Methods of heightening transitions in songs

[Metaltastic]

So I was thinking about to heighten transitions between sections in songs, and I've come up with the following

-Subdrops
-Reverse cymbal fade-ins
-Some sort of "GO!!!" or "YEAH!!!!!" or "COME ON!!!!!" (or "WOMAN!!!!!" ) by the singer

Anyone got any others?

 

[Machinated]

-Adding an extra bar in, when its unexpected
-Having the first bar of a section quieter (like 1 clean guitar or something) and then kick in properly on second bar (check out second chorus on My Curse by KSE).

I'm sure there are plenty of other things I have had bands implement when recording, just got to think of them haha

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Longer fills

*LOL not a production tip unless your drums are midi

 

[ahjteam]

Dynamics

 

[abyssofdreams]

Dirk Verbeuren-style drumfills
string-slides
pitch-harmonics
grunts
farts

 

[Metaltastic]

Dynamics

Oh wow, really? I always thought squashing the living hell out of everything was the only way to go, what a cutting-edge suggestion! :Smug:

Ed, Genius, and Abyss, thanks for the good suggestions, keep 'em coming!

 

[-J-]

shotgun blast or a gun cocking
a menudo-style hand clap (just kidding)
glass breaking (only if it was real and you recorded it); it be fun to record a beer bottle against a wall
bell/gong; hell any metal object from the trash
the ol' run the finger down the piano trick (just kidding)
music stops, have a quick sample from a movie (if it fits)
cowbell, I mean A LOT of cowbell
hardly anyone does bass guitar licks between parts, that's always cool
maybe a dead stop with a fast fade-in
dead stop followed by a brief part of the next section but a tiny radio sound for a bit (kind of overdone)

once I had the music stop at the chorus so the singer could sing the first line by himself. singers love that shit because it's like they're on a mountain with a huge spotlight on their crotch.

 

[abyssofdreams]

maybe like a roomy scream that was discussed here before (At The Gates?), running from one room towards the mic before everything else kicks in...?

 

[abyssofdreams]

oh, and of course a pumpgun reloading

 

[006]

There's always the half measure of abrupt silence then straight back into it abruptly as well.

~006

 

[ahjteam]

Oh wow, really? I always thought squashing the living hell out of everything was the only way to go, what a cutting-edge suggestion! :Smug:

Well somebody had to state the obvious!

 

[spioraid]

glass breaking (only if it was real and you recorded it); it be fun to record a beer bottle against a wall

Extol did something that sounded like glass breaking in the song Burial, title track from the album. Great intro to some blast beat parts.

or "WOMAN!!!!!"

DANZIG DANZIG!!!!

I'm always a fan of drum fills, but that's because I'm a drummer myself.

 

[Sloan]

singers love that shit because it's like they're on a mountain with a huge spotlight on their crotch.

 

[006]

 

[TheWinterSnow]

Climatic drum fills like tom fills snare fills, cymbal fills, they don't always have to be fancy, a simple snare kick snare at the end of a verse, pick slides/left hand slides, tutti pause, right before say a chorus. big help. basic snare fills before a quicker feel change, such as transitioning a verse with half time feel to a chorus in full time. transitioning up in a scale, ex: run a strumming pattern of some sort that climbs the scale to alow the downbeat of the next secion to resolve or sustain the tension.

 

[JonWormwood]

A girl's moan from climax.

 

[Wave_D]

I've done a couple of things.

Sometimes during the chorus or a bigger moment I'll kick in a little more sub in the bass guitar, either automate the eq or automate the bypass on an RBass or whatever you like to use. Really depends on the style of music and how busy the part is.

I remember reading an interview with Andy Wallace that sometimes he brings the cymbals up a couple of db's during the choruses.

 

[sparkyness]

I tend to have different ambiances in verses to chorus - e.g. mono drum room mic in verse, stereo for chorus so may start the transition between the two in a pre-chorus. Dry verses vs wet choruses (or vice-versa). Different vox delays or reverbs.

If I'm layering guitar tracks in chorus I may have the 2nd layer kick in with a counter-melody a few measures before the chorus hits to provide build-up.

That being said - if the arrangement/writing is spot on any production "tricks" for transitions are merely icing on the cake.

 

[greyskull]

backwards cymbals, backwards snares, reverse vocal reverb
turn the overheads up in the chorus/hook.

Have a 1or2 bar loop of trashy lofi smashed room mics
telephone vocals/guitar
the list goes on...
im running out of my ear candy tricks

 

[paladin shredder]

guitar amp feedback