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What is a drop in music?

A drop is the moment in dance music when the build-up ends and the full beat and bass come in, often after a beat or a bar of near silence. It is the track’s main section, the one the build-up promises. In much EDM it is mostly instrumental, with a lead or a vocal chop as the hook.

Usually 16 bars · 16 bars, sometimes 32

Where the drop goes

After each build-up, usually twice: once after the intro, and again after the breakdown.

The drop, lit on an EDM song map at 128 BPM.

Open this song map in the editor

An EDM beat across all 96 bars, with a marker at each section, to change part by part. No account needed to start.

How long is a drop?

A drop usually runs 16 bars (16 bars, sometimes 32). In seconds, that depends on the tempo:

How long a drop of 16 bars is at three tempos
Tempo16 bars32 bars
90 BPM43 s1:25
110 BPM35 s1:10
128 BPM30 s1:00

How to make a drop

  • Build to it for 8 bars: a snare roll that speeds up, a riser, a filter opening.
  • Leave a beat or a bar of near silence just before it.
  • Bring the kick and the bass in together, on the first beat.
  • Change the second drop a little: a new sound, an extra layer, a switch in the rhythm.

Questions about the drop

What is a build-up?

The 8 or 16 bars before a drop that raise the tension: snare rolls, risers, a filter opening, the kick dropping out.

How long is a drop?

Usually 16 bars, 30 seconds at 128 BPM.

Other parts of a song

IntroVersePre-chorusChorusPost-chorusHookRefrainBridgeBreakdownOutro

Song maps with a drop

EDM song structureHouse song structure

Map out a song

The free editor opens with an EDM beat laid out as a whole song, a marker at each section. Change any part, add one, or take one away.

Open a song mapSong structure

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