Hello beautiful person. Welcome back to the blog.
My name is Chu and today we are going to be going over beat arrangement.
Go listen to Praxi’s EP :)
My approach to beat arrangement is done in three parts:
- basic structuring
- transitions and drops
- automation.
I’m gonna show you how these very simple steps can transform any 8 bar loop into an expertly organized symphony.
THE BEAT
Alright, first we need a beat.
You can check out the video above to see and hear how I put that together.
BASIC STRUCTURING
Once I finished the beat, I split our main pattern into its individual instruments, brought each one into the playlist, and copied it over three times so that there were 4 16 bar sections. Since I actually arrange my beats 8 bars at a time, I also sliced each 16 bar section in half.
My typical arrangement style goes as follows: 8 bar introduction, 16 bar chorus, 24 bar verse.
Traditionally, beats intro with no drums, so that’s what I did here. The only pattern that I left unmuted was the Rhodes melody.
You can diversify things if you want and you can even get really unique and start with your drums right away, but for the sake of this lesson, I decided to keep it simple and follow the traditional method of doing things.
Normally, I would follow this introduction by jumping straight into the chorus, but since I made this sub-bass pattern, I used it to build more tension in the introduction before the drums drop. So after the first 8 bars of just the Rhodes, I followed that with another 8 bars of Rhodes accompanied by the sub-bass.
After that, I made a two-part 16 bar chorus. The first 8 bars of the chorus had all the drums and instruments playing with no bass or 808, and the second part is the same thing just with the 808 added in.
I followed up with a three-part 24 part verse. For the first 8 bars of the verse, I kept all the drums playing except for the kick, 808, and snare.
I did this to relieve some of that tension that is created as the drums build up and play out in the chorus. For this section, I also had the Rhodes play as the only instrument.
In the second 8 bar section of the chorus, I had every pattern come back in, excluding the sub bass of course.
For the last 8 bar section of the verse, the only patterns not playing are the pluck melody, the kick pattern and the sub bass.
This can be be duplicated over to create a second chorus - verse sequence in the song. And now, the 8 bar section that was initially the introduction in the first section, now acts as a bridge or pre chorus in the second section.
It can also be another 8 bars to the verse. The objective is for these last 8 bars to be used as the artist wants to, which is why I usually choose to leave it with no drums.
This is the typical structure of my beats. And I usually take this whole section and duplicate it over twice. This makes a two verse song.
I use the third section to create the outro. I just cut off a portion of it and do a little fade out by creating an automation clip from the master volume in the mixer.
TRANSITIONS AND DROPS: Production Engineering
Drops and transitions are where you create the energy in a beat. It’s usually the quality that allows very simple beats to stand out.
Recently, the role of adding drops and transitions has been delegated to the engineer, leading many individuals in the music industry to start making the statement that engineers are quote-unquote “the new producers”. While I'm not exactly ready to go off on that ledge, I do understand the sentiment.
It's one thing to make the beat, but it is sort of an entirely different thing when you create the musical emotion that people end up receiving. Either way, I believe that the ability to create energy through transitions and drops is an essential concept for a producer to understand.
TRANSITIONS AND DROPS: DROPS
Okay, so I have a couple of go “drops” that I like to do. None of them are real things and I gave them corny names just so each one would be easier to remember.
They are simple, and aren't uniquely my own, but I believe you'll be able to use these as building blocks to craft your own unique drops.
CLAP SKIP
This is a technique I like to use when I am rounding up an 8-bar section, most times at the end of the chorus. In order to preempt a relief in drum tension, I will cut out all mid and low range drum sounds hitting on and after the third beat of the eighth bar.
See the video above at this timestamp (9:55) for an example of this.
The difference this trick makes is subtle but noticeable! This also gives you another way to signal section changes and energy transitions in your beat.
ONE AND HALF BAR INTRO
For this, I simply cut out ALL the drums before the second clap in an eight bar section.
Monte Booker, one of my favorite producers does this alot in songs that he produces and that’s who I picked the trick up from. There’s something really cool to me about having the clap or snare be the first thing you hear as you are being introduced or reintroduced to the drums.
One possible variation of this would be cutting the drums up until only the first clap, instead of the second one.
See the video above at this timestamp (9:55) for an example of this as well as other drops I like to use.
TRANSITIONS
Okay, transitions are the effects you use to signal sections changes in your beat and they can go a long way in arrangement. They can be anything but I mostly use risers and drum fills to do this.
I have a cool new sound kit made up entirely of drum fills, risers, foley and anime sound bites that we can use as transition fx. It's called Jungle and you can get it in the Centerfold Bundle.
Now… real talk about risers, and even more so for drum fills. You have to be careful.
Your placement of them needs to be tactful. It is easy for your beat to venture into the realm of ‘corny as hell’ with a few to many misplaced drum fills or poorly mixed risers.
This all being stated, you can create a lot of energy with a few well placed fx.
See the video above at this timestamp (12:24) for an example of this.
AUTOMATION
Automation is the coolest trick in FL Studio besides fruity slicer. You can make an automation clip from anything that has a knob simply by right clicking it and selecting “create automation clip.
Once you do this, an automation clip will be created directly in your playlist. Within this automation clip, we can edit the duration and intensity of the effect by creating and moving automations points.
You right click to create the automation clip and you left click and drag to move the automation point. Up is completely on and down and completely off. It is a little different for a few knobs but this basic premise is pretty consistent
So, let's go over a few examples. I'm sure you’ve heard these techniques in songs before.
See the video above at this timestamp (13:40) for a few of my go-to applications of automation.
IN CONCLUSION
Making the beat is cool. Don’t get me wrong, it's really cool.
But to me… when you’re structuring and arranging the beat… that’s when you really get into your producer bag. That's when you really start to create the sonic environment.
To me… it’s like we producers are painters. When you just make the beat and do a simple layout… that's like you colored with crayons.
But when you fully structure your beat… you add the drops… you do the transitions. YOU create the energy… nah, that's like you’re painting with some extra fine oils paints from France.
I'm getting off topic here… i think my point is… don't be afraid to create an atmosphere in your beat. There is a vision for your beat that only you can actualize.
The name of the game today may be microwave 30 minute beats, but good style and nice arrangement will never go out of style. The emotion you create in your beat may resonate with an artist in a way that it wouldn't have, had you not put in that effort or had someone else done it another way.
That little extra mile may be the very thing that puts your beat in a position to change your freaking life. Remember that the next time you’re wondering if arranging your beat is even worth the time, or if you should just forget about it and move on to the next one.
Thank you once more for stopping by. It's truly a pleasure And as always, stay happy, stay healthy, and always be creating. Just make sure it's… Dope Content Only.
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