History and character
Big room house is the EDM subgenre designed for the biggest stages: festivals and arenas. Its cultural roots lie in Europe (Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands) in the late 2000s, at the crossing of electro house, progressive house, Dutch house, tech house, trance, techno, hardstyle and hard house. The term “big room” appears in articles as early as 2007, but the current form took shape between 2010 and 2012, when EDM's growth pushed producers to write for enormous spaces. “Epic” by Sandro Silva & Quintino (2011) and “Cannonball” by Showtek & Justin Prime helped fix the formula; in 2013 “Animals” by Martin Garrix was the first track the press explicitly associated with the “big room” label.
The golden years are 2012–2016: Hardwell (Revealed Recordings, “Spaceman”, 2012), Martin Garrix, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike (“Tremor” with Garrix, 2014), KSHMR, W&W, Blasterjaxx, R3HAB, Quintino, Nicky Romero, Showtek, Bassjackers, Timmy Trumpet; the reference labels are Spinnin' Records and Revealed. As early as 2014 EDM.com published “Why Big Room House Is Already Dead”, and criticism of the formula (all drops the same) has been constant; Beatport nonetheless added a “Big Room” category in 2016. In 2016 David Guetta and Showtek released, not by chance, “The Death of EDM”.
Characteristics: very long builds leading to an electro-style drop, a huge four-on-the-floor kick, simple, minimal melodies often with a “techno” supersaw, minimal bass and drums, large-hall reverb, a structure with two builds, two drops and one or two breakdowns, adapted for radio edits. The typical drop is almost only kick + percussive lead + tribal toms.
Scales and keys
Big room uses very few notes in the drop and Aeolian progressions in the breakdowns. Examples in F minor and A minor (in A minor: Am = i, F = VI, G = VII, C = III).
Natural minor (Aeolian)
- Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. W H W W H W W. On F: F G Ab Bb C Db Eb.
- Chords: i Fm, ii° G°, III Ab, iv Bbm, v Cm, VI Db, VII Eb.
- Use: breakdowns with piano and supersaws over i–VI–III–VII; in the drop the tonic and 1–2 notes (b3, b7, 5).
- Listening example: the melodic breakdowns of Hardwell and Martin Garrix before the percussive drops.
Minor pentatonic
- Formula: 1 b3 4 5 b7. Semitones 3-2-2-3-2. On F: F Ab Bb C Eb.
- Use: the drop lead: 2–4 note riffs, octaves, leaps of a fifth and b7.
- Common mistakes: a lead that is too melodic in the drop: in big room the drop is a rhythm, not a melody.
Phrygian (“dark” leads)
- Formula: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. On F: F Gb Ab Bb C Db Eb. Chords: i Fm, bII Gb, III Ab, iv Bbm, v° C°, VI Db, vii Ebm.
- Use: “dark” drops with the F–Gb semitone.
Harmonic minor and Phrygian dominant
- Harmonic minor on F: F G Ab Bb C Db E (major V: C). Phrygian dominant on C: C Db E F G Ab Bb.
- Use: “Eastern” leads and trumpets (Timmy Trumpet, KSHMR), builds with a major V.
Major (anthem)
- Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. On C: C D E F G A B. Use: vocal anthems and “euphoric” breakdowns.
How to choose
- Drop: minor pentatonic (2–4 notes) or Phrygian for dark.
- Breakdown: Aeolian with the full progression.
- Exotic color: harmonic minor / Phrygian dominant.
Harmony
- Drop with almost no harmony: percussive lead on the tonic, kick and toms; the harmony is implied.
- Full breakdowns: 4-chord Aeolian progression with piano, supersaws and vocal.
- Build: progression that stops on V or VII; snare roll and riser; last quarter note empty.
- Harmonic rhythm: breakdown 1 chord per bar; drop pedal.
- Voicings: supersaws over 3 octaves; in the drop the lead in octaves.
Typical progressions
| Name | Key | Chords | Degrees | How to use it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aeolian breakdown | F minor | Fm Db Ab Eb | i VI III VII | Piano and supersaws in the breakdown; one bar per chord. |
| Suspended build | F minor | Db Eb Eb Eb | VI VII VII VII | The build “stops” on VII before the drop. |
| Build with dominant | F minor | Db Eb C C | VI VII V V | The C major of the harmonic minor increases the tension. |
| Pedal drop | F minor | Fm Fm Fm Fm | i i i i | The drop: fixed tonic, 2–4 note lead. |
| Major anthem | C major | F G Am C | IV V vi I | “Euphoric” festival breakdown. |
| Andalusian descent | A minor | Am G F E | i VII VI V | Exotic, dramatic lead in the breakdowns. |
Rhythm and groove
- Four on the floor at 128, rigid grid, no swing.
- Drop: kick on every quarter note, clap on 2 and 4, open hat on the offbeat, tribal toms in sixteenth notes as filler.
- Long builds: accelerating snare roll (quarter notes → eighth notes → sixteenth notes → thirty-second notes) for 8–16 bars; pitch riser; “kick roll” in the last beats.
- Rhythmic drop lead: often in syncopated sixteenth notes or eighth notes with offbeat accents.
Drums
Convention: 16 sixteenth notes; quarter notes on 1, 5, 9, 13.
Kick
- Sixteenths 1, 5, 9, 13 (as in r-bigroom): huge, long kick (300–450 ms), body at 45–60 Hz, “punch” at 100–200 Hz, click at 3–6 kHz; often tuned to the tonic; layers of several kicks.
- In the drop the kick is often the loudest element of the mix.
Snare and clap
- Sixteenths 5 and 13: layered, wide clap and snare with large-hall reverb. In some drops the clap is only on 2.
