Drum and Bass
General:
‘Drum and Bass’ is a genre that first came about as a branch of electronic music during the 1990s from rave and jungle scenes, implementing influences from other genres and styles such as ‘big beat’ and ‘hard house’ music.
Some prevalent artists of the genre consist of: LTJ Bukem; Goldie; Alex Reece; Roni Size; Jonny L, with some of the most key distributors of the genre coming in the form of the labels ‘Metalheadz’, ‘Hospital Records’ and ‘Good Looking Records’.
The following is a track from the discography of Alex Reece titled: “I Need Your Love”, from his 1994 record “Fresh Jive”. It features many typical elements of the genre, from its fast BPM to its use of samples, synthesizers and effective repeating drum loop.
Instrumentation:
Typically, instrumentation of the style consists of synthesizers, drum machines, sequencers, keyboards and samplers. Drum machines and sequencers have become a vital aspect of the DnB sound, accompanying the large increase in popularity of 808s and 909s found all throughout the 90s. The ‘Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer’ had a bass drum sound that became a key piece of equipment in the creation of drum and bass music.
The following video is footage of someone making use of a TR-808 to create an effective drum pattern.
Structure:
The structure of the DnB sound commonly ties in to the context in which the music is expected to be played. The intended environment is usually at clubs or house parties, where a DJ would use turntables to play their music. Therefore the music is quite repetative and can last a long time. This allows DJ’s to mix the next tune in plenty of time.
Drum and bass conventionally consists of an intro, a drop, a verse, a second drop and an outro. An intro is traditionally required to be simple and therefore easy for a potential DJ to effectively mix in with a previous song. This section should also be introduced to progressively build up to the first drop of the track, where the main bassline is established. The outro is applied to serve as a progressive stripping down of the layers of the music, so the theoretical DJ can mix it into the next song without any unexpected stops in the piece.
The following is a video explaining the key structural elements of a (liquid) DnB track.
Melody:
Melody within DnB is conventionally played on a keyboard or synthesizer and serves as a repeating pattern throughout the track, sometimes being used to build up to the multiple drops found within the piece. Melody can also be effectively utilised through the use of samples from other songs, usually with multiple effects applied to them. Basslines are also consistently used as the melody for the DnB style, looping throughout the song alongside the drum beat.
The following video consists of someone creating a melody for their Drum and bass track within FL studio.
Rhythm:
Drum and bass music consistently contains a tempo between 160 and 180 BPM, in order to maintain a fast rhythm for a potential audience to dance to. The tempo of DnB effectively separates itself from other breakbeat-based dance styles of music, such as techno, house, electro and glitch hop, which implement a slower pace around 105-130 BPM.
The drumbeat itself continuously loops throughout the song, possibly changing or diverging following any of the many drops in the piece. Instrumentally, the drumloop consists of heavy bass drums, snappy snares and fast hi-hats. Drum machines are commonly used to create this sound.
The following is a video of someone creating a drumloop in Ableton Live.
Harmony:
Chords in DnB are conventionally used to add depth to the track and to compliment the melody. This can be achieved through the use of a keyboard or synth, and even through digital instrumentation found in the ever-increasing popularity of DAWs (digital audio workstations). They use jazzy chords sometimes if the DnB track is a jazz fusion.
The following is footage of someone creating their harmony and chords on a DAW (FL Studio) for their Drum and bass style piece.
Modern Technological Developments in the Genre:
A noticeable development within the DnB genre is the introduction of ‘Digital Audio Workstations’ or DAWs for short. This technological advancement has allowed many artists to implement digital instrumentation in the form of MIDI tracks. This departure from physical equipment such as the TR-808 has introduced a far quicker and more effective method in creating Drum and bass and other forms of electronic music. Also in modern DnB is the use of vocal parts are used in an attempt to appeal to the mainstream.
This is evident within the two tracks linked below. One being Alex Reece’s Drum and bass classic ‘Pulp Fiction’ which implements little to no vocal recordings, and the other being Rudimentals 2013 hit, ‘Waiting All Night’, which consists of a vocal hook from their featured artist ‘Ella Eyre’. This is possibly the most popular DnB song of the past 5 years, with the music video cultivating over 100 million views on Youtube.
Sources of information
Wikipedia- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_and_bass
Youtube research – https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=drum+n+bass
Internet searches – https://www.google.com/search?q=drum+n+bass+information&rlz=1C1GCEB_enGB814GB814&oq=drum+n+bass&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j0l4.2009j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8, https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=drum%20and%20bass, https://www.factmag.com/2013/08/28/autonomic-jungle-footwork-and-slowfast-how-drum-n-bass-got-its-groove-back/
My Own Piece:
The following is my attempt at creating a piece in the style of Drum and bass:
Step 1:
I open up a new, blank track so I have a blank canvas when creating my Drum and Bass piece. I then immediately change the tempo from the default setting of 120 bpm to 170 bpm. I did this because DnB tracks typically have a fast tempo between 160 and 180 bpm.
Step 2:
I then get to work on my drumbeat, as it is arguably the most vital feature of a Drum and Bass piece of music. To do this, I make use of Logic Pro X’s inbuilt drum sequencer, ultrabeat, in order to create the intricate and detailed drum patterns found in Drum and Bass. In order to meet the desired sound, I choose a “Drum and Bass Kit”, however I don’t feel it completely fits the style of Drum and Bass I’m aiming for. Therefore, I choose a ‘Deep House Kit”, which is an extremely similar genre to Drum and Bass, and get to work on creating my drumbeat.
