Breakbeats are everywhere. From their origins in funk and soul records to modern electronic genres like Drum n’ Bass, these infectious rhythms continue evolving in the hands of skilled music producers. This begs the question – what goes into making a breakbeat? What makes a chopped and re-arranged drum loop so catchy? And most importantly – how to make breakbeats your own?
Let’s dive into everything you need to know about breakbeats, from classic sampling techniques and modern approaches using drum machines and digital audio workstations (DAWs). Whether you’re a seasoned producer or just starting, get ready to discover how to inject that signature breakbeat energy into your music.
Table of Contents:
- Understanding the Power of the Break
- Embracing Modern Techniques – How to Make Breakbeats In the Box
- From Breaks to Basslines
- FAQs about how to make breakbeats
- Conclusion
Understanding the Power of the Break
Before chopping, slicing, and pitching, it’s important to grasp what makes a breakbeat special. A breakbeat isn’t just any drum pattern – it’s a rhythmic passage taken from a pre-existing recording, usually where the main instruments drop out, leaving just the drums and percussion.
Think of tracks like “Amen, Brother” by The Winstons, James Brown’s “Funky Drummer”, or “Think (About It)” by Lyn Collins. These breaks have a raw energy that begs to be looped and built upon.
Finding Those Classic Breaks
While we’ll get into making breakbeats from scratch, nothing beats the feel of working with classic samples. There was a time when digging through dusty vinyl crates at Vinyl Shops was the only option. Luckily today, a treasure trove of resources is available, both paid and free, catering to every music genre:
- Online libraries like Tracklib offer a legal and curated selection of breakbeats from original recordings.
- WhoSampled is an awesome tool that lets you search for specific breaks used in famous tracks and branch out from there.
- Don’t sleep on YouTube. Dedicated channels like Rhythm Roulette and countless others offer deep dives into rare grooves and breaks.
- Dedicated platforms like Splice and Loopmasters also curate breaks and loops, often offering modern takes on those classic drum sounds.
From Vinyl Rip to Digital Manipulation – It All Started With Sampling
Early hip-hop DJs were the original breakbeat pioneers. Legends like Kool Herc extended drum breaks by using two turntables and physically manipulating records. This paved the way for samplers, devices that could capture and re-trigger audio, to become essential tools.
The Ensoniq Mirage and Akai MPC series samplers changed the game in the 80s, while the E-mu SP-1200 cemented its legacy. These tools allowed producers to take those classic breaks, chop them into individual hits, and re-arrange them in completely new ways.
This gave rise to early hip-hop, with groups like Salt-N-Pepa’s hit “I Desire” being built around these chopped-up drum patterns. The techniques pioneered during this era are still relevant for understanding how to make breakbeats that hit hard.
Embracing Modern Techniques – How to Make Breakbeats In the Box
You don’t need vintage hardware to create authentic-sounding breaks. Modern Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) come equipped with the tools to do it all, making them a fantastic option for learning how to make breakbeats. We’re going to use Ableton Live as an example because of its intuitive workflow:
1. Choosing Your Weapons
While classic breaks provide a solid foundation, today’s producers often blend them with modern drum samples or even craft them completely from scratch using drum machine plugins:
- Stock Sounds Aren’t Just For Beginners: Don’t be afraid to dig into your DAW’s built-in drum kits. Ableton’s “Session Drums Studio” or options in Logic Pro and other DAWs are often packed with excellent sounds to start with.
- Finding Your Flavor: Once you want to expand beyond the core sounds, numerous options are available:
- Native Instruments Battery 4 is known for its vast sample library and powerful effects for layering and drum processing.
- XLN Audio Addictive Drums 2 shines with incredibly realistic sounding kits covering a variety of styles.
- Toontrack Superior Drummer 3 takes realism a step further by meticulously capturing a huge amount of detail, aiming to recreate every nuance of a real drum kit’s performance.
- FXpansion BFD3 aims for sonic versatility, offering options ranging from natural kits recorded in famous studios to more experimental electronic sounds.
2. Chopping Like a Surgeon
Remember – you’re not just copying and pasting. It’s like this: if those classic breaks were made by physically manipulating records on turntables, we’re essentially doing that digitally, except with way more control, customization options, and editing capabilities.
- Load your chosen breakbeat onto an audio track in your DAW and listen closely to its groove.
- Identify its tempo – Many breaks contain tempo information in the file name but use your DAW’s tap tempo feature for accuracy. If the timing is a little off, you can always quantize the audio to your project’s grid. This isn’t always ideal but can be helpful in cleaning things up, especially when starting.
- Start chopping. Use your DAW’s slice tool (often represented by a razor blade icon) to divide the break into individual hits or groups of hits to add your own flavor.
- Re-arrange those sliced elements – This is where your creativity shines through. Experiment with different orderings to see what new patterns emerge. Try swapping the order of your snares and kicks to break the expected pattern, for instance.
