One of the most common questions that comes up for novice producers, is how to get started on arranging a tune. It's all very well getting an 8 bar loop together, but what do you do with that once you've got the basic groove? Many people come unstuck at this point, so this week we're going to look at a few simple tips to get you started...Remember that these are general guidelines, and although they'll show you some fairly generic arrangement ideas, there's no harm in following them. A "forum" argument you'll see frequently is that people don't want to use the same track structure as everybody else, they want to be more original than that. Which is a valid point, but frankly if you're struggling to get an arrangement down in the first place, it's basically irrelevant - like so many of the arts, you need to get the basics mastered first. Then when you can knock out a good, effective arrangement easily, you can start to vary it and make it more original...
Dubstep
What with Korn's recent (and much-mocked) announcement that they've been doing dubstep since before it even existed, it seems that this unruly upstart of a genre has finally taken over the mainstream. But it still has its common characteristics like everything else, and a quick glance at the hugely popular Youtube channel UKF will show numerous comments pointing out that all the tunes seem to drop 55 seconds into the track. This is no coincidence; 55 seconds is equal to 32 bars at 140BPM. A dubstep intro, therefore, is usually 32 bars, and frequently these days takes a form closer to a build up; introducing a simple hihat or percussion pattern for beatmatching purposes, plenty of big reverb sounds for atmosphere, and most of the melodic content of the track being established here. The second set of 16 bars can build dramatically with big white-noise whooshes, kick rolls, and other tricks to make the drop sound emphatic.Once you're into the drop, and your bassline is rolling, you need to manage your switch-ups. Deeper dubstep can sit in a groove for a long time, with perhaps a subtle change in bass patterns or sounds every 8 or 16 bars. More hyped, "filth" sounds change constantly; fills every 4 (or even 2) bars, changing the bass patches every few bars, bringing in new percussion every 8 bars and also perhaps using your main melodic theme (from the intro) for the last 2 bars of an 8 bar phrase.
After a 64 bar drop, an 8 or 16 bar breakdown will give your track time to breathe before the 2nd drop. This can be a reprise of the intro - bring the melodies back in, and perhaps use a buildup again, depending on how "hype" your tune needs to be. In the 2nd drop you should employ a different bass pattern or sound to keep the interest up. A 32 bar section here will suffice, before you move on to an outro of 16 bars or so - most dubstep DJs don't even let a track get this far before mixing out.
Hip-hop
Hip-hop, with its emphasis on vocal tracks, employs a much more song-based verse/chorus/bridge approach. This makes things easier for the producer; there is less importance placed on interesting structures, and indeed much hip-hop doesn't change, rhythmically, between the verse and the chorus. You only know it's the chorus because the MC goes into their hookline, and perhaps there's an extra backing vocal. Verses are typically 8 or 16 bars, and choruses are generally 8 bars. You really need to keep to these structures to help your MC; they'll be practised at working to 8 bar phrases and trying to be too clever is frequently counter-productive here. If you don't want to change the beat much for the chorus, it can still help to add in some percussion like a cowbell or some bongos to give a subtle lift. Equally, within your verses it's often interesting to have certain elements come in and out on 2 or 4 bar sections to give the vocalist something to bounce off.Intros can be kept short; 8 bars will usually suffice, and outros can be equally short, even using a fadeout. One thing to consider is using the vocal hook or chorus from the outset; if it's a strong chorus people will want to hear it, and there are plenty of tracks out there that start with the chorus. The only really tricky part is the bridge; generally a simple way of treating this is to use a key-change. Then when you change key back to the original, it gives a great sense of momentum as you swing back into the track.
House
House music is a different beast again, and possibly the most open-ended of the genres covered here. There are only a few essentials; you need to start and finish with some fairly simple percussive action for DJing purposes. You should also try to leave too much melodic content out of the early stages of the track; if someone is blending it in the mix, it may just end up clashing with the track already playing. Beyond that, it's just a case of whatever you can do to keep it interesting; house tends to be more progressive in nature so you need to be able to introduce new elements regularly to keep the flow moving. It doesn't need to "drop" so a subtle progression is often preferable. This can be done by adding in percussion elements, adding harmonies to your riffs, or gradually opening a filter on your bass or lead line.Breakdowns and buildups are not always necessary beyond having a breather from the main groove; if you're going for a classic US house sound, then simply dropping out the kick and some of the bass may work well. If, however, you're working on an electro house sound, then a big 16 or even 32 bar breakdown, complete with woosh noises, kick rolls and soaring riffs will be essential. See our recent article on buildups for more tips on that front. After the breakdown you can return to the original groove - gentle switchups are useful to keep the interest levels up, but introducing a whole new vibe isn't always necessary. A long, beat-driven outro of 16 or 32 bars will help DJs mix out of the tune.
So, if you're really stuck for arrangement ideas, just follow one of these simple guides. Once you've got a basic structure down you can tweak it away from the norm - but remember that no house or dubstep track ever got a bad review on the basis of it's unadventurous 32-bar intro! Keep things simple, and you'll be able to focus on the stuff that's really important - a good groove, strong melodies and a solid bassline. So no excuses - load up that idea that's been sitting in your DAW for weeks and get started....
