Dropz – The ProTools Session

Dropz is an interesting song because it is designed in a different way to the other songs in this EP. The initial bass is sequenced to play on the backbeats for the majority of the time, playing on the last two 16th notes of each beat (where 8th notes play twice as much as 4th notes in the same amount of time (which is what the kick drum is playing), 16th notes play twice as much as 8th notes, making one 4th note the equivalent of four 16th notes), so the sounds play after the first beat but just before the next one. Instead of using the bassline to help the drums keep rhythm, the bassline is more like a bass riff that repeats itself throughout the song (except on the drop), independent of what the drum kit does, because it provides a simple riff for the intro as well as a good lower frequency sound to fit around the drums throughout the remainder of the song.

The drums themselves are simple as well, with a typical Trance drum sound constructed with the help of this guide. For this, I used a ‘4 on the floor’ beat for the kick, a clap on every second beat, and hi-hats on every 8th note (so it plays twice as often as the kicks). Occasionally there is a crash cymbal after a build up/before a drop too. I decided to keep the drums simple for this piece as I didn’t want to create something too complex, which would make the song harder to dance to if it was played by a DJ, and instead I opted for a rhythmic, minimalistic kick drum that could keep the beat, sound punchy, and not get buried under all the other synths, with claps and hi-hats that controlled the higher frequencies to give the song a wide range of sound.

There are two more riffs included in this song: a mid synth riff for the drop, and a high synth for a more high pitched melodic riff, adding variety to the song without making it too complex or flooding the lower frequencies with noise. Both riffs repeat throughout the song, with the mid synth changing its pattern slightly towards the middle of the song and on the outro, removing some notes to make it even simpler. These were vital for this particular song because they both added extra layers of sound into the song, with one synth providing a harder-sounding sound for the drop while the other was used to help the build ups with its high pitched riff.

Dropz – The use of Velocity in the sequenced elements

Using velocity on this song helped to improve it a lot, as it added various tones and qualities to sound which gave it natural builds and drops. As seen on the image above, the High Synth Riff track used it a lot for build ups and on the outro. The effect of the velocity when it was lower made the synth riff sound softer, and as it increased, it allowed the sounds to get clearer, as if they were being played harder, similar to the notes on a piano. This meant that, especially in regards to all of the other tracks in the image above as well, each instrument could gain velocity at an automated rate which would help to build up tension, moving the song to a drop or a main section, or help the song get softer during an outro, and this is important because it allowed the flow of the song to change as it continued.

One other way that velocity was used was to show emphasis on particular sounds, especially on the Hi-Hat track. This was used to add some variety to the sound on the track, giving it a more human-like quality due to the sounds not being the exact same as one another, thanks to the varying velocities. The emphasis lay on the strikes on each beat, which was a logical choice as I wanted the hi-hats to work in tandem with the kick drum, in order to highlight where the beats were and help listeners keep time.

Frantic Dance – The ProTools Session

The sequencing for this 155 bpm song began with a bassline, which played notes on every 16th note. This created a bass riff with a sense of urgency right from the start of the song, and this was the intended effect because it was meant to signify the start of a long build to the first main section, where the hard bass synth kicks in. This effect from the sequencing of the bass, alongside the ‘4 on the floor’ kick drum beat, the snare on every second beat, and the syncopated hi-hats, helped to build up from the intro and release the tension at the drop, where the drums kicked in fully and the bass riff changed into something harder and more urgent than before.

The hard bass synth consisted of the same bassline repeated over and over again, before it changed up an octave on the second drop, still using the same notes but on a higher pitch than before. This was done to add some variety to the song, showing a change from one part (in this case a main section/build up) to the next (the drop and following build up to the next main section), allowing the song to continue flowing at a constant rhythm. It was done in this manner because the rhythm is arguably one of the most important parts of any song, and bass synths/instruments, alongside the drums, are considered rhythmic instruments which all help to play a core part in maintaining the tempo of a song, and are vital to use for build-ups and drops as that is where the rhythm of the song can change if it done correctly.

