Breakbeat science

Sampled drum breaks are synonymous with electronic music

As a brief introduction for the uninitiated, a ‘breakbeat’ can be defined as a sampled section – in most cases a bar or two, but sometimes it can be more – of a drum loop lifted from a record. The sounds of sampled drum breaks are synonymous with electronic music, from the crude workings of ’90s rave and jungle through to the retro-inspired efforts heard in modern tracks.

Usually taking their name from the original record they’ve been sampled from, classic breakbeats such as the Amen, Funky Drummer and Hot Pants have become highly significant on a cultural level, due to their distinctive grooves and timbres. Many have tried (and also failed) to recreate them from scratch, which is why there’s nothing quite like using the original sample – if you throw one into your track, you’re effectively referencing all the tracks and genres that have used it before, which can add a whole extra layer of richness.

There are several things that you should take into consideration when you’re working with sampled drum breaks.

First and foremost, you’ll want to sync it with your project’s tempo. In order to do this with a cyclical audio file, you should begin by chopping it down precisely to the nearest bar at its original tempo.

After that, you can use your DAW’s ‘repitch’ method to simultaneously alter the loop’s pitch and time, which will retain the loop’s transient detail in a way that more modern warp modes can’t. This also replicates the retro method of pitching the break up or down in a sampler, for a more authentic vibe.

Once your break is in time, you can proceed to chop it up into sections and resequence it into a new pattern, either as audio on the timeline or using a drum sampler.

You should always bear in mind that the larger the sections you choose to chop it into are, the more of the original break’s rhythmic character you’ll be retaining – and therefore, if you chop the break up too meticulously, you might well end up killing the original drummer’s swing and groove, which can be counterproductive overall.