5 Tips for Killer Breakdowns

Breakdowns can be an electronic music producer’s dream, or nightmare. Sometimes they come easy, and other times they cause stress and frustration for days or even weeks on end.

One reason for this is that breakdowns allow for so much creativity, so much freedom. If we’re talking about club-orientated music, then it’s essential that the large majority of your track has a simple, danceable rhythm. Too many elements, too much stuff going on and your track simply won’t work on the dance floor.

In the breakdown however, the game changes. Want to change keys? Go ahead. Want to add a chopped Middle Eastern vocal with weird timing? Do it!

In this post I’m going to give you 5 super simple tips that you can apply to your breakdowns (and potentially other areas of your tracks). Leave a comment at the end of the post if you have any questions.

#1 - Use Fades Extensively

The way I see it, breakdowns should flow as well as possible from one section to the next. Instruments should feel natural, and effects should enhance and not detract from the important elements that are being played (melodies, vocals, etc.)

Fades are an excellent way to achieve a cohesive, flowing sound that’s pleasant to listen to. There aren’t really any limits when it comes to what you want to automate as a fade, so experiment relentlessly.

What can you automate as a fade? Almost everything. Here a few ideas to get you started.

Dry/wet on delays and reverbs

You can fade in and out elements smoothly by automating the dry/wet of a delay and/or reverb. This works nicely with almost all instruments, but especially well with pianos and vocals.

It’s also a good idea to add filter automation when doing this to make the fade even smoother.

Volume

A lot of people neglect volume fades. They’re incredibly effective when done right.

You could slowly fade in a pad or atmospheric sound over 8-16 bars, or introduce a big supersaw sound with a quick half-bar fade. The possibilities are endless.

Filtering

Adding filter fades are by far the most common type of automation in breakdowns. Whether it’s opening up a filter on one of your synth sounds, or high passing a vocal to add tension – filters do the job, and they do it well.

Distortion

Distortion is an effect that many people neglect, unfortunately. Automating distortion fades in your breakdown can sound amazing when done right.

Try automating distortion at the end of vocal phrases or piano chord progressions. Experiment with different distortion types such as bit reduction and saturation.

#2 – Make it Shorter

The worst thing that can happen at the end of the day is that a DJ doesn’t play your track because he knows people will leave during the breakdown, either because there’s not enough energy or because it’s far too long.

From what I’ve found over the years, new producers tend to be timid when creating the "meat” section(s) of their track (drops, rhythmic and bass sections, etc), but they let loose in the breakdown. If your goal is to make music for the club, then you’ve got to be conscious about how long your breakdown is.

With that said, longer breakdowns do have their place. In genres like uplifting trance and (proper) progressive house, listeners expect there to be a long breakdown. So take into account the audience when putting together your breakdown. If you’re a newer producer, just remember it’s better for a breakdown to be too short rather than too long.

#3 – Use Linear Layering

I’m sure there’s a better name for this tip, but I like to give add a label to everything.

Linear layering is basically selective instrumentation on the time scale. You’ve got a main idea, say a chord progression, but its played by multiple instruments - each one playing a different part.

Here’s a video tutorial I recorded that explains the concept.

#4 – Travel to a Different Place Musically

As mentioned at the start of the article, breakdowns provide the most creative freedom out of any section of a track. This is what can often lead to frustration, but it’s also one of the most enjoyable parts of production when you’ve applied the right mindset.

Here are a few things you can do in your breakdown to add contrast:

1. Play a different chord progression
2. Move to your relative key
3. Compose a purely rhythmical section (drums only – get creative)
4. Play one chord or note repeatedly and constantly build up energy by adding other instruments

These are just a few ideas, and there are plenty more out there. Study other music to get more ideas of what you can do with your breakdowns musically. Jazz is a good genre to study as it often features a "bridge” which is where the song departs from its main idea or progression.

#5 – Don’t Neglect the Power of One

What does this mean?

If you listen to any piano sonata, you’ll notice that although it’s only one instrument, the piece still has plenty of emotion and feeling.

This is something that’s become lost in the world of electronic dance music, where it’s always about adding more and being complex.

By having only one instrument playing - even if just for a short amount of time - you not only provide extreme contrast to the rest of your track, but you also invoke a feeling of tension. Listen to the solo piano in the breakdown of Callisto by Dash Berlin and Shogun for example.

A Final Word

Next time you’re faced with writer’s block, or an onslaught of frustration when it comes to working on your breakdown, why not start with one of these tips? Bring in an instrument with a fade, or change the key. Go wild.

What would you add to this list? Leave a comment below.