Ghost notes, accents and fills
Our groove sounds pretty authentic and ‘live’ so far, but there’s still more to do if we’re to make our drums sound like they’re being played by a real drummer with a real drummer’s brain.
To bring syncopation and a feeling of forward motion to the groove, we need to employ ghost notes. These are very quiet (often barely audible) incidental snare hits, funkily filling the spaces between hi-hat strokes. They can take the form of single hits or gentle presses, where the stick is pressed into the drumhead to create a very short, fast roll (three or four hits). Applying ghost notes is an automatic, almost unconscious process for the experienced drummer, who will play them pretty much constantly. For the programmer who takes the time to draw or play them in, the sonic results will always be well worth the effort.
The snare drum is also used for accenting, with strategically placed full-strength hits adding character to the groove and/or emphasising other track elements. The classic example of this is the off-beat hit following the backbeat, or the drummer in a funk band rimshotting the snare in time with the brass section’s horn stabs. Open hat strokes (whereby the left foot releases the hi-hat pedal, moving the two cymbals apart) serve a similar purpose, being deployed to lead into a bar or phrase, or doubled up with a snare hit to add bite and a burst of splashy sustain.
Fundamental fills
Every eight or 16 bars, the drummer might throw in a fill, bringing the toms and crash cymbals into play. A fill is a roll around the toms, a series of enthusiastic snare hits or any other freeflowing deviation from the groove, usually concluding with a cymbal crash (which is always accompanied by a kick or snare – you’ll hardly ever hit a crash cymbal on its own). It’s designed to lead into the beginning of the following bar, which will serve a purpose in terms of phrasing – introducing a chorus or key change, say.
Fills can be simple but effective or complex and impressive, but all the usual programming rules apply: turn the snap off; vary the velocities, bearing in mind that the first hit in a series of strokes on one drum will naturally be played harder than those that follow; and don’t ever trigger more than two things (plus kick drum and hi-hat pedal) at once. If your sound source offers them, alternating between separate leftand right-hand samples can only boost realism.
Finally, fills don’t have to be full-on. There’s nothing wrong with a simple ‘rat-a-tat-tat’ on the snare – in fact, for many tracks, anything more than that will feel like overkill. Exercise restraint in your fill programming endeavours.