Producer’s Guide to… Modular Rhythm

Rob Redman takes you on a bootcamp trip into the mysterious lands of modular percussion patterns, sequencing and drum voices

Rhythm means different things to different people and not just from a perspective of

musicianship. Clearly there are many types of beats that will affect people in a variety of ways, and this is all good and well but there are just as many tools and techniques for the creation of rhythm as there are rhythms to be created using them.

Modular, by its very nature, is capable of becoming whatever you want it to be; that’s the essence of its popularity. Why buy something that somebody else has designed, when you can patch up an instrument of your own? Better yet, one that can be formed into something new the next day.

Over the next few pages we’ll look at various aspects of rhythm creation using modular tools. We’ll keep this limited to Eurorack, as that is the most common format and one that is growing daily.

We’ll look at some of the tools you can use, techniques for using them, as well as exploring some ideas for taking things beyond the simple modular drum machine.

It’s probably worth taking a moment to talk about drums vs rhythms. While it’s clear that the two are closely connected, they shouldn’t be confused.

When we talk about rhythm we’re factoring in timing, groove and pattern, not necessarily just drums. We’ll stick mostly to percussive rhythms in this piece but definitely consider how you can stray beyond to use your modules for other tasks.

Finally, as with most modular content, there are so many methods, tools and motivations, that they can’t all be covered here.

So, break out the patch cables and grab a coffee…