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A drop or beat drop in music, made popular by electronic dance music styles, is a point in a music track where a sudden change of rhythm or bass line occurs dramatically, which is preceded by a build-up section and break.

Originating from disco and 1970s rock, drops are found in genres such as EDM Pop, Trap, Hip-Hop, and even K-Pop and Country. With the aid of music production applications, drops can vary in instrumentation and sound. Electronic instruments and tools for making drops include oscillating synthesizers, vocal samples, a drum beat, and basslines.

While drops are mainly associated with electronic dance music, they can also be found in trap, hip-hop and even K-pop and country. Elements present in a drop include oscillating synthesizers, vocal samples, a drum beat and bass lines. Certain types of drops include a "beat-up" (so-named because it is a point where the volume of the foundational kick drum beat is increased, after it has been faded down during a break or buildup) and "climax" (a single, particularly striking drop done late in the track). Additionally, there are also types of drops which deviate from the standard, such as "anti-drops" (songs in which the chorus is more minimal than the build-up) and consecutive "superseding-drops".

Drops are performed in music festivals and concerts, as pyrotechnics, visuals, and lighting are designed to correspond with the music. For example, at EDM festivals such as Electric Daisy Carnival, drops are accompanied by confetti explosions, fireworks, and light flashes.

The electronic dance festival experience, heightened by a drop-build up, is frequently accommodated by MDMA, a synthetic drug belonging to the amphetamine substance family.

The arrangement of drops can produce pleasurable feelings in the brain, which consequently translates into the listener’s behavior. These positive sensations are most enhanced when sharing the drop in a social setting.

History

The drop "...grew out of '70s rock".^{[citation needed]} A subtype of the drop, the bass drop, was used in the Miami bass subgenre of hip hop music in the 1980s. The bass drop was produced using the Roland TR-808's deep drum machine kick drum sound. Since then, the TR-808 bass drop has been incorporated into a number electronic dance music genres, either produced by a TR-808 or using a sample of a TR-808 bass drop. The EDM drop has continued to evolve over time, circulating through different sub-genres which were favored in different time periods.

• In the early 2000s, the trance EDM genre introduced drops to the mainstream crowd.
• Throughout the 2000s, techno drops were favored. Daft Punk was the most notable DJ example after their renowned performance at Coachella in 2006.
• In the late 2000s, deep house drops grew popular as they continued the bouncy-drop effect of Trance, while enhancing it with darker instrumental and melody features.
• The 2010s decade brought dubstep drops to fame, with headliners such as Skrillex guiding the sounds forward.
• In 2014, big-room and festival drops became popular as they attained an international interest. Leading this movement was the prodigy Martin Garrix with his hit single "Animals".
• In 2015, producers such as Seven Lions and Illenium allowed for melodic dubstep to continue the heavy bass-line drop popularity of the dubstep genre by introducing emotional melodies.
• In 2016, the blending of EDM and pop music rose in popularity, with notable examples including Where Are Ü Now by Justin Bieber and Jack Ü.
• In 2018, heavier forms of dubstep/trap drops regained popularity with the introduction of talented producers such as NGHTMRE and Rezz.

Genres

Electronic Dance Music

Many genres of EDM have more than one drop during a track, especially if the song is built on a "dance-pop" verse/chorus with vocals; a drop may be heard somewhere during each chorus as the high point of that verse/chorus cycle. Most genres, however, tend to emphasize a single drop as the beginning of the high point, or climax, of the track; in vocal sub-genres this occurs most in the last repetition of the chorus, while in nonvocal genres it occurs in the last quarter of the track.

