Drums + percussion
Time to add drums and percussion to your track. Here are some great beat tips to get you started…
01
While there’s endless drum samples out there, why not take total control and make your own using synths? Any analogue or FM synth can be used to make amazing electronic percussion tones, but the likes of Sonic Charge Microtonic, Max For Live, Sugar Bytes’ DrumComputer and NI’s Maschine 2 drum synths feature focussed parameter sets designed with the creation of powerful drum sounds in mind. Every producer should own at least one dedicated drum synth.
02
While step sequencing or manual programming of drums is a route to accuracy, it’s much more fun – not to mention creatively more rewarding – to play them in live. OK, so you’re not a drummer, and you don’t have any drum pads… No problem! Your MIDI keyboard can be used in lieu of pads, and by slowing the tempo of your track right down and recording in cycle/overdub mode, you can give yourself plenty of time and opportunity to hit the right notes.
03
Ghost notes are the quiet offbeat strokes and embellishments that many drummers play in between the main beats, primarily on the snare drum. They’re among the most important factors to consider in programming realistic acoustic drums, bringing life and syncopation to any groove. As well as single ghost notes, drags (two or three very quick, light notes in succession) can emphasise the offbeat – just keep it tasteful and don’t go overboard.
04
Many DAWs can impose the timing of one audio or MIDI groove onto another, which can serve many creative purposes, and systems like Logic Pro’s Groove Track can match an entire project to the timing of one part. But more generally useful is being able to apply the timing and velocities of, say, a live drum loop to a programmed part, or vice-versa.
05
A more creative alternative to transient-shaping plugins is to use the pitch and filter envelopes of a sampler to shape the bodies and tails of hits independently. The trick is to set the attack time to let as much of the transient through as you need before the pitch/filter adjustment kicks in. Or conversely, set the attack and sustain to zero and then adjust the decay time to process only the attack.
06
Whether using a sampler or a synth for drum sounds, if you have the relevant mode active (it’ll be called Gate or similar), adjusting the lengths of MIDI notes – and thus the sounds triggered – can have a radical effect on a groove. Try using a MIDI modifying plugin such as Live’s Note Length to adjust notes in real time.
07
While, for many tracks, realism is often desired, people have been applying out-there effects to acoustic drums since time immemorial. Whether you’re after a dab of psychedelic phasing or something more overt, there’s no sound or character that can’t be had using DAW-bundled or third-party plugins. If your processing is making the volume erratic, just throw a limiter onto the end of the chain.
08
To jazz up a lacking percussion part, try applying an LFO- or envelopecontrolled filter (low-, high- or bandpass – try them all) to it. We’re not talking anything too drastic – just enough cutoff frequency modulation to impart some movement, variation and bite. Play around with the LFO waveshape and depth, being sensitive to the timing and feel of the part.
09
The great thing about drum tracks is that – being essentially non-pitched – it’s easy to add to your regular kick, snare and hi-hat sounds with… well, anything! So, plug in a mic, grab some pots and pans from the kitchen, take to the streets with a field recorder and go nuts. With the right editing, processing and programming, you can create truly unique end results.
10
Drum rudiments are a long-established repertoire of 40 sticking/pedalling techniques that skilled drummers will practice and employ much like a pianist practices and employs scales.