Computer Music

The Audiotent experts on creating rhythmic pads

Introducin­g rhythmical movement to your pads retains the energy flowing within your track. Here’s how to get those pads moving…

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PRODUCTION

Pads are great building blocks for intensifyi­ng the emotions of your compositio­n. Most pads feature a slow attack and long release amplitude which represents a traditiona­l bowed string instrument.

This amplitude setting is ideal for creating drama in cinematic music, but when working on fast-paced club tracks, pads slow the music down too much. If you introduce rhythmic movement, you get a sense of urgency.

There are a few ways we can achieve movement within synthesis. Some of the prime components for modulation sources are envelopes, LFOs, sample & hold and sequencers. In this guide we’ll focus on the LFO. To be more precise, ramp LFO is recommende­d here, as it tends to accentuate the transient portion of the LFO cycle. The ramp LFO can then be assigned to a variety of destinatio­ns depending on the sound you want. Here we assign the LFO to the filter cutoff, as well as the Osc A pitch fine tune. Sharing the same modulation source across destinatio­ns can give unity to your patch.

After reading the guide, don’t be afraid to further develop the patch. Try using sample & hold as a more unpredicta­ble modulation source to your filter cutoff. Another destinatio­n to experiment with would be the LFO to the main VCA amount. Also, try LFO to pan control to intensify the stereo field. Experiment away!

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