Welcome to another issue of Technolite

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Site News:

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Wow, what a crowded month it has been. I have now finished my project, yep, about 6 to 12 months of solid work that has left me totally exhausted. I plan to release it within the next few weeks either just before Christmas or just after. but you will be pleasently surprised.

Why?

Well everything in the music making world is surrounded in mystery, so I have totally blasted a powerful light into this abyss to reveal everything that ever wanted to know about the subject. More importantly...how...how to make a full song from the idea stage all the way through to the selling stage, stopping at every station along the way.

The site has had a bit of a quiet period of updates, due to the project work, so when it is released, the site will have some great updates. So keep that RSS peeled :)

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Hot Topic:

Formulas

I suppose the main thing that we must all adhere to with any sort of music making style is the following of rules. This is where alot of musicians fall down, because they do not know the rules.

Which ever way you look at it, music must follow rules or else it will become a shambles- the audience would not know if to expect a cool beat/ chorus or to clam themselves down. The rules are usually called formulas, and each artist therefore follows their own formula.

The formula that works the best it the "build up rule":

1. Start off soft with minimal everything,

2. Increase the application of instruments until you have them all playing in lovely harmony, everyone is dancing their legs off.

3. Cool down period, still have some good beats playing, but slowly you are winding people down,

4. The end, all beats have vanished and just the humm of the chorus is present.

Your audience has a good time. But there are variations of this rule.

Why not have some shockers of coolness littered throughout the track, start, middle and end? And this is what alot of artists do. Having some cool intro that is equally as dancy as the main part, or an ending that is simply cool will help you out no end. Only because songs have become too formulaic that the littering works.

Vitalic- Phoney Part 1 is a great example. The start with the cool drum and effects combo is a great start, but then when the bass kicks in and then the full track materialises, with strings, then the whole track is just gold.

We can even look towards films, they follow the same problem of formulas. The best films have twists and turns to keep you on edge at every turn. Bad films are typical films where you know what is going to come up.

You need to keep your audience attracted to your song, capture them draw them into your song with great hooks start middle and end.

Please noteIf you are preparing quite a few songs, remember that the intro and outro will define what the audience will expect from each song.

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Hip-Hop tips part 2.

I hope you enjoyed the Neptune interview in the last issue. It had some solid tips laced in with alot of words really didnt it?

Today though, it is the continuation of the Hip Hop tips.

Carrying on from the rules and formula piece from above, hip-hop is very similar.

Simplicity is the key, with some really good hooks.Look at Primo for example. Many claim he is one of the best producers of all times. Most of his beats are litterally a constant loop. No hook section, no build, etc. They may have an intro or outro but again. His genious is in the simplicity of his work. He knows how to get you off the start, he knows what mood to provide, and the key is he knows how much energy to give for the type of song and MC he is working with. I hear alot of people now with these really complex beats. It makes the rapper sound really boreing most of the time. So give the rapper some space, they will apprciate it.

Hip-Hop need to be interesting. If you listen to a hip-hop beat for a long time it does tend to get boring, so that is the greatest challenge.

Hip-hop is mainly built upon loops so there is a constant flow, but there is still a well defined intro, hooks, verses, break, outro.

To aid against repetativeness, drop the drums on the 2nd verse trick- it calls attention to the start of the 2nd verse, or drop the bass-line at the start of the 2nd hook/chorus.

Breakdown of a Hip Hop Song

There are two basic parts to a typical hip hop song: The Beat and the Vocals. Each consists of several tracks. While this article focuses on the construction of beats, lets start off with a description of all the elements of a hip hop song so you can see how the beat fits in.

What are Beats?

This is the most important term to understand in Hip Hop construction, because if you don't know it, you'll never understand what people are talking about. The Beat is basically, the whole song minus the vocals. It usually includes the following:

1. Audio drum loops, which comprise the complete drum tracks

2. A Bassline

3. Supporting Orchestration (could be synth pads, string sections, horns)

4. Dubs and snips (samples that accent and give character)

The Beat can be long or short. In its shortest form it is 8 bars. If short, it is usually looped over and over again, for as long as the vocalist wants. If long, it may be comprised of different parts for the verse and chorus and may add an introduction, a break, and an ending. Often, the HH song follows classic pop form of Intro (8 bars). Verse (8-16 bars) Chorus (8 bars) Verse (8-16 bars) Chorus (8 bars) Break (2-8 bars) Verse or Chorus (8-16 bars) then ends in a fade out. This structure, called the arrangement, of course, is not written in stone. It can be modified to suit the piece at hand.

What do the vocal tracks consist of in a Hip Hop song?

1. Main vocal: The main vocalist performs the rap

2. Second Vocal: Some songs may have a guest vocal or second vocal that takes a verse

3. Background Vocals: Are often created to give a sense that a whole group is participating

4. Overdubbed vocals: During the chorus and at other parts that the artist wishes to emphasize, the main vocal may be doubled, tripled or even quadrupled

Phewww. The best idea is to find a cool hip-hop artist and then listen to their work. They will follow a formula so write down when various segments kick-in, how long parts run for, what samples and sounds are used. This is by far the easiest way to figure out how hip-hop ticks.

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