This week it's time to take a step back through the writing process, and look at putting together song structures and arrangements. Do you struggle to take your exciting eight-bar loops and make them into a fully-featured song? Or do you wonder about how to keep your arrangements interesting? Then read on...
The first issue, and it's an important but not really an obvious one, is that you have to change your thinking about the tune - change your perspective. It's the cue to start thinking much more analytically about your track. Rather than just considering "Do I like it?", you want to be thinking more along the lines of - "What does it actually need to do? What functions does it have to fulfil?"
This might sound a little bit calculating, but it's necessary. There are certain fundamental things your tune will need to do, and understanding that will help things take shape. For example, if you're writing for a rapper, you'll need a verse / chorus structure, and most rappers like to work with sections of 8 or 16 bars. Likewise, if you're writing a track for the DJs and the dancefloor, then you'll need to give them an intro and outro to mix with, or a trance tune may need an epic breakdown. Beyond this, of course, your tune will need to develop or change to hold the listeners interest, it could use a sense of tension and resolution - for instance a build up followed by a full-on section, or a discordant key change that then resolves back to the original key.
So, those are the basic ideas. But we could be getting ahead of ourselves. First, a good thing to do is get a reference track. Find a track you like, in your style, sit down with a pen and do some counting. How long is the intro? Is there a breakdown? How long are the sections in between the breaks? Don't worry, this isn't cheating - it's more like referencing your mixdown against a well produced track to make sure the hihats sound OK.
Once you've got an idea of the shape of the track, start sketching yours out in roughly the same way. Again, don't worry about copying it - no-one ever dislikes a good track on the grounds that it has a 64-bar main section, just like that other track.
That's the easy part, then. From here it's a case of making sure that the track stays interesting enough as it progresses, and once again it may be worth looking to your reference track, to see how things develop. You'll likely be working in sections of 4, 8, or 16 bars, and these are useful signposts to where new ideas could come in, or existing ones could drop out. But don't just get into the rut of bringing in a new idea every eight bars - predictability in the arrangement can be as boring as no changes at all!
So what kind of things can you do to keep your track rolling? Well, here are some suggestions:
Percussion
Add something, or remove something - building up your percussion lines can add a sense of energy. If you're writing a progressive genre like tech-house or minimal, then something as simple as adding a hihat can really give the track a lift. If you're in a more energetic genre, then consider adding a bongo loop, tambourines, ride cymbals and shakers. Remember that dropping percussion out requires a much bigger change to have impact - try taking everything down to just the kick, for example. Or, you could get more creative - try changing the pitch of some of your loops for a few bars, send them to FX channels occasionally for that dubby vibe, or drop in some fills.
Add something, or remove something - building up your percussion lines can add a sense of energy. If you're writing a progressive genre like tech-house or minimal, then something as simple as adding a hihat can really give the track a lift. If you're in a more energetic genre, then consider adding a bongo loop, tambourines, ride cymbals and shakers. Remember that dropping percussion out requires a much bigger change to have impact - try taking everything down to just the kick, for example. Or, you could get more creative - try changing the pitch of some of your loops for a few bars, send them to FX channels occasionally for that dubby vibe, or drop in some fills.
Beef up your riffs
This is a simple idea, but often works well - simply duplicate the melody of your main lead lines or bass lines, but with a different synth; and maybe an octave or two up or down. It will give the track extra hype, the sound some more 'oomph', and won't clutter your arrangement.
This is a simple idea, but often works well - simply duplicate the melody of your main lead lines or bass lines, but with a different synth; and maybe an octave or two up or down. It will give the track extra hype, the sound some more 'oomph', and won't clutter your arrangement.
Melody and harmony
Now, this is a subject which could get very complex, but there are a few simple ideas that you could try which shouldn't be too taxing. For instance, a key change can give a real shift. The most common movements are around 1, 4 and 5 in your scale; so if you're in C, try going up to F, or down to G. Or you could add a high string line - or try the classic electro house trick of doubling your lead riff with something a third (four semitones) higher. On the melody side, you can use some old composition tricks to keep your riff interesting, like 'inversion' - where you swap the notes around vertically, so a rising line would become a falling line, or 'retrograde' - where a melody line is played in reverse.
Now, this is a subject which could get very complex, but there are a few simple ideas that you could try which shouldn't be too taxing. For instance, a key change can give a real shift. The most common movements are around 1, 4 and 5 in your scale; so if you're in C, try going up to F, or down to G. Or you could add a high string line - or try the classic electro house trick of doubling your lead riff with something a third (four semitones) higher. On the melody side, you can use some old composition tricks to keep your riff interesting, like 'inversion' - where you swap the notes around vertically, so a rising line would become a falling line, or 'retrograde' - where a melody line is played in reverse.
Another option with plenty of potential is to have contrasting sections - say, two full loops, each with a different bassline and leadline - that you can switch between. Then you don't just have to develop one idea, and the alternation brings interest of its own.
Ultimately, it's a case of combining both sides of the equation - have a coherent structure (intro, breakdowns, etc) and then make each section keep the listener's interest by using techniques like those above.
So, there's a few suggestions for keeping your tracks rolling without getting boring. There are plenty more of course, but hopefully this will have planted a few seeds on how you can set out your tunes. So, are you ready to take your fledgling 8-bar loop out into the world of the 5 minute track?
