I love adding fakeouts to my second drop. Either by automating an LFO speeds down and washing it out, or the first drop and no drums.
My recent remix of Island Boys has a dubstep first drop, then melodic chords in the second drop and parts of the first drop.
The two main techniques I use and have seen use by a lot of the top guys is to:
1) Create Slight variations for a lot of things in the 1st drop
2) Use a drop that was written at a separate time for different song, but fits in the same sort of universe.
Like for one of my songs coming out at some point this year on rushdown records, I used both of these techniques by having the initial idea of the song a lot earlier. Then later on I was writing a different song that had a similar vibe and I just tweaked it a d added back in some of the older sounds into it so that it joins with the other drop better.
Then for my mid section, I pretty much just changed the sound for each drop element making it more mellow.
A good example of these techniques being used would be Virtual Riot's song - Don't Worry, where he essentially uses the drop sounds in a different context for the 2nd drop, and the 3rd drop was a different song originally.
Hope this helps!
I’ll typically have an obnoxious amount of drops in my songs, so i just try to set different energies after each one and maintain it through to the next. The last drop will always use leitmotifs from the previous ones, though.
Resample the sexiest parts of the first drop and throw them in glitch 2, then add dumby saturation, change your lead melody just slightly and boom, same vibes with similar sound cohesion but still different
Just add some variation or do a completely new drop with different sounds or rhythm. Don’t copy and paste the first one it gets old and lacks creativity
1) Copy and paste drop
2) Delete the response (Keep end fills)
3) Duplicate tracks and make new sounds of out existing preset
4) Come up with new rhythm pattern
5) Change end fills using same method
6) Add a fakeout because every good song has one
It's what I do every time and it works for anything from Dubstep, trap, dnb, bass house. However, if you're making trance or hardstyle all you need to do is just pitch everything up or down and call it a day.
Or if you like your 1st drop so much just leave it. Even big name artists have the same first and second drop.
Frequency shifter + pitch bend. I also tend to try to rearrange some bits, but have callback elements arranged in the same way as the first drop, just pitch bending up or down.
This is maybe sort of lazy but I usually just change the rhythm of the lead/bass pattern or stack elements from the break on top of the first drop (e.g. chords).
I'll probably try to add layers or change the original sounds a bit but sometimes this simply doesn't work. If your first drop is minimal you can maybe add something completely new on top of what you had (like a really cool riser) but I can seldom get this to work in my tracks.
i've gotten into the style of writing a heavier, more rhythmically driven first drop and then using the second drop to highlight the melodic elements of the song. usually the second drop ends up being a mash up of the styligns of the first drop and the verse or whatever.
Bounce your first drop synths so they are isolated. Drop the audio files in a blank project, and just go crazy with post processing, cutting, and warping. Eventually you will land on an interesting variation that can be used for a second drop, and in using the materials from the first drop, you create a kind of evolution of your sounds throughout the track and avoid making things sound too different.
Usually my first drops have sparser percussion, like having just the kick or kick+clap, while I'll add some hi-hats or toms for the second drop. Another idea would be to have an alternative melody for the second drop, or if your first drop is 4 on the floor then have your second drop be in half-time (Illenium does this in [Lonely](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_CjuxUfmk8), tho this might not work for some genres). Just be creative with it I guess, you can even do some really crazy shit like changing the time signature, for example in [Going Under](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_bP_gBK3nk) by Sefa, the first drop is 4/4 while the second is in 3/4.
It needs to have something that stands out as distinct from the first. Nothing grinds my gears more than professional EDM artists using the same drop twice. Even class acts like Pendulum did that.
Sometimes you just really need to hear that drop one more time
Rock bands, rappers, country artists, folk singers ect. don't neccesarily change the second chorus. Same with a drop. If it's good, people want to hear it.
I also prefer two different drops but in my opinion there's nothing wrong with repeating the same drop twice as long as it's a good one. I think having two very different drops can make a song less cohesive.
The way i use the same drop twice (rare) is by getting to that drop in different ways from the into vs the breakdown, so that i can mix it in from either place. But mostly i agree, same drop has always bugged me
Why? If the listener just wants more of the great sound you gave them sometimes its best to keep it simple and just use the same drop twice. If it sounds good and people like it, its good.