The High Synth and Low Synth tracks played the same riff at different octaves to one another, providing a melodic riff over the top of the drums and the basslines. It was important to have some higher pitched synths in the song because it would have made the lower frequencies too crowded otherwise, making the song sound muddy (where there is too much noise in the 400-800 Hz frequencies, causing the song to lack clarity/definition) and retracting from the overall quality of the sound. This ‘muddiness’ is not ideal for a dance song, as it needs to have enough clarity so people can understand it was well as having enough low-end frequencies to add to the rhythm to keep people dancing.

Frantic Dance – The use of Velocity in the sequenced elementsThe velocity automation in the image above helps to show what parts of the song built up and on what tracks it was used. For example, the High/Low Synth tracks used it at the end of the intro to signify a build up to a drop, where the Hard Bass Synth starts. As drops are an important part of an EDM song due to the high levels of energy it contains, since it is the release of tension built up in the ‘build ups’ just before, I wanted my drops to sound like they had a big impact when they hit, and to make sure that was the case I allowed the synths to build up to those drops using velocity, and cut those synths out so the Hard Bass Synth and the drums could take over the drop. This way, the rhythm changed and the sound was relatively minimalistic, which was recommended for a good drop, aiming for an effect where, simply, people would want to dance to it due to its rhythm and minimalism.

The main bass synth also benefited from the velocity applied upon it, but in a different way. I used velocity to put emphasis on different notes within the bass riff, adding variety to the sounds throughout the song, but most notably on the intro. This was to set the rhythm for the piece and help maintain it as the song went on, including the automated fade ins that were drawn into ProTools, because of the emphasis I wanted to put on the rhythm to help make the song easier to dance to, which is quite fundamental in an EDM song because, if you can not dance to it, then it is not serving its purpose as an EDM song. The kick drum also received some automation on the build ups for a similar reason: it is a rhythmic instrument and I felt that using velocity in such a manner would not only help to keep the tempo constant, but also put emphasis on the build ups alongside the other synths.

Number 2 – The ProTools Session

Number 2, which was called as such because it is the second song I made for this EP, is a 140 bpm EDM track that was created using a lot of harsh-sounding synths, a hard-hitting kick drum, a couple of build-ups, and a drop (where the rhythm/pace drastically changes in a song to improve its energy, usually after the aforementioned build up). To do this effectively, the kick used a 4 on the floor pattern for the majority of the song, with some parts, including just before the drop, where it began playing every 8th note, and then every 16th note, before stopping for a bar, and then going back to the 4 on the floor pattern. This sequencing allowed the kick drum to help the song naturally build up to the drop in the middle of the song, thus providing an extra function instead of simply keeping rhythm.

The snare and hi-hat also accompany the kick drum on the drum kit, with both rhythms being simple to sequence in. The hi-hat strikes on every 16th note, with variations in velocity to put emphasis on certain notes, while the snare strikes on every second beat 3 times before doing 2 syncopated strikes, one strike on the 8th note after the 3rd beat and the other directly on the 4th beat. Both patterns repeat throughout the song with the exception of the intro and the drop, because they are there to help keep rhythm and support the kick drum as it does the same.

There were multiple synths used on this song, all of which used riffs throughout the song, regardless of whether they were bass synths or synths on higher octaves. The bass synths all had riffs that were on the beat of the kicks, used initially to set the tempo in the intro, but then as a way to provide a loud, hard-sounding bassline during the rest of the song, which especially became the focus of the song during the drop, while the synths that moved into the higher octaves played a melodic riff to accompany the basslines, not wanting to drown it out, because if it did, then the song wouldn’t be as easy to dance to, which takes away from the intention of making it an EDM song.

Number 2 – The use of Velocity in the sequenced elements

The velocities shown above dictate where the intro, drops, and outro were located. As shown, most of the automation occurred during the songs intro/outro, to give the song a build-up into the first main section of the song, and a nice smooth outro to end the song with. The intro is important to get right, as using a build in a dance song is quite commonplace to help build tension through the use of turning 8th notes into 16th notes, which I helped to emphasize with a steadily rising velocity on the bass/melodic synths that accompanied it, making it stand out before the first main section. The outro was more of a creative choice because it was a good way to wind down on the song after the hard sections previously, which give the song a softer intro and outro in order to get warmed up to dance for the song, and some time to relax after the main parts.