Could someone explain the tempos and layout of dubstep...

[rosco]

Hi guys, new to this forum as you can see by the lack of posts.....

I've literally stumbled upon a copy of Reason 3.0 on the weekend and i'm now trying my hand at production, it seemed a logical progression as I've been DJ'ing for a while now, so I know my dnb beats well, but nothing about dubstep. Other than i'm starting to like it.

If possible could someone please explain how Dubstep is structered i.e. the most common tempo, bars and when the kicks and snares commonly fall. Does this make sense?? (for example dnb is 1+11, 5+13)

Anyway... I tried copying a dubstep tune's tempo (about 135bpm) and making a riff - Please let me know if this could be classified as dubstep? (P.s. I've only had reason since sat afternoon, and i'm addicted now! Please give it a listen, even to tell me if its sh!t or not.)

http://www.idnb.co.uk/tracks/dubsteptry.mp3

Safe
Rosco

[parson]

your heart is in the right place but it sounds like a breaks tune with that rolliing breakbeat

[robm]

yeah i'm new & struggling too - hard to say what dubstep is, but you just know when its not. nothing to do with bpm - feature of the nights is the sloww slow tempo of the biggest tunes. bass is king. working with cakewalk myself & its tough going. listen to Burial - gets you in dubstep frame of mind.

[elgato]

the tempo is most commonly between 137 and 142 ish i believe

i dont want to say anything else, because you should just feel out your own style man, the best tunes often come from ppl not knowing where the kicks and snares should go

if everyone uses the same kick snare programming we're in trouble

[joseph-j]

if everyone uses the same kick snare programming we're in trouble

Well exactly. Just download as many mixes as you can from barefiles.com, listen to nothing else for 6 months, and play around with as many riddims as possible, only using 1 snare/hit per 16 beats. That forces you into thinking differently about how the rhythm's structured.

You'll realise that unlike having 2 snares per 16 beats, it doesn't really matter so much where you put it - you can be so much more creative.

The only rule is: the are no rules.

[untold]

listen to nothing else for 6 months

I would say check some barefiles sets then pull your inspiration from far and wide. As mentioned earlier, your only real anchors are 137 - 142 bpm and sub bass

[joseph-j]

listen to nothing else for 6 months

I would say check some barefiles sets then pull your inspiration from far and wide. As mentioned earlier, your only real anchors are 137 - 142 bpm and sub bass

NOTHING.

For SIX months.

And eat nothing but raw rice and water.

[forensix (mcr)]

i'm gettting a bit fed up with threads like this,

a) how difficult is it to count how many beats there are in say 15 seconds then times that by 4 to get bpm

b) how difficult is it to listen to a track and count the number of bars in the intro, the drop etc

c) how difficult is it to be original??

best thing to do is to sit down at reason and learn the programme inside out, listen to some dubstep, but dont listen just to dubstep draw your influences from far and wide and try to create your own distinctive sound

[retinoise]

Keep at 'er man! It's all bout what YOU want to make... dubstep's got lot's of room for creativity... make what you want to.. even if it doesn't end up sounding like the standard "dubstep" sound.. you've still created something and had a blast doing it! The stage your at is a learning one, enjoy it by trying as much as you can and soaking up everything in the process.

And never hesitate to consult your peers on this forum, we're all into this together and have a great sharing community.

Word of warning: the new addiction you mentioned will only get worse.. so enjoy.

Look forward to hearing where you take things in the future.

[press]

(for example dnb is kicks1+11, snares5+13)

try snares on 9 only one snare per bar. and put the kicks around that on say 1 and 5 ish and 13 maybe. that will give you a very very basic two step type halftime dubstepy beat.

if your using rexs of regularly cut breaks and putting them to the sequencer they will usually lay down with snares on 5 and 13, try highlighting them and right clicking on them and going to change events (right next to quantize) and in the tempo section in the middle of that menu hit the /2 button or enter in 50% hit apply and bam youl see the rex is now stretched out twice the length it was before and the snares will hit on the 9. and have created that halftime vibe form a rex.

[blk plague]

138 bpm, 1 snare per four beats per bar. (ie 1-2-3-snare for that halfpstep feel) if you use a drum machine/sequencer with swing adjustments some of that helps too.

