Hey, looking for new ways to make my transitions into new songs easier and actually sound better and thought I should ask here since the feedback i've gotten from here has been really positive before hand.
[video]http://soundcloud.com/thomaswalker/moar-drum-and-bass[/video]
I know that this won't really help you too much, but just practice. You'll eventually get better.
There are many different techniques.
Anticipation: Creating the feeling that something is going to change. This is experienced in many songs like when you know it is going into the chorus a decent bit before it goes into the chorus. Creating some anticipation can help a transition because the listener it braces the listener for an upcoming change. Think of it like you're driving in a car at 100 mph, and you transition onto a totally different road all of a sudden. If your friend is in the passengers seat and isn't aware you're taking a hard and sudden turn, they are likely to get their head smashed against the window and end up a decent bit confused. But if you give them some clue that you are turning, such as a blinker, they are more likely to brace themselves and in turn prevent the confusion. Even if the transition is pretty rough, it is better when the listener expects it.
Tension: Creating tension is a great way to go about it. There are so many ways to create tension such as: repetition; dissonance; incomplete cadences; the V7 chord; volume; tone; lyrical direction; ect; ect... The V-I chord progression is a key choice is transitions as it has a finished quality to it. The pre-chorus to Master of Puppets is a great example of this. A great way to create tension is to create anticipation for one thing, and then do another thing. This technique is often used when creating an anticipation of going from verse to chorus, but instead going to a bridge. Why this technique is so effective is that it builds up a ton of anticipation and tension for the chorus to occur again, which makes it extremely satisfying when it occurs, even if the transition wasn't so hot.
Leading: This is just about creating a smooth transition. This is good to do with a melody or a strong bass and is quite simple, yet very effective. If you get your audience to focus on one continuous part that transitions easy, it will give the illusion that what is in the background is also transitioning easy.
Transition parts: It may not be possible to get a good transition you and may have to add do a bit of a long transition to get into the new part. This is quite common in classical music and quite needed because the different sections in many of classical songs are drastically different. If a straight transition doesn't work, you may just need slowly approach it.
Singing/Improvising: Seriously, sing things out and try to figure out a transition that way. Just improvise some part, and then figure out a transition on the fly. If you have an instrument use that. You get to the point where you can improvise entire songs without thinking about it and can come up with entire songs in your head. Really, the best way to make transitions is to already have it in your head and know how it is going to sound. It is best to get away from the type of composing where you come up with one part, do a ton of stuff with it, and then have to figure out where to go from there.
Thank you both for the advice. Although you said its not useful I agree completely that it will come with practice, i'm just looking for new ways to make the transitions sound better and go a lot smoother and was wondering if anyone could offer some different techniques.
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