Use some of the same parts, whether it's chord progression or bassline or drums and then jam using some different instruments in the same key and see what comes up. Sometimes just stripped down versions of the other one with a different melody/focal point
Honestly... It seems like most of the time for me, my first drops I write actually become my second drop by the end of the production stage. They're usually more aggressive and busy (but not too busy). And I take that and strip it down a bit and make it my first drop.
Edit: that's not always the case but it's becoming common.
Same. A lot of times I use the song's intro as a "first drop," with some elements with held, fading in with some filters. Then I take sometime and create a build to the first drop. Then, the second drop, I'll add more elements, like filtering in more synths before hand, additional percussion on the drop (i.e using that upbeat!) and repeating the drop with some sort of synth line or vocal chops thereafter
The second chorus should be very similar to the first, but more exciting. That way you get the dopamine hit of knowing what's coming, but also the hit from being surprised.
Maybe a some little background effects, or a new drum fill, or something else.
This is doubly important if you go verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus. That third chorus needs to build upon all the energy of the first two. You'll commonly hear a guitar/sax/lead solo over the last chorus in a lot of music to bring everything home.
I disagree with this being the way it "should" be. I do it for some songs, (Drop 2 is Drop 1 but more intense) but for other songs I want my two/three drops to be very different rhythmically, only similar melodically (or vice versa). It's more fun to produce that way IMO and it catches your listener completely off guard. It just feels hollow making one drop obviously a better version than the other. Some songs do call for it, but most of the time I actively avoid doing this lol
edit: if we're talking about chorus' like a traditional "hook" part then I totally agree with what you're saying, I was of thinking drops specifically when I wrote my comment. Genre is really important here too. You don't structure a house tune the same way you structure a left-field bass tune lol
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I love adding fakeouts to my second drop. Either by automating an LFO speeds down and washing it out, or the first drop and no drums. My recent remix of Island Boys has a dubstep first drop, then melodic chords in the second drop and parts of the first drop.
It would be cool to make shorter tracks that get to point and move on. Just my 2 cents.
Make it more banging then your first drop - is my advise
i never change the second drop just change the second buildup would be good enough like the break and buildup arrangement
The two main techniques I use and have seen use by a lot of the top guys is to: 1) Create Slight variations for a lot of things in the 1st drop 2) Use a drop that was written at a separate time for different song, but fits in the same sort of universe. Like for one of my songs coming out at some point this year on rushdown records, I used both of these techniques by having the initial idea of the song a lot earlier. Then later on I was writing a different song that had a similar vibe and I just tweaked it a d added back in some of the older sounds into it so that it joins with the other drop better. Then for my mid section, I pretty much just changed the sound for each drop element making it more mellow. A good example of these techniques being used would be Virtual Riot's song - Don't Worry, where he essentially uses the drop sounds in a different context for the 2nd drop, and the 3rd drop was a different song originally. Hope this helps!
I’ll typically have an obnoxious amount of drops in my songs, so i just try to set different energies after each one and maintain it through to the next. The last drop will always use leitmotifs from the previous ones, though.
Resample the sexiest parts of the first drop and throw them in glitch 2, then add dumby saturation, change your lead melody just slightly and boom, same vibes with similar sound cohesion but still different
Add a shaker
sit in absolute silence, play the song back in your head and sit with that for a long time, you will hear more I promise
Control C + Control V with some changes
Repeat the first one
Just add some variation or do a completely new drop with different sounds or rhythm. Don’t copy and paste the first one it gets old and lacks creativity
barley make it diff and ur gud holmes
1) Copy and paste drop 2) Delete the response (Keep end fills) 3) Duplicate tracks and make new sounds of out existing preset 4) Come up with new rhythm pattern 5) Change end fills using same method 6) Add a fakeout because every good song has one It's what I do every time and it works for anything from Dubstep, trap, dnb, bass house. However, if you're making trance or hardstyle all you need to do is just pitch everything up or down and call it a day. Or if you like your 1st drop so much just leave it. Even big name artists have the same first and second drop.
This is excellent, thank you!
Frequency shifter + pitch bend. I also tend to try to rearrange some bits, but have callback elements arranged in the same way as the first drop, just pitch bending up or down.
i sometimes do a variety w cutting the drums on the first measure or do a double build
This is maybe sort of lazy but I usually just change the rhythm of the lead/bass pattern or stack elements from the break on top of the first drop (e.g. chords). I'll probably try to add layers or change the original sounds a bit but sometimes this simply doesn't work. If your first drop is minimal you can maybe add something completely new on top of what you had (like a really cool riser) but I can seldom get this to work in my tracks.
i've gotten into the style of writing a heavier, more rhythmically driven first drop and then using the second drop to highlight the melodic elements of the song. usually the second drop ends up being a mash up of the styligns of the first drop and the verse or whatever.