Hi-hats and percussion
- Open hat on the offbeat (3, 7, 11, 15); crash on 1 of the phrase; tribal toms (the toml lane in r-bigroom: sixteenths 15–16 and sixteenth-note variations) as the drop's signature; shaker.
Dynamics and groove
- Uniform velocities; the dynamics are between sections, not between hits.
Interaction with bass and lead
- Minimal or absent bass in the drop (the kick's sub acts as the bass); percussive lead in the gaps between kicks; strong sidechain on everything.
How it changes by section
- Intro: kick + percussion for 16–32 bars.
- Breakdown: no kick; piano, pad, vocal.
- Build: snare roll, riser, kick coming back in quarter notes, then eighth notes, then sixteenth notes in the last 2 beats; vocal “drop”; silence.
- Drop: kick + clap + open hat + toms + lead.
Fills and transitions
- Kick roll, snare roll with rising pitch, white-noise sweep, reverse crash, impact on the first beat.
Choosing sounds
- Long, powerful “big room” kicks, wide claps, deep toms, long crashes.
Typical mistakes
- Short kick (the festival “boom” is missing); build without the final silence; too many elements in the drop; toms that cover the kick.
Bass
- Kick sub: the tail of the kick acts as the bass in the drop.
- Offbeat bass in the progressive sections (offbeats 3, 7, 11, 15), filtered saw.
- Notes: tonic and roots; few notes.
- Sidechain: very strong from the kick.
- Range: 40–120 Hz.
Harmonic instruments
- Supersaws and pads in the breakdowns; piano; strings; “techno” stabs (short supersaws) in the drop.
- Very little harmony in the drop.
Melody and vocals
- Drop lead: percussive riffs of 1–4 notes, often with pitch bend, “screech” sounds or a “techno lead” (short supersaw) or trumpets (Timmy Trumpet).
- Vocals: “hype” vocal samples (“put your hands up”, “jump”), pop topline in the breakdowns of vocal tracks.
- Effects: large-hall reverb, 1/4 delay on the lead, high-pass filter on the build.
Instruments
- Big room kick, clap, open hat, tribal toms, crash; percussive leads, supersaws, pads, piano, strings, vocal and vocal samples, FX (risers, impacts, sweeps).
Drum patterns
Synths and sounds
- OP-Xa V — “Techno” lead and supersaw: Wide unison, open filter, short decay for percussive leads; long release for the breakdowns.
- Korg MS-20 V — Screech lead: Square wave with drive and resonant filter: aggressive, “squeaky” Dutch/big room leads.
- Jup-8 V — Pad and breakdown supersaw: Detuned saws with chorus.
- Piano V — Breakdown: Piano with hall reverb.
- Augmented Strings — Strings: Epic breakdowns.
Song structure
Structure given by Wikipedia: two builds, two drops, one or two breakdowns, adapted for radio edits.
| Section | Bars | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Intro | 16–32 | Kick, percussion, crash |
| Breakdown 1 | 16 | Piano, pad, vocal |
| Build 1 | 8–16 | Snare roll, riser, kick roll, silence |
| Drop 1 | 16–32 | Kick + percussive lead + toms |
| Breakdown 2 | 16 | Full melody with supersaws |
| Build 2 | 8–16 | Greater tension |
| Drop 2 | 16–32 | Varied drop |
| Outro | 16 | Kick and percussion |
Mixing and mastering
Sonic goal
- Gigantic kick, a lead that “cuts”, arena reverb; very high loudness; drop noticeably louder than the breakdown.
- References: Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike.
Kick
- EQ: high-pass 25 Hz, +3 dB at 50 Hz, +1 dB at 120 Hz, −4 dB at 300–500 Hz, +2 dB at 4 kHz.
- Clipper 2–4 dB; saturation for harmonics; mono.
Snare and clap
- EQ: high-pass 200 Hz, +2 dB at 250 Hz, +3 dB at 3 kHz; compression + clipper; hall reverb 1.5–2.5 s, width 130%.
Hi-hats, toms and percussion
- Open hat high-pass 600 Hz; toms: high-pass 60 Hz, +2 dB at 100–200 Hz, hall reverb; tom panning 20–40%.
Bass
- Mono sub/offbeat, sidechain 8–12 dB from the kick.
Lead, supersaws, pads
- Lead: high-pass 200 Hz, presence at 2–4 kHz, saturation, short hall reverb (1–1.5 s) + 1/4 delay; width 130%; sidechain 4–6 dB.
- Breakdown supersaws: high-pass 150 Hz, long reverb.
Vocals and samples
- High-pass 120 Hz, heavy compression, presence at 3 kHz; reverb and delay in the breakdowns.
Backing vocals
- Wide doubles in the breakdowns.
FX
- Long risers and sweeps; impacts with controlled sub.
Buses and groups
- Drum bus with a clipper; Music bus with sidechain; FX bus.
Sidechain
- Kick → everything (bass, lead, pads, reverbs).
Master
- Chain: EQ → glue → clipper → limiter.
- Indicative targets: −5/−4 LUFS integrated for the festival; true peak −0.3 dBTP for club files, −1 for streaming.
Common mistakes
- Audible clipping on the kick; harsh lead at 3–5 kHz; reverbs without sidechain that muddy the drop.
Reference tracks for the mix
- Martin Garrix — Animals (2013); Hardwell — Spaceman (2012); Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs. Martin Garrix — Tremor (2014).
Reference listening
- Sandro Silva & Quintino — Epic (2011)
- Showtek & Justin Prime — Cannonball
- Hardwell — Spaceman (2012)
- Martin Garrix — Animals (2013)
- Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs. Martin Garrix — Tremor (2014)