Having trouble with buildups

SGdrummer

Member
I'm in the process of writing some new songs with my band and were getting them recorded soon so we can put out an EP. In one of the new songs theres a buildup and I want it to stick out from the other song we have that we have one in. The first song I did a simple floor tom and snare buildup. I want something a little different for this new one, but I cant seem to find anything that fits really well and is different. I've tried adding different accents on the snare and it still sounds too similar. Does anybody have any suggestions???

Btw heres a link to my bands myspace if anyones interested:

http://www.myspace.com/stayforher
 
Well from the way I see it, buildups = crescendos. Crescendos are a series of notes that are played 'fuller/louder/stronger' as it progresses, whichever you want to call it.

In other words, you need to have dynamics. Just apply the basic 'go soft to loud' approach, and use it everywhere.

You could use use it on the hihat and the snare, increasing volume and loosening the hihat as you go, and giving a crash + snare at the end to give it a kick.

There's one that Carter Beauford from the Dave Matthews Band does, he plays hertas soft to loud, and then plays a fill at the end.

Another one that is very common is a 16th or 32nd note roll on the snare, increasing in volume. You could use single strokes or doubles, up to you. You can keep the bass drum going on all 4s for a more rhythmic feel.

Good luck :)
 
Volentry, you just described a build up style that I use all the time, it works very well.

Take a simple beat, as the build up progresses start adding in ghost notes on the snare, hopefully to match the guitar riff that's going on. Accent the normal notes more and more as the build up progresses. Whilst this is going on, gently increase the volume of the bass drum and ride/hi-hat as well, if your on the hi-hat open it more and more towards the crescendo.

Then when I do hit the crescendo, I tend to ride on a crash and keep the same beat that I've built going, but just play it very very loudly. This works well for long build up's.
 
I like to use floor toms to do the buildup; for whatever reason, they are easy to play dynamics on (for me, anyways). Keep time during the buildup with the bass drum. Quarters, eighths, sixteenths, there's a lot of ways to go on this. That way there's a lot of contrast when you come back up into the chorus or verse or whatever and you're socking the cymbals again.
 
I'm in the process of writing some new songs with my band and were getting them recorded soon so we can put out an EP. In one of the new songs theres a buildup and I want it to stick out from the other song we have that we have one in. The first song I did a simple floor tom and snare buildup. I want something a little different for this new one, but I cant seem to find anything that fits really well and is different. I've tried adding different accents on the snare and it still sounds too similar. Does anybody have any suggestions???

Btw heres a link to my bands myspace if anyones interested:

http://www.myspace.com/stayforher

A few different options:

1. Dynamics - as pointed out above, a crescendo is a good way to build intensity. And there is a world of difference between a gradual one and one that gets bigger nearer to the end.

2. Rhythm - you can increase the meter you're playing - i.e. from 1/4s to 1/8s or 1/8s to 1/16s. Increasing the speed gives the effect of building intensity, like gears in a car. You hear this a lot (too often...) in dance music where they'll use a big drum roll increasing in volume and meter before the big out chorus. I remember hearing a track a few years ago that was actually just a constant build without ever reaching a release point. Very funny. A really advanced idea might be to move through successive meters - 1/8s, 1/8-triplets, 16ths, quintuplets, sextuplets, etc. Or you could go from playing a simple rhythm to a more complex one. An irregular or syncopated rhythm will trick the ear into thinking there is no "solidity" adding to the feeling of release when you finally land on 1. Oh, and don't forget the incredible power of building up to a point and then stopping and leaving some silence before the final kaplowee.

3. Texture - e.g. if you start with one instrument and add more instruments as you get closer to your end point it'll make it sound bigger. I'll often start a build with just FT and add SD and BD as I get closer to the end. Or, I'll start the build on one crash cymbal but move to two to add more sound.

4. Timbre - moving from light sounds to heavy sounds -- i.e. from hihats to drums -- will give a certain effect, while going the other way would give you a different one - i.e. starting your build with just FT and BD, but adding a crash cymbal at some point to make the sound bigger and more expansive. You can also move from staccato sounds to more legato ones, or vice versa. The typical rock 'n' roll build on SD and FT gives a staccato feeling whereas a cymbal roll or buzz roll on the SD is a legato sound.

5. Pitch - Moving from low pitches to high ones or vice versa builds tension. I'd take cues from what was going on elsewhere in the music to decide whether it should feel like swooping up to a destination, or downward.

Always think musically and try to match what you're doing to what is going on in the music. Ask your bandmates what they think. Maybe you need to work out an entirely new and different build with the whole band. Perhaps it's not that your part is wrong, it's that the only part that really works with what they're doing and if they were to change their parts, it could open up new possibilities for you. Or there may well be things they could be doing that would help increase the intensity without you having to change a thing.
 
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