Are your tracks lacking that drama and emotional edge needed for the dancefloor? We look into how to make an EDM drop with various methods.
How to make an EDM Drop
Creating drops or build-ups is one of the cornerstones of dance music production. What began with flashing lights, smoke machines, and hands in the air has become a powerful compositional tool used in so many different forms of music.
How to make an EDM Drop: The Rhythm Section
Like harmonies, rhythms can also be used to build anticipation and tension. Start by cutting all the percussive elements for the first few bars of your drop, and then automate a gradual rise in the volume of a rhythm that contrasts with the main pulse of your track.
By introducing an 8-step clap or snare loop with hits on the 1st, 4th, and 7th steps, we have a common rhythm signature that will work in most “4-on-the-floor” orientated tracks. This contrasting emphasis on elements that occur off-beat creates what is known as metric dissonance.
As an arrangement element, we can apply this technique virtually anywhere. However, in the context of a drop we want to temporarily shift our listener’s focus onto this new pattern and away from the main rhythmic signature of the track.
Leaving a bar or two of silence before the track kicks back in can add even more drama, which works in some cases. This rhythmic repetition to build your drop can also be applied to synths and other elements, so experiment and find what works best in your track.
How to make an EDM Drop: Synthesis
Synth elements like pitch rises, filter sweeps, and white noise are some of the most obvious elements implemented in EDM drops. In fact, they are so widely used that they have become dance music clichés that festival audiences almost can’t live without.
Luckily, we can use these preconceptions to our advantage. By taking our own unique approach to even the most commonplace of sounds, we can create earth-shattering drops without having to reinvent the wheel.
As we’ve discussed with percussive elements, sweeps and rises can also be used rhythmically. With some creative layering and interlocking patterns, we can build drops that are uniquely our own, while still having those classic EDM hallmarks.
When your drop reaches its peak, focus on the tails of your sounds as the track breaks back in. Adding some delay here and there is a nice shortcut to make the transition smoother. Also, you can apply sidechain compression to rhythmically duck any sound in your mix.
How to make an EDM Drop: Reverb
Reverb is a powerful spatial effect that can be used to thicken sounds and draw the listener’s focus away from the front of the mix. To transform sounds during a drop, we can automate reverb sends or the wet/dry mix of the effects plug-in.
With this technique, the sound starts off dry and then moves into the reverberant field as the drop unfolds. To ensure that this transfer sounds smooth and natural, try using real-time automation with a controller or creating curves within the automation lanes.
You can also automate the reverb’s decay time to create an effect that makes the apparent size of the reverb grow or shrink over time. Equally, by adding a slow, wide How to make an EDM Drop to your reverb you can stretch the stereo of your sounds.
Once again, pay careful attention to the reverb tails as you reach the end of your drop. The way you orchestrate the overlapping sounds is important, as any cracks in the tapestry will be magnified once the track is mastered.
How to make an EDM Drop: Harmonies
Around 2012, EDM reached mainstream popularity and stylistically imprinted itself onto many of the major pop records of the time, like Rihanna’s Unapologetic. As a result, EDM producers used this to their advantage, and many found success in this new pop sensibility.
Today, one of the ways in which EDM and Pop have fused is when harmonies are used in drops. Of course, in pop songwriting, this is nothing new, as bridges and mid-eights have used harmonic contrasts for decades.
Writing a melodic vocal part or synth line is extremely effective because it adds to that heightened emotional atmosphere of a dancefloor. By approaching it from a compositional point of view, instead of purely sound design, we have more power to create drama within any track.
One artist or band we can use for reference for this technique is Pendulum. Over time, they mastered this blend of electronic music dynamics and emotional transferences, making this an ever-present feature throughout their catalogue.
How to make an EDM Drop: Breaking the Rules
No matter how prevalent a particular trend may be within music production, there will always be times when a song is released that goes against the stereotypes we’ve created in our minds.
What this demonstrates is that we don’t necessarily need to rely on one specific sound or stick to a certain formula to create a successful dance record, and this is a refreshing thought indeed.
More than anything, the purpose of a drop is simply to create a musical passage with dynamics that contrast with the rest of the song. Because we can create dynamics by stripping down or increasing the density of our composition, we don’t even need to lose the kick.
A prime example of this is Dennis Ferrer’s Hey Hey, where he deftly uses elements like strings, noise, and vocal dynamics to create and release tension throughout, without dropping the kick from the arrangement.
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