Arrangements

[misk]

Im curious, ive been reading a lot about arrangements recently, and i was wondering, how are people arranging their dubstep tracks here? Im definitely not asking for a formula i can copy, but instead, im curious as to how people are defining their own style through their arrangements.

Its definitely inspiring to find a genre where its possible to have so many different arrangements, and i wanted to see what people here are doing. I notice that tracks go from super DJ friendly, to crazy ass experiemental (or as is the case with my first two tracks, no break in the middle). So, keeping the topic of production at the forefront of peoples minds here, how do you use arrangement as a way of expressing yourself, and how are you arrangeing your tracks?

[blk plague]

for me, i do what sounds good, what makes me want to skank out. i like to have some part of the percussion somewhere in the beginning before the bassline, so if you decided, it would mix easier. im also using more silence as of late. ive made some changes to the music i posted up a few weeks ago. when the new versions are done, hopefully this will shed some light on what im trying to explain and bring you some enjoyment as well. till then....

[parson]

i used to have like all these layers in 8 bar loops and try to drag them all across several minutes and subtract what i didn't want, which is a terrible way to arrange imo

nowadays i'll lengthen the track as more parts are added and by the time i am finished adding sounds i will have it pretty arranged.

[shonky]

i used to have like all these layers in 8 bar loops and try to drag them all across several minutes and subtract what i didn't want, which is a terrible way to arrange imo

Yeah, erm dreadful, tut, er...I wouldn't know anything about that of course.

Oh, look out the window...pretty birdie...(runs...)

[batfink]

i used to have like all these layers in 8 bar loops and try to drag them all across several minutes and subtract what i didn't want, which is a terrible way to arrange imo

good god man pull yourself together. what in the name of god possessed you to do such a thing. bloody hell.





ps.

[airtight]

i used to have like all these layers in 8 bar loops and try to drag them all across several minutes and subtract what i didn't want, which is a terrible way to arrange imo

the Skint method?

[metalboxproducts]

4 maybe 5

[lycaon_prod]

start with n intro
breakdown/buildup
drop no 1
drop no 2 new theme
middle passage
bring biack drop number 1
outro
thats the sort of thing i usually go for
its good to have some sort of progression (or at least longer phrasing) within each section to keep thigns going too...
so many dance producers just have 1 idea n build the track around that
if yr real skilled you can pull it off but more often n not it sounds a bit lazy n turgid. works ok for djin tho....

[parson]

i used to have like all these layers in 8 bar loops and try to drag them all across several minutes and subtract what i didn't want, which is a terrible way to arrange imo

the Skint method?

hey the man taught me everything i know

[jahtao]

I've always seen the arrangement lycaon mentions as dance music's equivalent of the 'three acts' structure in plays or the 'begining-middle-end' structure of stories that children learn about. Verse-chorus-mid8 in pop.

And fantastic work in all genres and mediums has been done like this but....

I've been disappointed with the approach to structure by Dubstep artists, especially those who readily push boundaries in other areas - eg sonics. And as the scene is so self-confident about its place in the world.

Arrangement-wise, its basically not easily distinguishable from new skool breaks or dnb in this respect.

Is it?

Side note: In film, playing with structure is often central to what makes for interesting viewing. (Last one i saw like this was Chun King Expres by Won Ka Wai - if anyone was wondering).

Sorry for hi-jacking the discussion.

[shonky]

Jahtao - I don't think that'd necessarily work with the film comparison. Be interesting to see the dubstep equivalent of 21 grams though (drop, intro, drop, first section, second section, pre-drop, outro, intro, etc).

I think a lot of it depends on what sort of quality you're looking for - a lot of the drop end is coming in more from drum and bass where a more bombastic approach is more common, but the older stuff seemed to take more from minimal techno where it was more of a hypnotic effect. Loads of the more garagey influenced end of dubstep didn't really seem to have drops as such, just sections where the parts thinned out to make them easier to mix.

Geiom's stuff seems to be quite interesting in arrangement, far more subtle than just fade out then boom drops which seems to be de rigeur at the moment. Left Leg Out seems to go for a a different dynamic too, very minimal but quite unpredictable, and a lot of Kode 9's tunes seem to work to a different agenda too.

[misk]

its all good, thread doesnt feel hijacked. all the responses have been great for sure. Ive been reading "the idiots guide to music composition" which is a pretty kick ass place to start if you even have super-basic music theory abilities like me.

meaning you can distinguish where the rest of the notes are if you can find C on a keyboard

this book is more about melodic composition than song structure, but its a great inspiration.

oh and parson, i took apart big killaz and analyzed the structure quite extensively. im remixing a track based on what ive learned from yours and other's tracks.

Arrangement is my weak point, so id like to get better. big ups to everyone posting here.

[parson]

crazay

[joseph-j]

*quiet*
Louder
Louder
Louder
Louder

*quiet*

Louder
Louder
Louder
Loudest

end

...sorry, been listening to the Pixies a lot recently.

[kidkip]

personally i like to follow some arrangements from the metalcore scene, start of banging, then have a breakdown, then banging, then a beatdown, then outro maybe fade out. but i always feel arrangements have to organised so that they do sound too repeatative, gotta keep it interesting even if it is minimal

[lycaon_prod]

I've always seen the arrangement lycaon mentions as dance music's equivalent of the 'three acts' structure in plays or the 'begining-middle-end' structure of stories that children learn about. Verse-chorus-mid8 in pop.

n of course the classic sonata form:

Exposition -> Development -> Recapitulation