I'm sure just about anyone has heard the phrase "chopped n screwed" but what does that even mean? It's one of my favorite edits and I'll explain, this is a photo of a session being worked on that way at the E Stew Productions office. The stu stu Stewdio, wooaaah! (like Phil Collins)
Chop: When the beat cuts out temporarily and usually while the vocals keep riding, for lyrical emphasis. Most often a quarter note length but can extend to bars at a time.
Screw: this can be two things, one is where the beat pitch falls off the end like a DJ would down spin live or a tape player losing speed to stopped. Winding down type sound. The second is where the screw is sustained down at a lower pitch level. Most often used on vocals, a full octave down shift usually needs the original octave also to clarify the words. Down 4th - 6th interval range gets a deep but clear tone going. Sounds like a monster. You can also slow down the beat tempo and pitch to get real syrupy.
Stutter: ri ri riiiide. Vocal stutters are ku ku cool. They do the same thing on the beat. Gives it some serious kick. Pro Tools is an ace in tempo grid for these, down into divisions and with tiny fades.
Really, champion mode is combining all 3 of these techniques tastefully together, it is absolutely an art form!
Chopped and screwed is past tense, so in production you would chop the beat, or screw the vocal. The term "chopped and screwed" originates from Houston's DJ Screw in the 80's. I know he didn't say, I'm gonna do a beat chopped right here, he definitely said beat chop. 😄