Step 3:
My drumloop now features fast hi-hats, however I feel it is not quite aggressive or loud enough to fit a Drum and Bass piece of music. In consequence of this, I proceed to select all of the hi-hat notes and turn up the velocity to 115. This should make the hi-hats sound more like those found in a DnB track.
Step 4:
I also eventually come to the conclusion that the bass drum pattern is not quite as punchy or prominent as most Drum and Bass kits, so I consequentially turn to EQ and select the pre-set “Punchy Kick” setting. In order the reinforce the required “punch” sound, I select all the bass drum MIDI notes and turn the velocity up to 127. This should make the bass drum sound more like those found in a DnB track.
Step 5:
I eventually feel that my drumbeat is lacking the required depth necessary for an effective DnB track, meaning I then seek out a Drum and Bass percussive loop in Logic Pro X’s in-built loop library. I eventually find a loop titled “DnB Percussion 02”, as it is the same bpm as my piece, and was pre-made to fit a Drum and Bass track. I then proceed to loop the sampled percussion alongside the looped drumbeat.
Step 6:
I then proceed to get to work on my melody, which is a vital element of DnB, as it is conventionally used to build up to the multiple drops found within the piece. Due to the fact that melody is typically played on a keyboard or synthesiser, I choose a software instrument entitled ‘EVP Chords Bright’, which mimics the sound chords make when played on a piano. It also has a spacey and vast sound that is a common trope of DnB music. Furthermore, the melody I then proceed to record is extremely simplistic (another feature of the genre), so I can effectively loop it throughout the track.
Step 7:
To assure that the melody is in-time with the typically fast 170 bpm of a DnB piece, I select all the notes and proceed to quantise.
Step 8:
I then feel as if my melody does not contain the required depth and typical reverberation of the genre, so I proceed to copy the melody part onto a separate track with the aim to add ambience and harmony. I then proceed to search for a fitting software instrument, which comes in the form of “Ambient House Chords”. House music is a very similar style of music to DnB, as they are both electronically based and feature fast bpms, which is my reasoning for choosing that respective software instrument. I copy the melody part onto that track.
Step 9:
I still feel as if the track is lacking the depth and vastness of the genre, prompting me to once again make use Logic Pro X’s in-built loop library in order to acquire a fitting ambient track. The loop is consequently come by is titled “DnB Aurora FX (03_1)”, and fits the desired genre as it was created in order to be used in a Drum and Bass composition.
Step 10:
I now proceed to work on an effective structure, first focusing my attention on the intro. In order to do this effectively, I create fast moving hi-hats to build up to the first drop of the track, which is a vital feature of DnB. I then proceed to use volume modulation in order to progressively rise the hats, which is a typical feature of drum and bass and building up to a drop.
Step 11:
I then wish to establish the melody of the composition within the intro, as that is a conventional element of the genre. This means I copy the melody part and software instrument and place it within the intro, adding EQ to assure it is ‘low cut’ to differentiate itself from the melody of the rest of the piece. This is a typical trope of Drum and Bass music.
Step 12:
The drop doesn’t feel quite as satisfying as a majority of DnB compositions, causing me to acquire another sound effect to place at the end of the drop in consequence of this. I eventually find the loop entitled “DnB Aurora FX 01_1”, which is a pre made sound effect specifically designed for Drum and Bass music.
Step 13:
Out of all the required musical parts of DnB, I am now only missing a bass part. I decide to choose a software instrument entitled “Digital Ghost Bass”, as it is listed as an EDM bass, which is an extremely similar genre of electric music to Drum and Bass.
Step 14:
I now decide to structure the piece in the style of DnB. This means I create multiple breaks and drops in-between choruses, which is a common feature of Drum and Bass. The outro serves as a gradual breakdown of all the instruments, as a potential DJ would wish to mix the track into another piece effectively and smoothly. This is also why I fade out my drumloop at the end of the piece.
Step 15:
My final step in the creation of my composition is adding the final mastering EQ to all the tracks. The EQ I choose is a preset entitled “Dance Music Type EQ”, as it is the most similar genre and option the DnB.
Throughout the process i did lots of experimenting with different sounds. Here is the finished piece.
The Finished Composition:
Review:
Strengths:
I feel that my composition fits the desired genre of Drum and Bass, as it contains all the primary tropes and features of the style. Some vital examples of this are the fast BPM of 170 and the use of electronic software instruments. Furthermore, the structure is that of a typical DnB song, from its multiple drops and breakdown of the instruments in the outro. I am satisfied with the track as it sounds like a piece of Drum and Bass music. I feel that my piece has met the brief. It has lots of instrument tracks and it lasts for 2:04 minutes. The piece is produced to sound like drum and bass. This was successful. It has a minor key feel.
Use of MIDI and Audio:
I have both MIDI and audio tracks, with the former being used to add ambience and atmosphere to the composition.
Use of Editing Tools:
I have also added sufficient EQ and other editing tools, such as quantisation to assure the track is in time, and velocity editing to assure the piece is aggressive as typical DnB. Furthermore, I have used dance music type EQ
Weaknesses:
I feel the piece is slightly repetitive, which is usually combatted within drum and bass with beat-switches and additional melodies being added throughout the piece. However, this is also acceptable stylistically within the genre, as it is common for the melody to be repetitious. I think if i was to do it again i could have added an MC over the top of the piece to add to it.
Some of the sources of information this post has made use of: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_and_bass https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe3Kg52uqNs