EDM cues vs. songs

[Paulie]

Thanks to some help from folks like The Element, Owen, JimC, Russell and some others I'm really getting into EDM from a musical perspective (a big deal coming from a jazz/classical snob like me). I consider this similar to golf... most people that hate it have never played it. Once you play, you love it, or at least appreciate it.

So, I've had some EDM forwards and returns, but I'm struggling with the expected form for a cue (2:00) versus song (3:30 ish). My most recent return for a 2 minute cue had feedback that included "needed a stronger structure that feature the EDM melodic hook after the buildup - the drop felt anticlimactic." So how do you structure a cue versus a song? Here are some of my notes:

1 bar = 4 beats
8 x 8 bar sections at 128BPM = 2:00
Every 8 bars = exactly 15 seconds.

Seems to me that the form should be:

• 2 bar short intro (optional)
• 8 bars first phrase (either mellow or get right to the synth groove)
• 8 bars first phrase variation (theme up an octave, additional synth pattern, etc. add a riser near the end)
• 8 bars add the BD and bass pattern/pulse
• 8 bars add SD ad HH
• Repeat previous four sections with slight variation
• NO break (save that for song forms).

Does this look accurate-ish? Do you include a lush break in your cues, or is there not enough time for that with a 2:00-2:30 time limit? Looking for ideas, will be remixing some of my previous returns.

Thanks!

[Paulie]

Irony? Serendipity? After posting this I checked my email and found a forward for Cybr Monday. I guess I'll stick with this song structure until further notice. Feel free to comment, or ignore this thread now. (I did include an 8 bar Break in this).

[Russell Landwehr]

As far as a break is concerned, I've got several forwards of cues that all have breaks in them... however, looking back, I think I would have been better off to do a sick drop there instead.

[Paulie]

Perhaps you can trademark "This. Sick. Drop."