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need help with structure/arrangement (vocal dubstep)

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 12:38 am
by jarvis89
right, i'm remixing this track and i've got this whole song of female vocals, i've been messing around for literally days trying to decide whether to do like a full inclusion of the whole track or just sample snippets of it.

verse1
chorus
verse 2
bridge
chorus
repeat
end

I've decided now after going a bit insane that i want to use the whole track, lay a dubstep beat behind the verses, use the choruses as buildups to the drops.
But i'm struggling to figure out where i can put the bridge. The best i can come up with is this.

Intro
Verse1
Chorus
Drop
Verse2
Chorus
Drop
Bridge
Chorus
Drop
Outro

I can tell that's gonna be like pushing 10 minutes lol, i think i'm losing it !! Any thoughts ? :u:

Re: need help with structure/arrangement (vocal dubstep)

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 12:58 am
by wormcode
I think you shouldn't worry about terminology or formula and just make the tune... why do you need a bridge?

Re: need help with structure/arrangement (vocal dubstep)

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 1:04 am
by Shum
Breakdowns fill the role of bridges in pop music, something a little different before you let the song kick back into life again. Why would you use choruses to buildup to drops though? The chorus and drop should coincide IMO, you should be building up to the moment when both happen.

Three drops as well. :lol:

Re: need help with structure/arrangement (vocal dubstep)

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 1:36 am
by kid_chameleon
wormcode wrote:I think you shouldn't worry about terminology or formula and just make the tune... why do you need a bridge?
:z:

Re: need help with structure/arrangement (vocal dubstep)

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 1:42 am
by jarvis89
Shum wrote:Breakdowns fill the role of bridges in pop music, something a little different before you let the song kick back into life again. Why would you use choruses to buildup to drops though? The chorus and drop should coincide IMO, you should be building up to the moment when both happen.

Three drops as well. :lol:
I know right lol... it needs some serious work.

And the chorus leading up to the drop fits, its sounding a similar kind of structure to that skrillex remix of sebastian - love in motion, if you consider that love in motion is the chorus and it leads up to the drops.

thinking about it i'm sure he included the bridge in that remix maybe i'll check that out. Cheers to the other guy for the input but i don't really know how to make a tune with absolutely no structure, that would just be a series of sounds? :S

Re: need help with structure/arrangement (vocal dubstep)

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 1:47 am
by wormcode
jarvis89 wrote:Cheers to the other guy for the input but i don't really know how to make a tune with absolutely no structure, that would just be a series of sounds? :S
Well there would be structure, just not a set formula drawn out. Like 16 bar intro, 32 bars, 16 bar change up, 32 bars again, 16 bar out. Or 32 intro, 64 main part, 16 bar break, 32 leading out etc. Just an example. That could be called verse chorus verse as well I suppose, but a lot of tunes don't follow any specific structure and still can be mixed and sound great. A lot of the recent Hyperdub stuff is a bit odd structure-wise but still good, like Ikonika's tunes.


Also, to me "vocal dubstep" is a bit of an oxymoron. Dubstep came about from removing or dubbing of vocals. I know dubstep with traditional vocal arrangements exists these days, but don't forget the dub nature of the music, as in stripped back with sparse effected vocals if any. That's what I always liked... so if I were in your position, I would probably only use the main chorus elements of the vocals and leave out some others, like the bridge. I guess what I mean is don't feel forced to use all the elements all the time. IMO etc.

Re: need help with structure/arrangement (vocal dubstep)

Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 10:49 am
by BaseBass
I don t think you should put the bridge after the drop man. Bridges are usually there to bring tension and/or variation. I think it's better if you do a chorus first, then the bridge, and use the bridge to build up to the sickest drop of 'm all ^^.

By the way, if you need a good example... you can check out the structure of the "Katy Perry - ET" remix from Katfyr. That version has almost contstantly vocals going.

Re: need help with structure/arrangement (vocal dubstep)

Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 4:21 am
by AEgis2293
Terms like verse, chorus, bridge, intro, etc, are mainly subjective, and mean something different to everyone.
However, in my experience, the purpose of a bridge is where it gets its namesake. The bridge is meant to BRIDGE two sections of a song. Use it as a smooth transfer between verses, choruses, whatever you'd like to call them.
Really, try not to worry about uniformity when it comes to structure. If it sounds good, then it sounds good and who cares about the structure?

Just my $0.02

Re: need help with structure/arrangement (vocal dubstep)

Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2011 9:02 pm
by jarvis89
Well i think i finally sorted it, cheers for all the help fellaz :D. Give it a listen if ya like:

Soundcloud

I dunno if i'm happy with the intro tho :( any thoughts or advice? :u: