Hook/Chorus Techniques

Just got done with the verse for a piece of music I was doing, problem is the verse is so hot it really doesn't leave much room for none of my usual just add shit in the hook, so I figured I'd start a thread for people who run into this problem as well, would help improve all of us

What technique/formula's do you typically use when your beat just calls for something different in the hook?


(I'll post a few in another post)

-Leave it as is, just let the beat keep looping, and let the vocalist do the hook vocally

-Add another instrument that compliments the existing melody(strings,pads, quick little stabs are popular, anything with substaining notes)

-Just kinda built the beat backwards, have my main melody be the hook, and just mute it when it goes to the verse and just have the Bass/Drums going, with maybe a couple of stabs through the verse

-Add a High Pitched Vocal Sample

(I got more and more, hopefully some more people will join in and brainwash some ideas that may help me in my case)

change key? or augment the chord sequnce with a new element? bit of counterpoint (ie change the roots of your bass)

i often find for noticebal changes a key change works well to book-end the chorus...doesn't have to be anything clever just a nice sequence that flows well from the verse and compliments it (ie it doesnt change just for the sake of changing it)......

greg

yea i need some techniques myself.

great look on that change key, that would of slipped me most def

Important thing to make your Hooks flow better with your Verses sometime

-Use Musicial Buildups and Breakdowns, for instance a nice drum roll leading into the chorus on the 16th bar, vocal FX, explosions, dropping out instruments during the drum roll and bringing them back on the hook gives a nice impression, just inserting silence also believe it or not is a good effect as well

Breakdown
At say the end of the 8th bar on the Hook you can remove everything besides the drums and use a drum roll or any of the above, and let the drums play into the first bar then drop all the instruments back to your liking somewhere through out the verse

Filters, During the Verse you can leave as is, when the hook drops you can filter out the old instruments, and add something new leaves a nice fx or the opposite way around

good shyt guys, keep em coming

A change in rhythm is a great way of making a distinction between verse and chorus. One technique I use sometimes is to basically either slow down to half time or speed up depending on the track. Using highats to do this is a great way at really contrasting the transition from verse to chorus and back or whateva your doin...

if your groove is keeping your attention, why add a hook? pipe everything down except for a very basic groove (drum beat) and when you want to go back to the verse (you are waiting for it because the groove was kicking) open that sh*t up.

I dont know, when ever i make a beat i always make the hook first cause its really the main part of the song and from there you could always mute sounds for the verse or replay something different on the verse part thats not to major.....

yeah, all these suggestions are tight. I think dropping out the drums
right before the chorus starts and kickin it back in with a melody when
the chorus starts is good way to go. Also I agree with the idea to
let the vox guide the transition between the verse and the hook.
Just try out things. I just tried taking out the bassline during the
chorus with a hot vocal hook, result were nice.

slow the bpm's down a couple, drop out the bass and have you local dj lay a cut chorus down. Drop the bass back in about half way through or what ever sounds good in context.
It works for hiphop tracks don't know how it would sound with other styles but whatever- my two

try this ...have all thr intruments you have in the song playing at the same time. before you track you beat. decide wich ones you want to have playing during the hook. mute them during the verses, the n on the first bar of the hook, cut them back on... works wonders... of course you are goin to do this when you track the beat.

alot of what they do in hip hop is a have a vocal hook...so they just have a vocal chorus like 'trdae money' or 'forgot about dre' other peeps like the neps will use key changes and stuff more found in pop styles...

i recommend apart from key changes some sort of harmonic couter point...so you have your main riff going through the verse and then a second riff that fits over the first but changes the flava come in for the chorus....its important that the riffs compliment each other...also the good thing with this is you can then use the second riff on its own to make a middle 8 and embellish new stuff around that...because it fits with your original riff you know its all gonna work when you slam the song back in for the final chorus...

greg

You can chop up the main melody line into a sort of call and response figure, possibly with different instruments.