The DJ’s role in dance music is not only breaking new music but also remixing and producing their beats. Long gone are the days where a DJ could break through on his DJing skills alone; in the modern dance scene the DJ has become an artist in his or her own right.
The age of computer production has been upon us for many years and as the cost of a home studio falls each day, more and more people are beginning to fully realise the creative potential of the humble sequencer. In fact many of the new stars of the scene are breaking through with their own productions rather than exhibiting their DJing skills.
While many DJs still employ top quality sound engineers to produce their work, it is still the knowledge and creative input of the DJ that will make the track work. With that in mind, let us now take a look at some of the basic production techniques now used to produce dance music. First and foremost, dance music usually follows the 4/4 time and can typically have a range of anywhere from 120-137bpm. In most cases, house tunes are produced in one of 3 separate ways.
- Everything is sampled and then rearranged to form a new groove.
- Using only a few samples, the rest of the track is programmed using synths and electronic instruments.
- The entire track is programmed using electronic instruments and synths.
The main body of a house track is in the drum track or the groove and this is the most important part as it drives the entire piece of music; its key components are a kick drum, snare, percussion and high hats. However, simply putting these sounds together won’t produce a groove. The groove comes from not only where the sounds are heard but also the amount of compression and processing that is applied to the loop.
The drum track is almost always the first thing to be produced as the bass line and melody will follow the groove of this. Dance bass lines are heavily syncopated around the drum groove and often have their roots firmly embedded in disco; Usually if the bass line is very busy then the melody will be very simple to compliment the groove and vice versa. Once the bass line has been laid down you can extract the melody or motifs from it - this also works in reverse.
Motifs or leads are the melodic lines used to lock the groove down, they can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be, but over the test of time it’s the simplistic ones that always seem to work best.
Once the drums and bass are layered down then the first level of compression is added - this involves all of the drum parts and sometimes the bass depending on where it fits into the mix. Compression is a process used to boost the average signal level of a sound or loop. Compressors are used throughout the music industry and therefore almost every song you hear will have some element of compression applied at different stages of the mix.
Compression adds dynamics and tightens up a mix, which generally creates a far more balanced and forcefully executed overall sound.
Once the drums and bass are working then the rest of the lead instruments can be placed over the top to complete the groove.
Sampling
When sampling other people’s work in your own recordings, you have to remember that you need to permission from two different rights holders. There is a separate copyright in the song and in the sound recording which normally belong to the songwriter/publisher and the recording artist/record label respectively. You are going to have to clear the samples by getting permission and drawing up agreements with all the concerned parties.
Remixing
Remixing other artists can be a very good way of increasing your profile and can benefit the original artist too. Some artists and labels will approach producer/DJs for remixes and some will be open to approach from you. Before you work on a remix though, make sure you sign a contract with all concerned parties to agree your fees and royalty splits.
Mixtapes
Mixtapes can be a good way of getting your skills as a DJ noticed and can help you to secure more gigs and industry interest. Much like demos for live musicians, getting the industry to listen to your unsolicited mixtape is an almost pointless task. However, it’s good to have material available on request and to secure media coverage. Spend time on making sure your mixtape stands out from other DJs’ work through choosing an original mix of songs and ensuring your mixtape is well paced to maintain attention. What works well live doesn’t always translate well to a mixtape but make sure it represents what you can do at club level.
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