The ebb and flow of any mix is determined by its transitions - the way it moves between different sections of the track. We’ve all experienced the impact that can be created when a song moves up a gear from verse to chorus, or when a momentary stop lets a soloed vocal line cut through before the track slams back into a full-on moment.

Often, the recorded and programmed sounds you have working within a track will automatically support such transitions. Sometimes, however, particularly in cases where you want clear delineation between the sections, a ‘jigsaw-piece’ edit works better. This can be very effective - imagine a verse building up in intensity until the last line is presented as a solo vocal, before the whole arrangement comes back in hard on the chorus. Let’s see how it’s done.

Step 1: First, download the stop-start-edit.zip folder and place all the parts in a new arrangement with a tempo of 110bpm. Next, set up a reverb and delay as auxiliary effects. You’ll need a reverb with a decent-length tail (around 2 seconds) and a quarter-note delay with enough feedback to hear four or five repeats. Dial some of both effects onto the drum loops, Rhodes, sequence, guitar and vocal parts.