Originally posted by skyhunter
A lot of the big guys use silence.
Spor does, I know that's not Trance but his remix of Stompbox always gets me pumping, and when it goes quiet before the drop it always gets me psyched.
I think that's a great time to use it. Sometimes you'll hear in Pop/EDM the music will drop out for a beat just to keep you on your toes.
Beatflux
quote:
Originally posted by Kysora
I dunno. Drop? Climax? Wikipedia calls it an 'anthem'.. I don't know what to call it.
I always thought of a chorus as a main part of the song that gets repeated between verses and bridges, which is more descriptive of rock than trance.. but like I said I have no idea.
I like that use of speeding up the track in the beginning.
I think the break is too long considering its very "ambient" and just drops in and out with huge jumps in energy.
CalebGolston
Gosh a lot of wasted responses on this thread. It's obvious what the OP means: How do you structure the breakdown to really bring out the climax.
First of all, it is important to keep up with changes in style of anticipation techniques. For example, reverse crashes are losing favour to white noise/wooshing/sweeps up (gated, reversed, ect). Snare rolls are not as common, but still are used sometimes. Filtering instruments in and out during the breakdown is a must now.
I will use bullet points for various things you can do. None of these things are in stone.
-Usually, the kick is left out of the breakdown.
-The last few seconds before the climax are pretty empty. If a snare roll is used, it will stop a few seconds before the drop, not the note before it.
-There is a general sweeping upwards in the last few seconds before the climax.
-YOu don't want to keep repeating the whole main 'phrase' over and over again in the breakdown. Take the last sequence in the phrase and hold it for a while before the drop.
-Usually the first 64 kicks of the drop contain only a kick as far as drums but still have huge eneregy. The rest of the percussion comes in at kick 65.
Those are just some ideas. They are really hard to explain since I don't know the vocab all that well. Also, this is mainly for trance.
Kysora
quote:
Originally posted by Beatflux
I think the break is too long considering its very "ambient" and just drops in and out with huge jumps in energy.
I agree. Not my best attempt. I've used silence in other tracks but not in anything new.
Senator Clay Davis
is chorus the breakdown? wow i learn something new everyday in this forums. mostly stuff i should filter out though, but anyway.
CalebGolston
No, 'chorus' is the climax. His question is about the section which preceds it which is the breakdown.
Senator Clay Davis
ah ok. i used to call it takeoff when i did those kind of things. breakdown and climaxes are really retarded, i see it now after many years. look at timeless tracks, they dont have that . its actually the only thing i hate about classical music too. the silenced parts are good, but then when they unleash the dragon i just skip to next song, its just annoying with a wall of noise.
CalebGolston
I get you. But I saw a quote on a youtube video of an old 2001 Tiesto set that has stuck with me. Someone was complaining about electronic music today and saying how great it was 10 years ago. Someone responded: That was then and it WAS great. But it is never going to be then again, so it is best to enjoy today and live in the present and not wish for the past.
I liked it, since it wasn't dismisive or mean-spirited but really meant something. It helped change my perspective.
derekryan
quote:
Originally posted by Senator Clay Davis
ah ok. i used to call it takeoff when i did those kind of things. breakdown and climaxes are really retarded, i see it now after many years. look at timeless tracks, they dont have that . its actually the only thing i hate about classical music too. the silenced parts are good, but then when they unleash the dragon i just skip to next song, its just annoying with a wall of noise.
I think most timeless tracks actually DO have those - they're just used a bit differently.
Alot of old school tracks are more "tracky" in the breakdown and just introduce the theme immediately without all the atmosphere and cinematics (think Ferry's 2001 sets).
But they still break down and climax after - it's been a hallmark of trance since forever to use different dynamics and evolving sections to tweak emotions and energy levels.
People just use different techniques nowadays.
-FSP-
Well it depends on how the core structure of your song is to begin with. It'll just evolve into the chorus.
Sorry for the simple answer, but your question was kind of simple to begin with.
Senator Clay Davis
quote:
Originally posted by derekryan
I think most timeless tracks actually DO have those - they're just used a bit differently.
Alot of old school tracks are more "tracky" in the breakdown and just introduce the theme immediately without all the atmosphere and cinematics (think Ferry's 2001 sets).
But they still break down and climax after - it's been a hallmark of trance since forever to use different dynamics and evolving sections to tweak emotions and energy levels.
People just use different techniques nowadays.
yeah thats very true. for example this one track, old as hell, totally takes of put it doesnt have much automation of such. its some though but its more about just changing parts and muting elemenents etc. so very direct! pure. lol. i love the in-your-face factor of the old stuff. it does actually have some filtered leads though lol.
meriter
quote:
Originally posted by CalebGolston
First of all, it is important to keep up with changes in style of anticipation techniques. For example, reverse crashes are losing favour to white noise/wooshing/sweeps up (gated, reversed, ect). Snare rolls are not as common, but still are used sometimes. Filtering instruments in and out during the breakdown is a must now.
I will use bullet points for various things you can do. None of these things are in stone.
-Usually, the kick is left out of the breakdown.
-The last few seconds before the climax are pretty empty. If a snare roll is used, it will stop a few seconds before the drop, not the note before it.
-There is a general sweeping upwards in the last few seconds before the climax.
-YOu don't want to keep repeating the whole main 'phrase' over and over again in the breakdown. Take the last sequence in the phrase and hold it for a while before the drop.
-Usually the first 64 kicks of the drop contain only a kick as far as drums but still have huge eneregy. The rest of the percussion comes in at kick 65.
How cookie-cutter and depressing. And predictable and boring.
quote:
Originally posted by Kysora
Silence is always good for anticipation
My friends and I have dubbed this the 'ecstasy fake.' It's when there's some over-blown buildup and the producer doesn't know how to bring it all together at the most crucial moment so obviously he decides the right thing to do is nothing. When you're out of your mind this is a somewhat effective approach but most of the time it just defuses the energy and leaves you feeling empty inside like a handjob without the sticky ending.
