Drum and Bass Theory?

Forau

Forau

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Ive been producing a few tracks, following general "rules" in the production process.
But i was wondering if theres anywhere out there, in ebook form, paperback form or article form that can help to increase theory knowledge?

I feel like my tracks are missing something (aside from the obvious "should be an extra kick in there" etc).


So. DnB theory, wheres it at?
 
All the theory needed can be found on forums such as this and 'Dogs on Acid' or from Youtube and other video hosting websites.
 
Im talking more about something i can either physically pick up and read, or spend a good few hours reading through online, not having to jump all over the internet for =P.
 
musicrader had something like this, or was it computer music. look into it man
 
don't approach music making looking for rules - it's all about creative exploration.

never read a manual, twist every knob until you work out what it does.
 
This may sound lousy and stuff butt:
you've probably got thousands of those "guides",
every song is a guide, first try to break a song up into parts,
drums, synth shots, basslines, etc.
Sample packs can help you with this, like a sample pack full of loops.
this means that you only get the drums, now try and hear the different parts a drum kit that's in there, eg. Kick, snare, hats, cymbal, ride,
and drum and bass is all about drums so that's probably the most important thing in your track. or you could try to make a loop and load it up and let the people here judge it and give you some feedback.

I've once made a post with some books you could read about synthesizers and how they work.
i'll hook you up later with that.

and then you have the general thing, equalizing, compressing, sidechaining, etc.
to increase your knowledge in that part you could try to read a book or read something online about electronic music production.
you could also follow courses like this: http://www.dubspot.com/

Hope that helped a bit.
 
I want to seriously make it clear im not looking for guides, im already well into making tracks, and have been for about a year. I have a synth, i can make filthy basslines and drum loops etc, thats not what im asking for ;).

don't approach music making looking for rules - it's all about creative exploration.
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I understand that but there are general guidelines on things like composition of a track, this is what i want to know. =P

Rev, those tips are awesome, but like i say, its stuff like "after X amount of drum loops a track usually changes" etc, pure theory, =P
 
lol ^^^ just listen to some tracks then?

dnb is usually split into parts of 32 bars. ie 32 bars intro, then 32bars drop, than 32 bars variation of the drop, then 32 bars breakdown. rinse and repeat..

i dont get what you want to know tho?! ^^^ that is sooooo basic, its ridiculous you dont know that after "a year" of making songs.. wtf did you do then?!
 
It's so simple, get your favorite Drum & Bass tunes and try to find the composition in it. When is there a change, after how many bars? After how many bars the buildup kicks in? After how many bars the bass drops? And so on.
 
groelle said:
lol ^^^ just listen to some tracks then?

dnb is usually split into parts of 32 bars. ie 32 bars intro, then 32bars drop, than 32 bars variation of the drop, then 32 bars breakdown. rinse and repeat..

i dont get what you want to know tho?! ^^^ that is sooooo basic, its ridiculous you dont know that after "a year" of making songs.. wtf did you do then?!
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Haha, i meant that sort of thing, not that exactly. Seems like the majority of people have misinterpreted my question as i do not want guides on how to make loops or basslines, lol. Just general theory.

Obviously there isnt really anything like that about, and it mainly comes from experiencce, so my question has been answered :).
 
you want to learn synths i guess... if yu havnt learnt to use them already?

reeces, EQing, compression, and sidechaining, theres loads of great techniques used in dnb. But they all got different purposes so theres no much point sticking them in the same place, they are general production tips really.
 
my advice to noobs is that if you can pull off the following three elements youre well on your way already, if you can hammer out
1. a fat break,
2. a good sub bassline and
3. a string section,

if you can get those three right, youre well on your way. so get a funk break or drummachine sounds, whatevers your preference really, and hammer out a fat break with lots of variations and edits and structure and so forth, get a good deep and above all long subbassline going and a string section with at least three chords. make that happen and you will have around 1:45 and a great ground work for a tune.

dont get hung up on how to noisia bass or pendulum snare or clipz or garth brooks whoever the fk that is if you cant even get the break and the sub going. crawl before you run. listen to the music all the time, listen and study it constantly, there is plenty to be learned by listening to songs you like. i know im stating the obvious here but i know how mislead ive been constantly through my artistic process over the years by just focusing on the wrong things.
 
yeah man, i listen to loads of dnb... i keep my cd's for djing in the car so always listening, gives you the 'theory' you are looking for really, as they are the kind of tunes i'd like to make!

and @ the guy who said dnb is light on theory, jog on!

dnb has as much or as little theory as any other music, especially since dnb takes it's influence from so many sounds!

and as far as theory goes... this book well help your ass out ;)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dance-Music...=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294236855&sr=1-7
 
Papa Jaro said:
I think dnb is very light on theory mate...




This aint Jazz!
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Haha, yeah, i was just curious as to the general "rules" or more like guidelines i suppose.


I appreciate the help, but like i say, i have no problems creating tracks, they just lack proffessionalism due to the fact im not sure on the general composition and stuff. Eg 32 beats before a break, then another 32 etc etc.
Its not actually creating the sounds im asking for. =P
Still, some valuable tips in this thread :).
 
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as for rules as in actual rules that you either follow or your song is shit well thats easy:
mad rockin drums
radio rental chicken oriental drop
double dark melody an that
tearing bass hit you right in the chest
make you wanna brock out and all the gal dem wine
mma fighting / djing with andy c / fuck seven super models at a time / producing more powerful in berlin so north korea simmer down the moment they heard it and no want war
 
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