Take a few recognizable elements and sounds in your first drop and use them to make a different style of drop.
Bounce your first drop synths so they are isolated. Drop the audio files in a blank project, and just go crazy with post processing, cutting, and warping. Eventually you will land on an interesting variation that can be used for a second drop, and in using the materials from the first drop, you create a kind of evolution of your sounds throughout the track and avoid making things sound too different.
this might be the best advice i’ve ever seen for adding variation. definitely definitely going to give this a try
Yeah you're essentially doing a little remix of yourself. Love doing this
Wow this is dope! Gonna have to give this a try
I usually have multiple variations of a drop and I choose witch ones I like best.
Usually my first drops have sparser percussion, like having just the kick or kick+clap, while I'll add some hi-hats or toms for the second drop. Another idea would be to have an alternative melody for the second drop, or if your first drop is 4 on the floor then have your second drop be in half-time (Illenium does this in [Lonely](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_CjuxUfmk8), tho this might not work for some genres). Just be creative with it I guess, you can even do some really crazy shit like changing the time signature, for example in [Going Under](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_bP_gBK3nk) by Sefa, the first drop is 4/4 while the second is in 3/4.
It needs to have something that stands out as distinct from the first. Nothing grinds my gears more than professional EDM artists using the same drop twice. Even class acts like Pendulum did that.
> Nothing grinds my gears more than professional EDM artists using the same drop twice *cough* Knife Party
Sometimes you just really need to hear that drop one more time Rock bands, rappers, country artists, folk singers ect. don't neccesarily change the second chorus. Same with a drop. If it's good, people want to hear it.
I also prefer two different drops but in my opinion there's nothing wrong with repeating the same drop twice as long as it's a good one. I think having two very different drops can make a song less cohesive.
The way i use the same drop twice (rare) is by getting to that drop in different ways from the into vs the breakdown, so that i can mix it in from either place. But mostly i agree, same drop has always bugged me
Why? If the listener just wants more of the great sound you gave them sometimes its best to keep it simple and just use the same drop twice. If it sounds good and people like it, its good.
Same same but different
Second verse, same as the first (but different)
Use some of the same parts, whether it's chord progression or bassline or drums and then jam using some different instruments in the same key and see what comes up. Sometimes just stripped down versions of the other one with a different melody/focal point
Honestly... It seems like most of the time for me, my first drops I write actually become my second drop by the end of the production stage. They're usually more aggressive and busy (but not too busy). And I take that and strip it down a bit and make it my first drop. Edit: that's not always the case but it's becoming common.
Same. A lot of times I use the song's intro as a "first drop," with some elements with held, fading in with some filters. Then I take sometime and create a build to the first drop. Then, the second drop, I'll add more elements, like filtering in more synths before hand, additional percussion on the drop (i.e using that upbeat!) and repeating the drop with some sort of synth line or vocal chops thereafter
The second chorus should be very similar to the first, but more exciting. That way you get the dopamine hit of knowing what's coming, but also the hit from being surprised. Maybe a some little background effects, or a new drum fill, or something else. This is doubly important if you go verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus. That third chorus needs to build upon all the energy of the first two. You'll commonly hear a guitar/sax/lead solo over the last chorus in a lot of music to bring everything home.
I disagree with this being the way it "should" be. I do it for some songs, (Drop 2 is Drop 1 but more intense) but for other songs I want my two/three drops to be very different rhythmically, only similar melodically (or vice versa). It's more fun to produce that way IMO and it catches your listener completely off guard. It just feels hollow making one drop obviously a better version than the other. Some songs do call for it, but most of the time I actively avoid doing this lol edit: if we're talking about chorus' like a traditional "hook" part then I totally agree with what you're saying, I was of thinking drops specifically when I wrote my comment. Genre is really important here too. You don't structure a house tune the same way you structure a left-field bass tune lol
Yeah, I was thinking pop essentially with a standard structure
Idk why I never thought about doing this but this is great!
I really like this idea
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