• In trap, the drop incorporates a dense vibration accompanied by a hard bass style.
• In pop electronic music, the drop initiates a heavy bounce effect to be used for large audiences.
• In trance, eurodance, hardstyle, hardcore, house and other dance genres where melodies and chord progressions are emphasized, it is known as a climax. This is where the main melody and accompanying beats enter with the drums and usually a syncopated bass line, giving the track a 'bouncy' feel.
• In dubstep, the drop involves a heavy full bass line and commonly a "wobble" or "vowel" bass accompanied by a strong shuffling beat. There can be powerful chords and/or emotional melodies combined with varies of common dubstep bass lines. Melodic Dubstep is a sub-category under Dubstep that includes powerful chords, with the use of different light melodies accompanied by the heavy bass line, to create harmonious melodies.
• Electronic music DJs sometimes perform what is called a "double drop": beatmatching two tracks where the drop, and hence the respective climaxes of both tracks, occur at the same time.

Other Genres

In hip hop and other forms of electronic music, a reintroduction of the full bass line and drums after pulling them back for a verse or buildup is known as a drop. There are usually more than one in songs from these genres; the first drop and the climax are particularly emphasized.

In metalcore subgenres, bass drops are often utilized under the first chord of a breakdown, to emphasize the breakdown and give it a pronounced presence. A bass drop in this genre may be done using electronic drums with a sample pad triggered by the drummer or a backing track, either of which is sent to a venue's PA system.

In rock music, the drop is characterized by an increase in the speed or activity of the bassline and usually a big boost to volume in the keyboard or guitar, and/or adding distortion or overdrive to the rhythm guitar. The song's volume and tempo change.

In pop music, Billboard magazine states that in 2016, the "pop-drop" is the "...post-chorus musical interlude that blends techniques from electronic dance music to hip-hop, and it's taken the chorus' place in pop music. The pop-drop is the new climax of the song, right where we would expect to hear the chorus, and it is absolutely everywhere...It's set up by what's known as the "pre-chorus," which typically cues a sing-along refrain. Then where we expect the chorus, we get yet another section of build, a kind of pseudo-chorus that further heightens expectations. Finally, the pop-drop lands. The singer literally drops out, replaced by synthesizers and chopped-up, distorted vocal samples that vaguely reference the earlier lyrics", over a syncopated beat.

Production

Tools and Applications

In EDM, drops are created on applications such as FL Studio, Ableton, or Logic. These are digital audio workstations built with electronic music-making capabilities that allow producers and DJs to create, arrange, and fine-tune sounds for their music. Within these applications, producers can use built-in sound kits, custom sounds, or purchasable online wavetables, such as Splice’s Serum, to create unique electronic sounds and effects.

For physical instruments, many artists also record instruments and vocals to later compress, affect, or sample within the application. There are thousands of different plugins, MIDI keyboards, and miscellaneous equipment that construct the facets of an electronic drop.

Creation of the Build-up and Drop

The composition of a drop is preceded by a buildup, which is accomplished through a transition from the verse into an interlude of repeating sounds, increased drum speed, and substantial volume growth. For example, in Calvin Harris’s This is What You Came For, the buildup consists of a repeating vocal line, accompanied by a rapidly increasing snare drum tempo, and swells of synthesizers rising in volume. The repetitive vocal lines and increase in volume and tempo create tension that is broken by the full capacity of the drop. Some build-ups end with a bar of silence that adds to the dramatic flair of the drop.

The drop of a song may consist of a fuller bass, an affected vocal line, swelling atmospheric synthesizers, layered leads, hard-hitting drums, and often white noise is added as well.The drop is the loudest and most unique portion of an EDM song. The buildup and verses are meant to bring focus to the drop. This is exemplified in This is What You Came For, as the drop consists of a catchy vocal sample of the previous lyric “you” chopped up and heavily processed to create a repetitive and enchanting melody. This is complemented by a bass vox, layered house synths, and a high-hat focused drum beat. As the climax of the song, the drop in EDM diverges from the notions of pop songs that are vocal-heavy, and shifts it onto the electronic sounds.

Drop Quantities

Within EDM, drops are recurring and typically happen two to three times per song, each accompanied by a verse and buildup. Multiple drops can lead to reprises to add variety in style of the different drops.

There are instances where there is only one drop accompanied by multiple buildups. An example of this is Illenium’s Sad Songs, which features an initial build-up that does not drop immediately, rather leads into the next verse, reserving the real drop for the second build-up. This is a popular technique that breaks expectations and builds to the suspense of the final drop.