- Don’t Be Afraid to Get Weird – The Beauty of Pitching & Time-Stretching: Experiment with changing the playback speed (pitch) and duration (time-stretching) of your slices. This can add a unique character or help to better fit with your project’s tempo.
Once you’ve rearranged your slices, you might notice small gaps in your audio file that throw things out of sync. You can zoom in closely on your DAW’s arrange window to either trim them or utilize your DAW’s “warp markers” to subtly adjust the timing of individual hits. It might seem tedious, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll find ways to turn these ‘mistakes’ into sonic opportunities.
3. From Basic to Banger: Processing and Effects
Using creative effects plays a key role in this genre. Load up your go-to EQ, compressor, reverb, and anything else that adds personality:
- EQ: Clean up any muddy low-end or harsh high-frequencies in your samples, then try a subtle shelf boost around 2-5kHz on your snare or clap to make them pop.
- Compression: Use it subtly to glue the different elements together or crank it to create that pumping, energetic vibe.
- Reverb & Delay: Subtly place your drums in a virtual space, adding depth and movement. You can get really creative with these by playing with the tempo, reverb type, and different hall reverbs.
- Saturation & Distortion: Overdrive plugins, bitcrushers, and creative filtering can add aggression and crunch, characteristics of more intense breakbeat music styles.
4. Roll With It – Mastering Those Classic Breakbeat Fills
Learning how to make breakbeats isn’t just about loops – it’s also about understanding fills, which help add variation, build energy, and signal changes within your tracks.
Here’s where those chopping skills come into play:
- Duplicate your main breakbeat pattern across several bars. Then, focus on specific sections, for example, the last two beats of a four-bar loop.
- Instead of repeating the same pattern, take individual hits like snares, percussive elements, or even reverse cymbal crashes from your sliced-up break. Then, cram these hits into those last couple of beats, slightly adjusting their velocities for a more natural roll effect.
- You can then automate various parameters within your effects plugins. For instance, try automating a lowpass filter on a snare roll for that classic “riser” effect common to breakbeat music. This interplay between variations in arrangement and creative use of effects defines a huge part of how to make breakbeats memorable.
From Breaks to Basslines
Understanding how to make breakbeats is just the tip of the iceberg. Incorporating these infectious rhythms into a full track involves several key considerations:
Laying Down the Foundation
The relationship between basslines and breakbeats forms the backbone of music genres like drum n’ bass and jungle. It’s not about one overpowering the other but rather how they work in tandem:
- Syncopation and Groove: Experiment by programming basslines that don’t always hit directly on the kick drum. Try using a call and response pattern – your bass fills in the space where the kick isn’t hitting, creating rhythmic variation.
- Sidechain Compression: Most electronic music production relies heavily on sidechain compression for a sense of rhythmic “pumping”. By sidechaining elements like basses or pads to the kick drum of your break, you are essentially “ducking” their volume momentarily when the kick hits. This opens up space in the mix and creates a feeling of interlocking groove.
Expanding the Sonic Palette – Atmosphere, Melodies, and FX
Building a track involves thinking beyond just drums and bass. It’s about creating an atmosphere:
- Atmospheric elements like pads, ambient textures, and foley sounds help glue together musical elements.
- Experiment with using arpeggiated synths, vocal samples, or even field recordings to add depth. Think outside of typical instruments.
It’s All About Arrangement: Building Tension and Release
While we’ve discussed techniques on a micro level, arranging your elements within the larger context of your track is key to taking things further. Here’s where inspiration often comes from analyzing how other standout producers have tackled this:
- Breakdown sections: Provide a brief pause from intense beats, creating anticipation before dropping back into the groove with renewed intensity.
- Subtly introducing and removing elements like percussive layers or atmospheric pads can keep things interesting. Sometimes the quiet moments hit harder than any over-compressed snare.
FAQs about how to make breakbeats
What makes a breakbeat?
It’s all about the drums. Specifically, it’s a section in a song – typically from funk, soul, or jazz – where only the drum beat plays. Think “Funky Drummer” by James Brown. Producers isolate these sections and loop, chop, and process them, creating those iconic, energetic breakbeat grooves.
Is breakcore the same as breakbeat?
Both revolve around the core element of chopped-up drum breaks, but think of breakcore as its more chaotic and experimental cousin. Breakcore often uses faster tempos, glitches, heavy distortion, and even elements of hardcore punk or digital harshness, taking things in an abrasive direction.
What bpm is breakbeat?
Tempo is always flexible in music production. That said, breakbeats are often associated with tempos ranging from 110 bpm to 140 bpm. Of course, within individual genres like Drum n’ Bass, expect these numbers to vary. Modern producers often play around with tempos outside of these traditional ranges, adding yet another layer of sonic possibilities.
Conclusion
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