Getting Familiar with the Rising Trend
by Ivan Valles
Over the past few years, Reggaeton became a rather popular and catchy style of music. Even though its roots date back to the past century, it is the modern music of R. Kelly, Shakira, Don Omar, Daddy Yankee and other popular artists that have incorporated Reggaeton as part of their own music. Several artists and producers have approached me in the past with questions about this style, so I decided to dedicate this column to exploring the main production aspects of Reggaeton.
Reggaeton first appeared around the early 1990s. It blends Jamaican styles of music such as reggae and dancehall with other Latin American styles such as Bomba and Plena, incorporating hip-hop into the music as well. To me, Reggaeton is one of many Latin responses to American hip-hop music. Therefore, some of the common production elements in hip-hop can be found in Reggaeton.
For the longest time Reggaeton was part of the underground music. But as soon as Reggaeton artists were able to get their break in the music industry, they climbed their way up to the very top of many Billboard charts. Today, Reggaeton remains very influential in pop, urban and other musical genres. So let's talk about some of the main production aspects of Reggaeton.
To begin with, vocal layers for the choruses are typically performed once, and later copied into the rest of the choruses. Most of the time, choruses will be sung or rapped several times. Such voices will normally have different panning in the stereo field. If the chorus is melodic, I enjoy listening to some nice harmonies to accompany the main melody. Sometimes I fully pan some of them to the right and left, respectively. The rap sections are most times accompanied by some ad-lib parts. In the case of ad-libs, I like to add a combination of radio effect (filtering so that only the mid frequencies remain), distortion and eighth note or quarter note delays.
Sequencing Reggaeton drums can lead to interesting results. Even though the basic pattern is always present one way or another, it is up to the producer's creativity to break the continuity by adding interesting fills and breaks, as well as interesting percussion elements. Several snare sounds are usually used throughout the song. Whenever producing Reggaeton, if it is within the budget, I like to add a live instrument like percussion or guitar to complement the sequenced tracks. Being a musician myself, I am always a big fan of live music, so whenever the situation calls for it, I like to add live instruments to spice up the track.
Whether you are using Reggaeton only as an influence or as your artist's main style of music, it is important to get a good low-end bass sound. The bass plays an important role in this music, as together bass and drums are meant to invite its listeners to the dance floor. Keep in mind that Reggaeton listeners will typically want to dance to the beat, so make sure your changes in the drum and bass don't drastically break the continuity of the groove. It is not uncommon to find several electronic keyboards to complement the beat. Several virtual synths and keyboards are available to help you create your various layers of keyboards. I often use delayed and filtered effects for the keyboards as well to help their sound feel fuller.
When required, I like to take some of the sequenced tracks and pass them through outboard gear, particularly gear with good vacuum tubes, such as preamps, compressors and equalizers. These processors help to fatten the signal significantly while adding extra warmth to your tracks.
Production of Reggaeton is also similar to hip-hop in that the elements will normally be present as a 4- or 8-bar loop. This loop will usually be muted or unmuted, depending on the section of the song. It is always good practice to experiment playing the loop and listening to the different tracks as they sound together. This will help you discover interesting changes in the dynamics of the song, thus helping the song develop in a more interesting way.
Keep in mind that lyric and melodic elements in Reggaeton should be playful, seductive and dance-full. Always find interesting ways of performing your Reggaeton tracks, and listen to your favorite Reggaeton influences to take the best ideas you can.
Finally, when mixing and mastering, keep in mind that Reggaeton drums tend to be somewhat higher in volume than they regularly are in other styles of music. This is particularly true in the case of the snare drums. Vocals will have several different effects involving filtering, equalizing, reverbs and delays. Make sure you mix these elements in to make your Reggaeton track stand out from the rest.