Within EDM collaborations, drops can be producer-specific where one artist’s particular production style is embodied by one drop, and the other featured artist(s) produces the other drop with their own preferences.

Live Performances

Renowned musicians, particularly DJ's, partner with pyrotechnics to help build stage performances intended for a large audience.

Live Drop Mixing

In EDM festivals, DJs occasionally collaborate with each other to deliver a setlist, composed of their own songs and similar sounding songs or melodies from other related artists. The drops included between the duo or group are intended to present an entertaining activity where listeners identify which songs belong to which artist. DJs within the same EDM genre will usually perform a collective set as the drops included will not deviate from the expected listings. However, listeners positively respond more to DJs under different EDM genres collaborating as song choice would incorporate a variety of EDM genres, hence providing a unique experience filled with different emotion-evoking techniques. Famous DJs, such as Marshmello and Martin Garrix, have coproduced music in the past due to fan requests.

Special Effects

• Visuals are displayed when DJs perform live sets. They are shown on giant screens and are included to emotionally affect the audience. The patterns, advanced choreography, and colors incorporated in visuals have to tie with particular drops.
• Lights are utilized in live sets due to their available color schemes. Heavier bass-line drops are associated with darker colored lights. Emotional sequences are displayed through lighter colored lights.
• Multiple add-on accessories are launched when drops are in effect. Dubstep drops include fire effects. Bounce-genres, including Trance and House, incorporate fog machines. Big room drops utilize confetti.

Drugs

Substances, particularly MDMA and LSD, are commonly taken during EDM festivals as they enhance emotions and energy, especially when accompanied by giant visual screens and bright light effects. These substances reach their peak-effect when drop-build ups are present, followed by a drop. There is a large controversy surrounding substance use due to the harmful impacts they cause, however many choose to ignore these side-effects.

Health Effects

EDM drops build-up and release tension. Superseding layers of instrumentation slowly increase the energy level of the song until hitting a climax, followed by a sudden change in rhythm or melody. This experience may induce both mental and physical responses, producing a pleasurable synchronizing sensation when combined.

Effects on the Brain

The brain commonly interprets music through predictions and recognition of melodic patterns. However, this does not apply to a drop as it is a special type of melodic pattern and does not contain conventional predictable elements. For this reason, different regions of the brain can be stimulated more than others throughout a drop. This was shown by a study which monitored the brain activity of people before and after a drop.

During the pre-drop, the precentral gyrus and postcentral gyrus, whose functions are related to the recognition of tempo, pitch, rhythm and intensity, show the highest level of activity. Activation in this area correlates with the formation of emotions such as tension and anticipation. A large amount of activity in the PreCG and the PostCG during the pre-drop thus reflects the listener experiencing these emotions ahead of the climax.

The interior and middle frontal gyruses are more active during the post-drop. The IFG and MFG tissues are related to the person’s musical skills and processing, such as the ability to interpret complicated melodies or recognize pitch. Higher activity in these regions is related to the identification of each drop element. In addition, IFG and MFG post-drop activity is associated with an increase in dopamine secretion, which leads to more positive responses to the music.

Effects on the Body

The body’s natural reaction to music is movement, mainly by means of dancing to the beat of the song. These include head and hip movements, tapping feet, and waving arms. The effects that music has on the brain stimulates the listener’s tendency to dance, so a large objective of a DJ’s performance is to exploit this phenomenon. In a group setting, whether at a club or at a large music festival, strong musical elements such as bass lines can cause an interpersonal synchronization response where the pleasure created from music is transported to the collective movement of people. Dancing in a group can create changes in behavior, enhancing social bonds between group members and generating relaxation and euphoria. This creates a positive feedback loop where high activity in the brain leads to more movement and increased interpersonal synchronization.

In an EDM drop, each component of the break routine creates a different intensity peak as they vary in structure and instrumentation. A shared anticipation and sense of excitement is spread throughout the crowd during the buildup, which consequently results in an enhanced musical experience through dancing to the drop.