After a few months of bedroom DJ practice, I’ve found myself, what I feel, is mildly competent in continued, balanced mixing. I can intermingle tracks with some degree of skill. What I can’t do is drop. I have yet to find myself dropping through mixing. I’ll place in a song that has a drop after a while simply because I know that it’s common to have a drop, but not because I feel like I should naturally.
Question: When do you drop? How do you accomplish it through mixing and not just by playing a song with a killer drop?
I’m asking about improvising a drop through mixing.
A build, then drop, then a stronger beat when it kicks back in, but accomplishing such a thing live, not as a part of a preexisting track.
I understand that it’s not a set formula or a simple “This is how you…” tutorial. I’m merely asking when others feel they should drop. Maybe I meant to ask “When do you drop?”
The reason it’s hard is because you’re in your bedroom. There’s no crowd to read and you have no energy to feel from the crowd so you have no idea when to drop. There is not hard and fast rule like every 23 minutes do a drop.
It’s not the actual buildup that I have trouble with, but clearing to a minimum or silence.
I know that I could do a filter sweep, use the line fader, or the crossfader. Then wait a beat or a measure for things to clear and bring it back in. I understand the fundamental idea. It’s not a technique that I think to use while mixing though.
It’s more of a question of the overall placement of a drop inside of the mix. “After the buildup.” I know. “When it feels right.”
I honestly don’t have a concise idea of what I’m having trouble with. I’m sorry.
Like in LMFAO build-ups they kill the track for like 2 beats, drop a vocal line for 2 beats and they drop the track again and everybody’s head explodes.
Thats how I see it anyway. It might be the last 2 beats of the phrase instead of 4, thus cutting what I said in half.
There are subtle drops as well. At least for me depending on the mood and character of a track I’ll slowly wind down the bass or wind up the filter over a few bars pop an effected vocal sample and drop the bass back into the main track…or the new track and mix out.
Only other thing I cared about dropping was when I was about 12 and I had no control over that.
On a serious note, practice, experiment & enjoy. Then rinse & repeat. I dont think there is a right or wrong time as such. Put your own flavour in ya mix
