers and of
course record labels WILL be giving a listen. Just know that as far as
the dancefloor is concerned, it's not really the beginning- the beginning
comes when the DJ slides the fader over during the breakdown.
That
said, here's a good "template" for your basic dancefloor DnB
track. Obviously you'll find records that break this mold- as we speak
people are already starting to experiment with shorter tracks and other ways
to "build" DnB (trainspotters- reread the disclaimer, up top).
Still, the basic structure below will probably be around for a while
due to it's proven effectiveness. The format is simple: INTRO, GROOVE,
ROLLOUT, RELOAD, OUTRO.
INTRO: Mixing space.
Noone hears this stuff except for record collectors like us; most DnB
heads out for a night of dancing simply wont. You can
"tease" your listener with filtered or otherwise altered versions
of your hooks/phrases, or wow 'em with some clever FX, but don't give away
your favorite ideas in your intro, because it wont to be heard(much).
A good idea is to save this part until sometime after you've built
your groove(below)- you can then decide which ideas to go back and
"introduce" or just go back and orchestrate some wicked FX
madness.
GROOVE: This usually starts with the infamous
breakdown, so the crowd can get all hyped up and brock out when the beats
kick back in. This is the "main part" of your track, and, as
mentioned, is the TRUE BEGINNING of it. You dont have to hold back
here- Give 'em a good 64 bars or so of your main hooks before you take em to
the next level...
ROLLOUT. Heres where your track gets amped
up. This is your climax, where you essentially "raise the
stakes". This often takes the form of harder or more frantic
percussion, whether it be adding a hard snare or adding congas or doubling
up on hihats/shakers or adding an amen. You can also add new
hooks/phrases/FX or do some freaky change-ups with ones you already got.
Again, great ideas are as near as your record collection.
RELOAD:
Now that you have your dancers screaming for more, do them a favor and
give it to them. This is a kind of shorter repeat of your
groove/rollout-a hybrid combination if you will- oftentimes starting
with another breakdown . It needs to be slightly different this time
around though . You can do this by introducing new elements, or you
can use change-ups to keep it rolling.
OUTRO: Here the track
"deconstructs"- things dropping out and what have you. You know
how it goes. This stuff aint meant to be sweated over- like with the intro,
your'e just giving the DJ some beats and noises so he has time to mix
the next record in. Using your intro again or a little variation of it can
work.
Again, a good way to work is from general to specific.
Loop your hooks/phrases and get the framework done, then spread out
your FX and make change-ups where your loops seem too repetitous. As
you arrange you'll probably go back and forth to your other functions as
producer- making/finding new sounds you might need, reprogramming
breaks and lines, etc.
IN A NUTSHELL
(CONCLUSION)
Producing is a three part job- you make and/or choose
sounds, you program the different elements, then you sequence the pieces
together (not neccesarily in that order). The heart of your DnB track is in
the middle (which is actually the beginning)- the groove- full of memorable
hooks and supporting phrases that climaxes to a fullon rollout assault.
Then you reload- taking them for the same ride, but freaking it just a
little different.. Sprinkle some FX all around and add change-ups to
your loops to keep it interesting. Sandwich the whole thing between a
sweet little intro/outro so the DJ can put it in his set.
Shake-don't stir, look both ways before crossing the
street, be nice to your mama (or mum). Peace.
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