Tips for making a good break down

[Krispy]

boom boom, the music is chugging along.... slowly building up with risers and stuff... leading into the break and then it hits... and silence...

What makes a good breakdown? I seem to have a pretty decent fundamental song structure down right now but am struggling for ideas in this area.

Obviously it is going to be a continuation of the other elements of the song, just kind of chilled out. Looking for some fresh new ideas on this part, I want to keep it interesting and different however still carry the momentum of the song through it all.

 

[Mr Fletch]

I find if you have a good lead synth playing through the main drop, it works well to continue that riff through the break, only use a filter cutoff to kind of "morph" it into the background (if you know what I mean), then as the break progresses, leading back into a second drop, slowly opening the filter to let the lead synth back through, then quick silence, then.........BOOM!

 

[richie_stix]

this wont help as it is contradictory, but...

sometimes i like to wind down to almost nothing before the second drop, losing elements as it progresses until PEOW; or

sometimes i like to build up, go straight to almost silence (using some nice sounds, fx, delays reverb whatever) then build back up to the second drop

sometimes i like to vary the drum pattern so instead of k s k s it goes k - s - or k k k s (sorta halfstep, ya gets me?) - take a listen http://soundcloud.com/richie_stix (shameless whoring!)

---------- Post added at 16:12 ---------- Previous post was at 16:09 ----------

I find if you have a good lead synth playing through the main drop, it works well to continue that riff through the break, only use a filter cutoff to kind of "morph" it into the background (if you know what I mean), then as the break progresses, leading back into a second drop, slowly opening the filter to let the lead synth back through, then quick silence, then.........BOOM!

and what fletch says about continuiing the riff... but if your automating a filter, you could do it on your drum track? either a low or a high pass, either building up&down, down or up (if that makes sense)... one idea thats kewl is to keep your kick normal, but gradually low pass the rest of the drums, then bring the rest of the drums back up just before the drop?

you options are endless my fwiend!

 

[MARKLAR]

i tend to just have a woosh then silence!lol

---------- Post added at 17:00 ---------- Previous post was at 16:37 ----------

also it completely depends on the track your makin just try a few methods out an see which works best with the tune

 

[Freek]

This all depends on the whether you've made an intro. i would break down into some of the elements used in the intro. but if u had a drum beat in the intro, no beat in the break or the other way round. then build up with some sweeps and clanging chords. 1/2 bar of silence and boooooooooooooom! also sometimes its good to steer away from the usual 16 bar break. try using an 18 bar break with the first 2 bars being minimal sounds then on the 3rd bar bring in the musical elements with maybe a hat on the firtst hit of every bar.

 

[msmith222]

on the other hand, a break is an opportunity to switch to entirely new sounds. or play existing ones in reverse. or try to combine four or five risers to create the never-before-heard-but-often-told-in-folklore MEGARISER. just think up anything you can try that you haven't heard before. lots of times i think this ends up incredibly complex with wild automation and crazy drum patterns. i'm trying to learn to see it as more of a "who can blow the doors off more than the last guy" contest. i'm an admitted sucker for dancefloor dnb...

---------- Post added at 20:22 ---------- Previous post was at 20:21 ----------

it also sounds good to break the last bit of silence with a single, awesome snare right before the drop

 

[CH3SH]

If youve a sweep before the initial drop,
Try reversing the sweep and adding a lil reverb to the end
Also try filering the drums,
Hi pass works nice,
Also the last 16 beats could be a different sequence
Hope this healps buh =D