Tip of the day: Why your song needs a BREAK - 5 Tips

Did you find a way out of the infinite 8 bar loop? Good and congrats!

Did you highspeed in the other direction and your track seems like an endless collection of clips and samples, that get muted and unmuted in differing patterns?

Maybe it´s time for a break. See it both ways if you want. Go to a club and listen to new sounds. Or actually introduce a break in your song, by shutting down almost completely and leave the listener in a new situation. This can be achieved in many ways and all of them are equally suited, to produce dynamic, tension and built up relief, after you took away the beloved kick drum for 1 bar too long.

Try the following techniques or tricks, to to build a drop that does not break your song, but holds it together.

Tip 1: Get high - get low

Use a high or low pass filter on the master or on a group with almost every track routed to. Dial it down and leave the listener with a strange sound, that was only in the background before - maybe some white noise or a metallic sample. Or introduce a new sound or sample, to create a different kind of feeling and atmosphere. BUT, do not stray too far away from where you came from and leave some breadcrumbs to find your way out of the woods again after 16 or 32 bars. To lead back into the known sounds or parts, gives the listener the biggest feeling of reward - you can decide if you want to grant them their sugar or if you want to leave them out there.

Tip 2: Reduce

Leave the listener with vocals and pads only. Or better take away everything they could hold on to like a kick, a bass, a hihat loop or rhythmic figure. Go for layered synths, pads or long chords and strip from drums - you reintroduce them in the build up.

Tip 3: Beatus interruptus

Foreshadow your break by interrupting the drum pattern here and there. That way you even await a break and people can “get ready” for it.

Tip 4: Vocal Sample

Producing techno or house? Introduce a spoken word passage, that fits the vibe of your song. Maybe pitch it down and give it a known flavor, so the listener can always relate what is happening.

Tip 5: Evenly uneven

You do not want you listener to feel safe and/in sound? Vary the length of your breaks and the moments when the kick sets in again. Do 17 bars instead of 16. Pause the bass 2 bars longer than the kick. Build up without the offbeat hihat and let the groove get back to the song after the break seems to be over.

Now take a break or make a break.

Which genre has probably the most breaks? Right, EDM and Future Bass!

Learn how to do a Future Bass Track from Scratch in this online Start to Finish Course!

You will learn: