> Step by step

Adding ghost notes, accents and fills

1

Ghost notes add movement and syncopation to any groove. We draw in some very low-velocity snare presses and single hits between certain hi-hat hits. To make the presses sound convincing, the first hit needs to be a bit louder than the following ones. 4

For accenting and elaborating on the backbeat, extra full-strength snare hits are called for. These can be placed on or off the beat, depending on whether you’re aiming for syncopation or ‘beat reinforcement’. We go for syncopation most of the way here, with a big on-beat accent at the end of the phrase triggering a rimshot sample. 2

Many drummers will play ghost notes between most of their hi-hat hits almost semi-consciously, so we add a few more. These really enhance the groove, and our drum part is now full of movement and sounding pretty funky. 5

Fills are used to mark the ends of phrases and lead into verses, choruses, middle eights, etc. Our first example is incredibly simple – the clichéd 16th-notes round the toms, with a cymbal smash at the end. We show you this for demonstration purposes only – don’t ever use it unless you’re specifically going for a naive, amateurish feel! 3

The only thing a real drummer would take issue with in our groove now is the lack of hi-hat variation. To remedy this, we place open hi-hats at the end of the first bar of our two-bar phrase and on top of the last snare. These are choked (that is, muted) by the following closed hi-hat hit – most virtual drum kits include this feature. 6

This is the sort of thing a skilled drummer would actually play as a fill! We include a variety of snare articulations, different samples for left- and right-hand strokes and a set of Bernard Purdie-style hi-hat kicks (at maximum velocity). We’ve even thrown a tearing double-kick drum rip in there! We’ve drawn everything in by hand, with snap off.