[fullyrecordingz]

THERE AINT A FORUMLA. Thats what you DnB heads need drilled into ur skulls..

- if u only draw inspiration from dubstep, then guess what, at best ur gonna end up soundin like every one else, I doubt u'd even get up to that level with out creativity and originality.

- Stop goin on about how many snares in a bar or where to put everything. It simply does not matter.

Like forensix said. - Learn reason before you learn dubstep. then we wont get a shedload of beats that sound like shite ha, and ppl askin if they're good. of course they wont be good, u'v used reason for 2 fakin days !

[blk plague]

damn brother, you seem real upset about something.

[narcossist]

btw this is not an attack on the original poster, more just a follow up to the points raised above..

Dubstep is still one of the most open ended genre titles [thank fuck] use that freedom to see where you can take it, rather than seeing it as a negative constraint to which you must adhere to at all costs. Better still aim to make the best music you can, and if it fits the bill great it'll go in the dubstep section at yr local shop, in all honesty though is that really gonna make it any better a tune than it going in any other section?

[shonky]

THERE AINT A FORUMLA. Thats what you DnB heads need drilled into ur skulls..

- if u only draw inspiration from dubstep, then guess what, at best ur gonna end up soundin like every one else, I doubt u'd even get up to that level with out creativity and originality.

- Stop goin on about how many snares in a bar or where to put everything. It simply does not matter.

Like forensix said. - Learn reason before you learn dubstep. then we wont get a shedload of beats that sound like shite ha, and ppl askin if they're good. of course they wont be good, u'v used reason for 2 fakin days !

Totally agree with Fully and Narcossist - it's not a formula, it's wide open. Draw them in on a grid and guess what, they sound like they've been drawn on a grid.

This is a very common topic and if you want to do something creative, do whatever you think fits the bill. If we end up with shitloads of identikit blandness this is probably going to be the reason why.

This is a creative art, so get creative. I don't want to be hearing dubstep 101 based on whichever tune got everyone moving over from other styles. And if you want to fill in grids be an accountant - get a keyboard and tap them in. It isn't difficult and it'll be much easier to get the rhythms you want. Set up a drum kit in your autoload song and then you can shift the drum hits to separate tracks when you've got something you're happy with.

Sorry if this is a bit offish, but figuring that dubstep incorporates DMZ, Burial, Geiom, Darqwan, Skream and whoever else involved that DON'T SOUND LIKE EACH OTHER, it becomes pretty obvious that there IS NO FORMULA.

Formulas are for shampoo, not for music. Apart from tempo constraints and some bass weight that's about the only limit on your freedom to create whatever you want. So do so

Freedoms a good thing. Conformity isn't going to get you any props in music.

[shonky]

I'd love to hear this if SendSpace didn't seem to be so rubbish for doing anything so useful as allowing me to download.

[hotelthief]

i wish could 'stumble' across a copy of reason.....

[fullyrecordingz]

damn brother, you seem real upset about something.

sometimes people gotta get to know. sometimes polite aint the way.
sometimes this is only a forum, ya don't really know me brother, i didn't judge anyone personally so please don't try judge me brother.

[fullyrecordingz]

brother

[bedward]

it's simple:

bpm = 133 to 145.

time sig = 6 bars of 7/8 followed by 2 in 11/8
or, sometimes, 6 bars of 9/8, one of 5/8.

snare should follow bassdrum after 5 or 12 16ths,
with hihats in between in symmetrical speed ramps, like:
x.. . . . i . . . ..x

shakers/tambs should NEVER land on the same beat as cowbell or cymbal,
except if the bassdrum has missed a beat.

note-intervals in the bassline should reflect time-distance (in 32nds) between the highest percussion and next melodic event.

easiest way to imagine it is like a horizon with the sun setting reflected in a lake surrounded by bare wind-blown trees swayin first left, then right.

melodic scales/modes tend to conflate around dynamic axes every 13 or 17 bars.

apart from that, the only rules are:

1. the harmonic progression should ALWAYS be compatible with the melody from "london bridge" sung in ANY key, in the octave above middle C.

2. any percussion sound with duration more than 1.2 seconds should be pitch bent halfway thru.

3. rising melodies should be melancholy or mysterious/brooding, descending melodies ahould be happy, celebratory or stridently affirmative.

4. just Go For It!!!!!!

x